The Masque of the Red Death (1964) by Roger Corman

Director: Roger Corman

Year: 1964

Country: United Kingdom/USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Deciding to visit the countryside towns, an Italian prince throws his annual masquerade ball to overlook his burning a village down and forget the plague ravaging the area, only when the party guests start dying, he is forced to come face-to-face with his own personal demons.

Review:

This one has several built-in pluses working for it being another of the Price/Corman/Poe films. Among the best parts here is that this one continues what occurs in most of the other efforts, as it features some great location work. As most of the time is spent with the characters exploring the Gothic, cob-webbed, labyrinthine castle, it builds up suspense marvelously through several fun and highly enjoyable scenes. The first trip through the castle, as the character is exploring it for the first time, creates a sense of dread as the build-up to an unexpected moment is clearly within reach, with the small jump at the end a nice topper.

The fact that a large portion of the film is built around his treatment and obsession with the girl works well with the different manners he goes about trying to win her approval through his cruel treatments, making for some fun times here, and are given a lot of room to work with the setting in that particular castle. The beautifully constructed story is, as usual, based on one of Poe's tales, and it keeps the movie rolling along nicely as a fast-paced film from this time, which is quite nice, and it stays close to the story as well.

As well, there is plenty to like about this one's main facet with the party scenes. The dagger sequence is as brilliant a display of suspense as ever, and a later dream sequence is also a masterful highlight, capturing a striking mood. The last plus here is the film's biggest asset, in that it ages a lot better than the others in the series due to its high production values, beautiful-looking scenery, and the occasional shock jump here and there. Of course, all of this is useless without the wonderful as ever Price leading the way with one of the greatest performances ever. He truly is magical to behold, and this one is no exception.

There's really only one complaint about the film, which is quite dependent on many viewers' own issues. This is the fact that the much-rumored party sequence is so late in the movie that it can seem like an eternity to get there. Yes, it does move along at a fast enough clip, but it happens so late in the film that it can seem like forever before it happens. It is worth the wait, however, but sometimes it feels like it should've happened earlier. One relatively minor complaint, though, isn't enough to deter this from one of the better Corman/Price/Poe films around.

Overview: *****/5

The best of the Corman/Price/Poe series, this is a standout Gothic horror effort that hits the mark on just about every mark and emerges as one of the finest efforts from the period overall. This was an appreciation for this era of the genre, who are fans of the other entries in the franchise or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.