1964 Directed by Roger Corman
Satan-worshiper Prince Prospero invites the local nobility to his castle for protection against an oncoming plague, the Red Death. He orders his guests to attend a masked ball and, amidst an atmosphere of debauchery and depravity, notices the entry of a hooded stranger dressed all in red. Believing the figure to be his master, Satan, Prospero is horrified at the revelation of his true identity.
"Satan. The lord of flies. The fallen angel. [Vincent Price whisper the only way Vincent Price could whisper] The devil."
This the best looking of the Corman Poe adaptations (shot by Nicolas Roeg!) that I've seen, with a bold color palette leaning towards very-1964-modern psychedelic poster art shades of blue, teal and yellow (like this kind of), and of course deep, deep, deep red. Has almost the air of something like Fellini Satyricon, La Grande Bouffe or even Salo, ultimately less about Satanic evil and more about excess, greed, indulgence, wrath and cruelty: Real end of the empire human flaws that assure mutual destruction and total annihilation. These themes would resonate with Cold War era audiences as much as contemporary…
"Why should you be afraid to die? Your soul has been dead for a long time."
I found this to be sadly beautiful. A superlative take on Edgar Allan Poe's short story. Price is at his peak, and this is arguably Corman's finest hour.
First off, all hail those evocative opening credits! I love the splash of red, and that's a cool effect with the rose. It immediately hints at the level of class this Corman production possesses as a whole. The tale has Prince Prospero dismissive of the provincial types of the village he oversees, which is now dealing with a plague known as the Red Death. He burns the location in an attempt to contain the sickness. Meanwhile,…
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
Part of the Sight & Sound: Stewart Home Project
Roger Corman's The Masque of the Red Death proves once again that, if given the choice in horror movies between atmospheric weirdness and cheap scare tactics, I'll choose the former a hundred times out of a hundred. This film is many things - hyper-stylized, moody, gothic, campy, profane, eerie, funny - and all of these attributes I'd rate as having a higher degree of difficulty than simply being able to frighten me. If I want to be scared, a well-placed plastic spider can often do the trick. If I want to be entertained, it'll take a little something extra, like gorgeous production design and perfect music and Vincent Price chewing up the…
FILM #06 of 35 in CINEMONSTER's Hoop-tober 4.0
My Creepy Master List and Review Links can be found here:
Slappy McGee's Hoop-tober 4.0 List
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Vincent Price at his most Vincent Price-iness.
And it's pretty darned entertaining!
Set during medieval times, Price plays a prince-like nobleman who is a true dick. Man, is this guy a fucking jerk. Heh. Love to hate him. He basically kidnaps a young peasant lady to be his live-in tart-in-training while holding the lives of her father and boyfriend over her head.
There is a plague lingering outside his castle as well.
So that's not good.
Plus... all the while you have this mysterious red-hooded dude lurking about (kind of ala "The Seventh Seal").
There's…
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.
Vincent Price plays the Satan-worshipping Prince Prospero, who invites several other figures of nobility to his palace as a shelter from a horrific plague that is sweeping through the outlying villages. Price excels here in a wonderfully sinister role.
“The Masque of the Red Death” has always been my favorite Edgar Allan Poe story, and this movie adaptation is a winner across the board, with wonderful color cinematography and some of the more haunting visuals that I've seen in a horror film.
The legendary Nicolas Roeg, who directed such classics as The Man Who Fell to Earth and Don't Look Now, was the director of photography on The Masque of the Red Death, and his talent for otherworldly images is on wonderful display here.
The always beautiful Hazel Court also appeared with Price in another Poe film, The Raven
"Why should you be afraid to die? Your soul has been dead for a long time."
I found this to be sadly beautiful. A superlative take on Edgar Allan Poe's short story. Price is at his peak, and this is arguably Corman's finest hour.
First off, all hail those evocative opening credits! I love the splash of red, and that's a cool effect with the rose. It immediately hints at the level of class this Corman production possesses as a whole. The tale has Prince Prospero dismissive of the provincial types of the village he oversees, which is now dealing with a plague known as the Red Death. He burns the location in an attempt to contain the sickness. Meanwhile,…
FILM #06 of 35 in CINEMONSTER's Hoop-tober 4.0
My Creepy Master List and Review Links can be found here:
Slappy McGee's Hoop-tober 4.0 List
**********
Vincent Price at his most Vincent Price-iness.
And it's pretty darned entertaining!
Set during medieval times, Price plays a prince-like nobleman who is a true dick. Man, is this guy a fucking jerk. Heh. Love to hate him. He basically kidnaps a young peasant lady to be his live-in tart-in-training while holding the lives of her father and boyfriend over her head.
There is a plague lingering outside his castle as well.
So that's not good.
Plus... all the while you have this mysterious red-hooded dude lurking about (kind of ala "The Seventh Seal").
There's…
I love Vincent Price in short bursts, but an entire movie is a bit too much for me. Beautifully costumed, well staged. But it often seems just that, staged like a play. Gets a bit slow sometimes.
Vincent Price is one of those reasons that makes me watch a certain movie. And when you have also Corman at his best and two great Poe stories as an inspiration, the results are even more memorable.
A very well shot movie that flows very much like a theater play. But you have to love old style performances to really enjoy it.
Film #19 of August 2017 Scavenger Hunt
Task #27: Watch a film featured on Elvira's Movie Macabre
Vincent Price is amazing. When he's not on screen, this movie suffers since few other characters are as compelling as him, and those that are suffer a critical lack of screentime. Nonetheless, it's visually very cool.
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