There is little doubt that Roger Corman's penultimate entry in his Edgar Allan Poe canon is one of the all time great horror films – incorporating a subplot from the Poe short story Hop-Frog though here the character is called ‘Hop-Toad’. Studiocanal is proud to present THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH in a stunning new 4K restoration, it is also an extended version of Corman’s 1964 classic!

The film really does have the edge of 'The Tomb of Ligeia' (made shortly afterward) although both films are an absolute must for any connoisseur of true vintage horror films or dark fantasies, as some would prefer to call them.
Set in Italy during medieval times we have a prologue in which an old peasant woman encounters a red-cloaked stranger shuffling tarot cards. The mysterious man hands the woman a white rose which then turns red with blood dripping from its petals…
Next we encounter Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) and his not so merry men as he rampages through a little village and is confronted by two male peasants over the fact that the villagers are starving while Prospero (a Satanist) and his ilk live in luxury and decadence in his nearby castle. Oh, there’s also the fact that one of his men nearly killed an infant when his horse trampled over it and although this may well have been an accident neither Prospero nor his horde display the slightest remorse. As the two villagers, Ludovico (Nigel Green) and Gino (David Weston) continue to hold Prospero to account for his tyranny Prospero informs his poor subjects of a banquet, with Gino adding “where we will be thrown the scraps”. In response for this insolence, the Prince immediately orders the two men to be garroted. Flame-haired young maid Francesca (Jane Asher) pleads for their lives and reveals that Ludovico is her father but Gino is her betrothed. Prospero is taken by the girl's innocent way (being himself totally corrupt) and showing mercy, a rare thing with him, offers her a deal: one of the men may live - not an easy choice. He is interrupted by a woman screaming nearby and discovers a beldame in a tent in the final pangs of the plague - like the 'Red Death'. Panic-stricken, Prospero decides to abduct Francesca, her father and Gino as they have not been in contact with the infected woman, then he orders the entire village to burned to the ground. Returning with his entourage of sycophants and his three prisoners to his castle he then gathers to quote Poe (“A thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court”) in the belief that they will be safe from the Red Death.

Of course his privileged and wealthy guests will all be subject to the Prince's twisted sense of humor, worthless as most of them are, they are left with little alternative. Among the guests is the totally corrupt nobleman Alfredo (Patrick Magee) who gets on the wrong side of his host after diminutive dancer Esmeralda (child actress Verina Greenlaw) inadvertently knocks Alfredo's wine goblet over amidst her 'party piece' and is rewarded by a slap across the face. For this insult crafty little Hop-Toad the dwarf (Skip Martin), who is also Esmeralda’s lover, plans and later enacts a grisly revenge – much to Prospero’s delight.
Among the permanent castle dwellers is the voluptuous Juliana (Hazel Court) who is Prospero’s mistress who wishes to become closer to Satan than he is. Her nose is obviously put out by the arrival of Francesca. Prospero's court is indeed a colorful one and the revels are only just beginning. You don't not to be much of a visionary to see what's coming. None of these people mean anything to him - he is a man without a soul. Soon he will force Francesca's father and lover into a terrifying game resulting in one of their deaths. Meanwhile, the rejected Juliana (who has been booted out of her chambers in favor of Francesca) decides to give herself entirely to the Lord of Darkness and these scenes were originally cut. Not that they are that controversial - not now or even then! In one scene she brands herself with an upside down crucifix and in another she is seen lying scantily clad on a sacrificial slab and visited by assorted demons during a dreamlike tinted imagery (hardly the stuff of nightmares). You can be sure, however, that she will not get the better of Prospero… The Prince decides on a magnificent masked ball and forbids any of the revelers to wear red but... Where there’s a prologue there’s also an epilogue but we won’t give that one away.

Vincent Price, who has the best lines, is totally in his element here and no more needs be said. Jane Asher, who was only 17 at the time, is remarkably mature in her portrayal of the chaste Francesca who is willing to give herself to Prospero if only he’ll let Gino live while Nigel Green’s part is a bit of a wasted one. The underrated Skip Martin provides wicked fun planning his cruel revenge on the unassuming Alfredo. Mention should be made of a strangely un-credited John Westbrook (rewarded with a featured part in 'The Tomb of Ligeia') who appears as the masked man aka The Red Death; arguably the best verse speaker in the country at the time: “Why do you call me Excellency? I have no title.” He, like Price, was around 6' 4" (needful for some scenes) and his beautifully enunciated tones seem to cut through Price's educated Southern. Nevertheless this is Vincent Price at his best - the fact that he could also be very funny always gave his work another dimension.
The Masque of the Red Death has such a tremendous amount going for it: Corman's favored star Price is supported by some of the creme de la creme of British character actors - a vast improvement on the lower budget American entries (why these films were made in the U.K. is explained by Corman in one of the insightful and generous bonus features). We also have a first rate cinematographer in Nicolas Roeg, an excellent script by author Charles Beaumont (with revisions by R. Wright-Campbell and Corman himself), a first rate score from jazz pianist David Lee and set and art direction by Corman favorite Daniel Haller, Colin Southcott and Robert Jones (the latter two both worked on the best British TV Series 'The Avengers'). Unlike the other Poe films this one actually takes a great deal from Poe's plotlines. A magnificent movie and it’s a great pity that Roger Corman stopped making such films!

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