"The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal — the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores..."
Edgar Allan Poe - The Masque of the Red Death
In
Medieval Europe, the wretched nobleman Prince Prospero (Vincent Price)
is extracting his rent from the local villagers and takes affront to
insults from two men, ordering them to be killed he is stopped when the
young girl Francesca (Jane Asher) begs him to save their lives. With
the discovery of the red death in the village Prospero flees taking the
girl and two prisoners with him. Safely inside his castle, Prospero and
his assembled guests are safe from the ravaging plague and the prince
makes a move to corrupt the young girl, but Juliana (Hazel Court) is
jealous and goes to extreme lengths to prove that she is a more than
willing disciple of the devil...
AIP
were on to a winning formula with their horror films, Roger Corman's
strong direction, Edgar Allen Poe for inspiration and superb lead
performances from Vincent Price had lead to a number of popular titles
- but the producers had tried to change things a little to keep the
series varied and their all out comedy title Comedy of Terrors
(1964) had proven rather less sucessful than normal, so for the ninth
entry to the series, AIP returned to their classic formula - but in the
process created a very different film.
The writers, Charles Beaumont (who had proven himself with the previous entries Premature Burial (1962) and Haunted Palace
(1963)) and R. Wright Campbell (a Corman regular but working on his
first horror film) provide a solid script, as usual, taking inspiration
from Poe's text but
creating a new and original story around them that effectively
captures the atmosphere of the original work. A second Poe work also
makes an appearance in the form of Hop-Toad which is very closely
adapted and provides the film with a clever little subplot and a
disturbing set-piece. Quite unusually the rest of the film
is heavy in philosophy not horror with Prospero detailing his faith in
the power of Satan and the death of God. Most startling however is the
film's dramatic climax which instead of divulging into a mere massacre
becomes genuinely surreal and bizarre - a strong contrast to the rival
Hammer films from the same era which despite their fantasy settings
were particularly traditional in their linear formats - rarely even
using dream sequences.
The first of the series to be filmed in Britain, Masque of the Red Death took advantage of sets left over from the historical film Becket
(1964), filling them with a plentiful cast of extras to give the
production a uniquely opulent feel among the Poe works, the earlier
titles of which are noted for their tiny casts and oft-recycled sets.
Corman works away from his usual cameraman Floyd Crosby and instead
with Nicolas Roeg who certainly captures the atmosphere of the
earlier productions and helps to present the unreal atmosphere of the
film's climax in a way that hints at some of his well known future
works.
Vincent
Price is utterly masterful in the lead role, looking every bit
comfortable in his surroundings and 15th Century dress with what is
certainly one of his best performances. A minor horror star for a few
years following the sucess of Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein
(1957) the buxom Hazel Court gives a fine performance as a willing
disciple of the devil, while the young and rather more petite Jane
Asher plays an equally fine village girl kidnapped by the Prince - they
are both treated to some superb outfits throughtout the film. Being a
British helmed film, a variety of familiar faces crop up in the
supporting roles, including Nigel Green and Patrick Magee fresh off
their appearances in Zulu (1964).
Delving into the beautifully surreal at its climax and boasting an all round fine cast and splendid direction, Masque of the Red Death
is rightly hailed among the best of Corman's work and is certainly the
highlight of the AIP horror cycle. Highly recommended to fans
of Price, Corman and Poe it makes a great starting place to
explore the AIP series and is of interest to all fans of classic cinema.
In Brief
Anyone famous in it?
Vincent Price - One of the great icons of horror who got his start in the Universal Horror Tower of London (1939). Hazel Court - the British actress who also appeared in Corman's The Raven (1963) and Premature Burial (1962)
Directed by anyone interesting?
Roger
Corman - most famous for producing hundreds of low budget horror and
sci-fi films, he really made a name for himself early on with the AIP
gothic horrors starting with House of Usher (1960).
Is it scary?
Some effective atmosphere and a couple of jump shocks
Any gore?
Some blood in several scenes.
Any sex?
None.
Who is it for?
Highly recommended to all fans of Poe, Price and Corman and of interest to all classic film fans.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour. The
print quality is decent with good colours but the bitrate is quite low.
A couple of noticable but brief instances of print damage.
Audio
English language original mono sound. Notable crackling and hiss throughout. French dub track.
Subtitles
French and Spanish.
Extras
The disc includes:
Interview with Roger Corman about this film and the Poe cycle in general, lots of interesting information (18 minutes)
Original Cinema Trailer - very spolier-filled.
Availability
Only available in a double-bill pack with The Premature Burial DVD on a dual-sided disc. Part of the MGM Midnight Movies series.
Region
Region 1 (USA) - NTSC
Other regions?
A
British R2 release from Optimum, lacks the extra features - (note: an
earlier British disc from WB, still available in some places, is
in fullscreen). The print is the same as the US release.
Cuts?
The
print used is the US theatrical print which avoided the heavy cuts
required in the UK but does lack a brief dialogue scene that has been
seen in other prints. The print is English language.
Summary
A superb Poe adaptation with good acting and direction. The unexpected surreality gives it a unique edge. Highly recommended.
A solid if imperfect DVD transfer with an interesting interview piece.
