425. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Running Time: 88 minutes
Directed By: Roger Corman
Written By: Charles Beaumont, R. Wright Campbell, from stories The Masque of the Red Death and Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
Main Cast: Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Nigel Green
Click here to view the trailer

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A MAN NAMED PRICE

Well I was hoping that the old expression, "third time's the charm" would work for me today, as I set out to tackle my third movie of the day and hopefully dig my way out of the slump that I've been in. Unfortunately, "The Masque of the Red Death" wasn't quite what the doctor ordered.

Our man of the hour (or 88 minutes) this time around is Vincent Price, as he's cast as Prince Prospero, a devil worshiping, evil dictator who rules with an iron fist over the people of his village. Prospero lives in a glorious castle and comes out to mock and torture the villagers from time to time. One evening, a man dressed in all red tells one of the villagers that their day of deliverance is at hand. When Prospero is told this, he scoffs at the thought - that is, until he discovers evidence that a plague called the Red Death may be spreading throughout his land. Taking three hostages with him, Francesca (Asher), her father and her lover, Prospero returns to his kingdom and locks the Red Death outside the castle doors, promising his followers inside refuge from the vicious plague. While locked inside, Prospero orders that a masquerade to be held, with the only rule being that no one wear red. The film forges on, as the climax builds toward the masquerade and the impending doom of the Red Death lurking outside the castle doors. There are also several subplots, including Prospero's mistress Juliana and her satanic marriage to the Devil himself.

There's actually kind of a good news/bad news situation here. The bad news is that, ultimately I didn't much care for "The Masque of the Red Death". The good news, however, is that I did enjoy everything that the book cites as reason for this film's inclusion. The book doesn't cite the plot (which is horrible) as reason for inclusion, but rather uses Price himself, Hazel Court and the cinematography (by Nicolas Roeg) as reasons for the picture being included in the text. I had, believe it or not, never seen a Vincent Price film, prior to this one and I was quite excited to finally, actually watch Price act in a film. I think the closest I'd ever gotten to a Vincent Price movie was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, in which Price does a voice over. It was finally time for me to see the man behind that maniacal laugh and I have to admit, he was a true heel. As far as the rest of the cast goes, the beautiful Hazel Court flashes plenty of cleavage to keep the viewer occupied and plays a very wicked female character, who can't help but to succumb to the prowess of "The Fallen Angel".

SPOILER ALERT!

The visual imagery is quite stellar, as the film uses nearly every color of the rainbow to pop the viewer's eyes, nearly out of their sockets. The rooms that Prospero has in his castle, consisting of a yellow, purple, white and black room are beautiful set pieces and the grand ballroom, where the masquerade is held, is yet another gorgeous piece of imagery. During the grand ball, all the colors of the rainbow mingle, as the Red Death (decked out in red from head to toe) prances through the middle, sticking out like a sore thumb. There's also a little subplot involving the dwarf Hop-Frog and the drastic measures that he takes to get revenge on Alfredo, one of Prospero's lackeys - convincing him to dress up in an ape suit for the masquerade and then tying him to a chandelier, dousing him with brandy and setting him up in flames.

With all of that praise being showered upon this film, I really can't, in good conscience, give this film a nod of approval. I realize that this is pretty much a B-horror movie and isn't really meant to be taken too seriously. But as far as I'm concerned, both A and B movies get treated the same on this blog and "The Masque of the Red Death" was really a drag. Nothing really happens and the whole film is obviously a vehicle to adapt a Poe story and showcase Price at his devilish best. Once inside the castle, there's a ridiculous little subplot involving Francesca and her being held captive, at times forced to choose whether her father or lover will be the one "sacrificed". Usually though, she walks with Prospero and they quarrel over the existence of God and the power of the dark side. Had they put a little more effort into the plot and fleshed out CERTAIN characters a bit more, this could've been a piece of horror gold. I'll leave it at that...

RATING: 4.5/10 I know that seems low for all of the good that I said was within this film, but trust me, this film isn't even average. Man, talk about a slump!

MOVIES WATCHED: 369
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 632

December 15, 2011 1:06am