FILM REVIEW: Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Dir: Roger Corman

US, 1964

We defy you to stare into this face

When I heard of Roger Corman’s passing, like many I wanted to revisit my favorite films either directed or produced by the legend, and I wanted to catch up on his many classics I had yet to see. I figured I would dive into his Edgar Alan Poe series since I had, shockingly, not seen any film from the classic collection. I have been a deep fan of Poe’s work since first discovering The Tell Tale Heart in my eighth grade English class. The screen adaptations of the classic gothic tales have long been on my watchlist, but due to the ever growing problem of media over-saturation, never got around to them. That changed when I picked up a copy of 1964’s Masque of the Red Death at my local video store. The story had become a favorite of mine since when I attended mortuary school, where we had to read, analyze, and attempt to explain its metaphors of death.

Masque is by many regarded as the artistic pinnacle of Corman’s Poe flicks and it’s easy to imagine why. Vincent Price gives the performance of a lifetime. Displaying Prince Prospero in a multilayered and nuanced vision. He is evil, despicable, and heinous, yet at times showing moral dilemmas, restraint, and the slightest sliver of humanity hiding underneath the madness. Price is often quoted as stating that the “best horror acting borders on comedy”. In any other actor’s hands, the character would be ridiculous, but Price’s scene chewing and exaggerated mannerisms are played so convincingly and with such devotion, they help him to stand even with the film’s otherworldly absurdism. 

Masque of the Red Death for the most part is closely adapted from the homonymous 1842 short story (with some references to 1849’s Hop Frog as well). Liberties are of course taken to expand the story into a 90 minute movie. Scenes, plotlines, and characters are either more fleshed out or added completely. The most notable addition to the film would be the discovery that Prince Prospero is a Satanist, which does add a fun angle to his often pessimistic and nihilistic dialogue, as well as the pseudo-love triangle our three leads find themselves in. I won’t get into the meaning of the Red Death or possible allegories such as the inevitability of death, that’s been done many times before (like right here)! 

Watching the Red Death stalk through the castle’s colorful rooms most definitely requires high definition. The movie is utterly beautiful in its aesthetics. The technicolor pops of color are borderline shocking at times, especially when we enter the several colored rooms in Prospero’s lair. Scream Factory’s blu-ray release has a vibrant and crisp image quality. I truly think watching Masque in a poor visual form would hinder one’s viewing enjoyment. Plenty of exciting extras per usual including an introduction that made it feel like I was seeing a special theatrical screening, which is always fun.

If you are new to either Corman or Poe’s work, this is certainly a great jumping off point. A great blend of the old and new, blending classic cinema’s love for the extravagance with a truly modern feeling of sinister and cynical bitterness.