The Masque of the Red Death 1964

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• Wuchakon TMDB · Mar 20206/10

  ***Castles, peasants, diabolical princes, plague, death and Vincent Price*** During what appears to be the late Medieval era in (presumably) Britain, pompous Prince Prospero tyrannically reigns, terrorizing the serfs, while holding up in his castle with other “royals” during the plague of the Red Death. Hazel Court plays his seasoned nefarious babe in the castle whereas Jane Asher appears as his new interest, a virginal, God-fearing peasant girl. Produced & directed by Roger Corman for American International, “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964) is Gothic horror with a huge rep based on the Poe yarn from 1842. It has a good Gothic mood (similar to Hammer horror of the period) and a heavy subtext, but I found the story relatively dull. I prefer Corman's "The Terror," which came out the year before and was considerably cheaper. The sets & costumes are colorful and the cast is noteworthy, but the sets sometimes look artificial. “Conqueror Worm,” aka “Witchfinder General” (1968), has a more authentic feel while “Cry of the Banshee” (1970), also from American International, rehashes similar territory and is pretty much on par. The overt satanism might be surprising for a film shot in 19

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• John Chardon TMDB · Nov 20197/10

  Bold, Daring, Lurid. Visually appealing and trippy in its telling, The Masque of the Red Death is a very acquired taste. Directed by Roger Corman, the film stars Vincent Price as the diabolical Prince Prospero who holds fear over a plague infested peasantry while jollying it up in his castle. The screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell is based upon a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, while part of the film contains a story arc based on another Poe tale titled Hop-Frog. It's the 7th of 8 Corman film adaptations of Poe's works. Sinister yet beautiful (Nicolas Roeg genius like on photography), "Red Death" has proved to be the most divisive of all the Corman/Poe adaptations. Choosing to forgo blood in favour of black magic dalliance and general diabolism, the film is arguably the most ambitious of all Corman's love affairs with Poe's literary works. With Price gleefully putting gravitas of meanness into Prospero, the film also greatly benefits from the intelligent input to the script from Beaumont (many Twilight Zone credits). This is, strangely, an intellectual type of horror film, offering up observations on the indiscrimination of death and proclaiming that crue

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• Dr Nostromoon TMDB · Jul 20266/10

  61/100 Satan worshiper Prospero (played with sinister glee by the incomparable Vincent Price) provides refuge for the elite in his castle, indulging in decadent debauchery, while the local area succumbs to the red death. Much better than I thought it would be, it inspires me to see the other Roger Corman 'Edgar Allen Poe' films in the series. Well directed, beautifully shot with saturated colors and exquisite sets, and acted with all seriousness by everyone far beyond what you'd expect, this was a truly enjoyable surprise from a movie I just never paid attention to before. -- DrNostromo.com

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