The Masque of the Red Death — The Masque of the Red Death(Blu Ray)

The Masque of the Red Death was the second to last of Roger Corman’s 1960’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. It once again featured Vincent Price in its lead role, and I think it’s fair to say it was the grandest, most triply creepy, and chillingly effective of the sequence of films- as well as a stone-cold gothic horror classic. Here from Studiocanal is a new reissue of this masterpiece- taking in an extended version of the film, which reinstates several censored scenes that were cut from the original release & a wonderful lush new 4k scan, as well as some great new extras. The release is available as a Blu-Ray, DVD, or digital release- I’m reviewing the Blu-Ray version.

The Masque of the Red Death appeared in 1964, following on from the previous six Corman Poe adaptation House of Usher (1960), The Pit and The Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963), The Haunted Palace (1963). The film is based on the 1842 short story of the same name- which focuses in on arrogant & cruelly pompous Prince Prospero- who is hauled up in a grand castle with a large crowd of other nobles hiding from the Red Death that is spreading across the land. Prospero holds a masquerade ball to amuse/ entertain his guests in seven colour rooms of the abbey. Each of the first six rooms is decorated and illuminated in a specific colour: blue, purple, green, orange, white, and violet. The last room is decorated in black and is illuminated by a scarlet light, "a deep blood colour" cast from its stained glass windows. Because of this chilling pairing of colours, very few guests are brave enough to venture into the seventh room. Fitting the original story Corman versions features a large supporting cast (villages & nobleman), wonderful set design and a trippy-yet-gothic cinematic realization.

In the lead as Prince Prospero is, of course, Vincent Price, and here he is at the height of his powers- both in broodingly menacing power, sadistically cruelty, and wordily elegance.  He’s surrounded by a great supporting cast taking in Hazel Court as innocent-punchy villager Juliana whose taken into the castle, Patrick Magee as the sleazy & creepy nobleman Alfredo, and dancing little person couple- Esmeralda (Verina Greenlaw) and Hop Toad(Skip Martin).  The set design & costumes are wonderfully realized- going from the uber-creepy figure in red that opens the film, turning a white rose red. Onto grandly ornate castle ballroom, it’s occupants, and of course the series of six different coloured rooms- which purvey such a feeling of unease and subtle surreality. Unlike some of the Corman/ Poe films- the story flows, and feeling building tension is perfect- all of the film series had always been high in both chilling atmospherics & creepy campiness- but here there are some truly bone-chilling/ memorable builds & reveals. All making The Masque of the Red Death a true horror masterpiece.

Moving onto this new release of the film- and first off the 4k print is wonderful lush & plush, with both the vivid & creepy colourings, and gothic stylings shining in their glory. On the extras front, we get a good classy selection of stuff. First off we get a new commentary track featuring respected genre commentator Kim Newman and writer/ director Sean Hogan(The Devils Business & Little Deaths)- the track is a wonderfully animated & chatty affair. They begin by talking about the films European arthouse & gothic horror touches, moving on to talk about why the film was shot in the Uk, and how Corman brought in British acting talent. Moving on they discuss Nicolas Roeg’s wonderful cinematography & the use of windscreen. They talk about the original short story the film was based on and elements that were added in for the film. Later they discuss the censored scenes, and much more- all told a most worthy & enjoyable track. Next, we get a ten-minute onscreen interview with Professor Keith Johnston, where he discusses the films colouring, different versions, and how the film was censored- this interesting enough, though a little dry & scholarly. We get BFI archive interview between Kim Newman & Roger Corman- this is from 2015, and was most worthy- as it focuses in on Corman’s love of gothic horror & the films he made in this sub-genre. Corman as always comes across both thoughtful, intelligent, yet never pompous & Newman poses some great questions.  Lastly, on the disc, there is behind the scenes gallery- though the finished version of the release comes with inlay booklet & art cards, but I can’t comment on these as we were reviewing a screener disc.

All in all, this is a great presentation of a classic slice of gothic horror, with a truly splendid 4k scan, and a good selection of highly worthy extras. Even if you already have a previous edition of The Masque of the Red Death, you'll still really need to pick this up. Because Studiocanal have done a stellar job here- certainly making it one of the early highlights of 2021.