if i was living in the middle of a pandemic i would simply hide out in vincent price's psychedelic satan cult castle for rich perverts.

As colorfully stunning as just about any Hammer picture of its time, each scene pops vibrantly with beautiful camerawork from Nicholas Roeg, all while Vincent Price achieves the perfect mixture of devilish charm and insidious evil. 

This adaptation of Poe’s short story adds some extra things to the source material but also once again shows the often undervalued directorial efforts of Roger Corman—who achieves more with less better than just about anyone. I think The Haunted Palace and this may be my favorite of his ‘Poe Cycle’.

people do NOT hoard masques of the red death! they are in short supply and must be reserved for prince prospero & others on the front lines of our depraved satanic bacchanal!

87

So scrumptious and evocative that the vast variety of colors are appropriately out of place, with each element at the mercy of your gaze. Combined with DP Nicolas Roeg flooring it through such decadent, crazed, and delicious rooms, this AIP production is nothing less than a stirring, devious descent into falsity and the breathless force of oblivion.

Brightly colored gothic horror inspired by Poe (and coming a lot closer to the original story than, say, The Raven), this is an eerily beautiful film. I actually was a bit shocked when Vincent Price outright declared his allegiance to Satan; I expected some sort of work around, some sort of avoidance of the topic. Instead, Corman's film embraced the villainy, declared Satan the master of the universe and the death of God, and then toppled it all with the most gorgeous grim reapers ever (fuck off, Gaiman). This is pre-psychedelic kaleidoscopy painted on the grimmest classic horror. Vincent Price seems to relish his role here, which turns what would be hammy into the exquisite.

December count: 94/100

Vincent Price is excellent in this Roger Corman directed ideological horror film that's adapted from a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. His portrayal of Prospero, a dictatorial prince who victimises the local peasantry while a fatal plague devastates the country, sees him largely self-isolating within the intertrial walls of his castle with a small gathering of attendants who satisfy his unreasonable debauchery as he busily enunciates about his belief in the superiority of Satan and the demise of God.

The isolated crowd, which is an all-round great cast, soon begin to conduct themselves strangely and eagerly attain much happiness from reverting to a less than developed state which Corman captures through some splendid direction to ensure this being a highlight within his filmography. The exaggeratedly elegant coloured costumes together with the sets function incredibly agreeably together, and they build an almost mythical atmosphere that serves the culmination of the film flawlessly as it morphs with strange surrealism.

One of the greatest movies I’ve seen. My adoration knows no bounds. There are so many masters woven into its fabric: Buñuel, Bergman, Dreyer, Demy. A finale channeling the spirit of Isadora Duncan. 

Its list of pleasures is endless...
opulent bath tubs, sword fights, ape suits, kick-ass dwarves, décolletage, arrows shot in necks, orgies, a campy Vincent Price, a scary Vincent Price, disease, metaphysical pondering, theological debates, amusing voice dubs, Paul McCartney’s cute-as-a-button girlfriend, Satanism, Christianity, Pantheism, vicious bird attacks, interpretive dances, body paint, face paint, rooms with energies, blood, candles, draw bridges, dungeons, costumed balls, peasants, poor animal impressions, noblemen, jump scares, atmospheres, animated credit sequences, a perfect score, a cinematographer determined to blow your God damn mind...
A director in complete control of his craft. 

A pop art masterpiece designed to smother your senses and consume your soul. 

Surrender.

Crazy to imagine something this focused on perversion and degradation, this balletic, this European was a popular drive-in favorite with teens in the mid 60s. It loses its way a bit whenever Price isn't onscreen, but when he is, it coooooks - this might be his very best villainous role, a touch of camp but resonant in his cruelty and inhumanity.

It's too bad we never got those White Death, Blue Death, Yellow Death, or any of the other Death movies we were promised.

d̲e̲a̲t̲h̲ ̲h̲a̲s̲ ̲n̲o̲ ̲m̲a̲s̲t̲e̲r̲

I remember being so awe-struck by the beautiful set designs and the gorgeous wardrobes for this film years ago. It has remained one of my favs from Corman and Price. After a decade later I had to revisit it and oh my it’s still so good. In a way it brings a sense of judgement to the great poem while dread drips on the screen like blood drops.

I think it’s very overlooked and should get a retrospective treatment as soon as possible. In a way I think it’s the best adaptation of Poe’s work while bringing something fresh to his gloomy perspective.

a doozy of a color-soaked satan dress-up party. maybe the coolest set design... ever?

Güzel gidiyordu, umutluydum. Sonradan bir şeyler oldu asıl verilmesi gereken mesaj gayet güzeldi fakat alamadım onu, anlatım kötüydü. Bu konuda sınıfta kalmış maalesef

Beautiful, but overly long. Can't wait for the Blumhouse remake setting in 2020 with Lucy Hale as the Melania expy.

Childhood classic. God damn Vincent price is such a powerhouse.

startling, rich & deeply haunting. a tale of satanism, cruelty & fate anywhere between 60-200 years ahead of its time & draped in the deepest & wickedly full visions imaginable. subtler but more beautiful in itsits technicolor than suspiria! jane asher is truly mesmerising no matter where she is - & price is at the peak of his powers here too. nicholas roeg is a much better cinematographer than his is a director. i have to watch more price, poe & corman now!!! ♡♡

vincent price cured my mental illness and now i'm cheerfully skipping around the house chanting satanic invocations

At some point it frlt like it was trying to be some sort of PG Salò, atsome point it completely subverted the sense of the original short story, at no point it felt like Poe.

Pretty good. Interested storyline, some weird bits. I liked the costumes and setting.

Nunca confíen en gente rica :v tienen fetiches raros

Vincent Price is a camp legend. Adored this.

C'est fou tout ce que Corman arrive à faire avec pas grand-chose en termes de moyens. La direction artistique est splendide et il y a beaucoup de charme dans ces décors et ses costumes d'un gothiques decadent. La musique est superbe aussi.

Je suis beaucoup moins convaincu par le récit qui même sur 1h20 traîne en longueur avec un sacré ventre mou.
Déçu de Jane Asher que je trouve pas terrible ici alors que je l'avais bcp aimé dans Deep End. A contrario, Vincent Price porte formidablement le film