The Masque Of The Red Death (1964) is probably Roger Corman’s most polished film, and certainly the best of the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations that he made with the iconic Vincent Price. It’s an amazingly designed film that is wonderfully photographed with Nicolas Roeg as the cinematographer. It makes one wish that more horror films were this beautiful.
After screenwriter Charles Beaumont fell ill R. Wright Campbell took over writing duties and thus created a singular cocktail that is parts macabre and parts social commentary. Few Corman films address social critique this pointedly; apart from The Intruder (1962). Price as Prince Prospero personifies all of the evils inherent in the despot construct. In many ways Prospero would be more at home in a Pasolini film than in an American International Production.
I am always surprised by how well the balletic elements of the masque sequence work; both as narrative metaphor and as a tension building device. The correlation of choreography, cinematography and set design makes this sequence something totally singular in horror films. One can see its influence all over Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999). I don’t think Corman ever equalled his technical achievements in directing The Masque Of The Red Death.
For the uninitiated, The Masque Of The Red Death is the place to start if one isn’t familiar with Vincent Price’s work in the horror genre. He’s never campy to the point of plasticity, balancing theatricality and menace pitch perfectly throughout the entire proceedings. Shout! Factory’s restoration does so much justice to the image that seeing this film on the old MGM DVD would practically be a sin.
