This movie was not what I had originally thought it was, and I mean that in a good way, I thought that they would show Michael, Jason or Freddy but they didn't, however they did not need to. This movie would probably be the best horror satire since Wes Craven's Scream. The film follows a documentary crew who tapes the preparation and the sadistic ways of Leslie Vernon, who is a serial killer inspired by Michael, Jason and Freddy. I'll say for the record, this movie was scary at points, some good laughs, and an all around good mannered pseudo-horror-documentary.<br /><br />The way that this movie was executed was genius. The documentary portion of the movie is acted and shot like Blair Witch, and had the feel and humor of Spinal Tap but when the movie transitions out of the documentary it leads into you typical horror film. Leslie, our anti-hero, goes through typical serial killer preparations and how he will play off his Halloween-like killings. He lists things like the Survivor-Girl, how he gets into shape for the kill, the cliché "door-closes-behind-cute-girl" thing is played off and the Ahab. All of these great elements make for one great satire. The film even makes mention to the sites of some of the most grisly murders like Elm Street and Camp Crystal Lake.<br /><br />The acting is hard to compare or even criticize for that matter. When the documentary parts of the movie play out, the acting and the dialogue sound real, as if there was not script or rehearsal. When the documentary stops and the actual movie plays, the acting is so cheesy, but I don't think it was done on purpose, from what I see it's another element that adds to the satirical reference of old slasher flicks. As you can see, I can't say the acting sucks because in some way it was intentional.<br /><br />However, there is always one bad egg in the dozen, or in this case maybe two. A minor thing that kind of bugged me was that this movie promotes two big stars (Robert Englund and Zelda Rubinstein) as if they were the greatest things since sliced bread. Of course, they are very well established for what they did in the 80's but they are hardly in the movie. This kind of thing always bugs me when movie flaunt a B or A list actor, when they are only in there for 5 minutes.<br /><br />Another minor thing that bugged me was the lack of brutal killings. I was hoping for the camera crew to catch a glimpse of it and then pull out in utter disgust. I was hoping for something brutal or a least a slash, but they hardly show anything. Maybe I'm being cynical but it just bothered me a little.<br /><br />Despite those two minor flaws, this film was a great mockumentry, ranking up there with Spinal Tap. It was humorous, scary at points, a great satire and very well designed. Those elements make up for the small things that irritated me. I would strongly recommend this film not just for horror aficionados but for those who want to know the ropes and quarks of 80's horror films. But I would watch this after Scream. All in all, it's a great film.