Nathan Baesel Interview – Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon, Crypticon 2026

As soon as I arrived at Crypticon Seattle, I made a beeline to the celebrity meet and greet room, knowing that Nathan Baesel was going to be in attendance. This event is the flagship horror community gathering in the Pacific Northwest. I didn’t know whether I’d get the chance to interview the actor who played one of my all-time favorite slasher villains, Leslie Vernon. The lines for these meet-and-greets can get long, and I might not have enough time for an interview. This day, luck was on my side. It’s the twenty-year anniversary of the cult classic meta-slasher film Behind the Mask: The Legend of Leslie Vernon. Not only did I get the opportunity, but I also discovered that The Scariest Things could do our part to help evangelize by getting the word out about the just-announced sequel, Behind The Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it is one of the great meta-horror movies in the slasher genre. It stands side by side with Scream, The Final Girls, and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare as a gold standard of meta-horror. Like those peer films, it uses wit and familiarity with slasher film tropes. It winks and nudges, and then gets SERIOUS. The movie also emerged at the dawn of the found-footage horror film. It uses the verisimilitude of the documentary crew following the actions of a serial killer, convinced that by playing to Leslie’s ego, the film crew was immune from his depradations. They couldn’t have been more wrong. And yet, he let them in on all his secrets. It’s an absolute must-watch for fans of knife-wielding maniac movies. For more insight on Leslie Vernon, The Scariest Things previously discussed this film in podcast Episodes 199: Mockumentaries and 130: Masked Killers. The Big Announcement: Time has been kind to Nathan, as he has kept up with his cardio… an important factor for a hard-working serial killer. He is all set to put the mask back on. Now it’s time to get the band back together. Scott Glosserman returns to direct the film, and David Stieve is back to write the screenplay. Nathan will be joined by our final girl, Angela Goethals (Taylor Gentry), returning to do battle with Leslie. The legendary Robert Englund (Doc Halloran) is back to train her. The closing moments of the first movie suggested that a good serial killer is hard to kill. It just took 20 years to get him back on screen! Click here for the movie’s Kickstarter Campaign. It is being scheduled for release in 2027. There are some awesome exclusive add-ons, including a replica Leslie Vernon Mask, a trip to the shoot, a scythe prop, advance cast and crew screenings (That means if you wanted to meet Robert Englund… here’s your chance!), and all the way up to getting a chance to be killed on screen by Leslie in the movie! I mean, come on… how cool is that? They’ve already unlocked a couple of the stretch goals. The next big one ($300,000) is for a new horror icon cameo. Such is the joy of Kickstarter! From my perspective, I’m really hoping they hit the “More Shooting Time” Stretch goal ($500,000). That can mean the world to production quality. Do it! Contribute! The power of the Scariest Things compels you! C’mon, you know you want a T-shirt. It’s for a good horror cause. The Interview with Nathan Baesel: As noted before, I got lucky. Nathan had a free moment, and he was very generous with his time. Needless to say, I got a huge kick out of this chat. Check out my interview with him in this player link: A Message Straight from Nathan: In addition to the interview, he was eager to make a Kickstarter pitch.