Masque of the Red Death

The "doors" in the movie open into small rooms that represent stages in life.

I have to say – I did not like this movie as much as I had hoped to. I looked up the E.A. Poe story on Spark Notes and found that the heart of the story is an allegory about “life, death, and the powerlessness of humans to evade the grip of death.” Furthermore, the fact that Prospero is a prince shows that there is no amount of money or arrogance that can fend off death. (www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section 10.rhtml). I think the story is great, but the grating screaming laughter, the cow towing to Prospero by his guests, and the child with the woman’s voice was just too irritating for me - not very antagonizing, just annoying. I wondered why the little person came to the “child’s” room – that was creepy. I usually like anything Vincent Price is in, and he was excellent in this film, but I just couldn’t get past the guest’s hysterical screaming, which reminded me of characters from an Ingmar Bergman movie – ugh!

I did like the color saturation and the interesting wide-angle shot from the top of the steps down into the castle’s main room. That shot was distorted on the edges (not really sure what to call that) and gave a spooky feel to the movie. Of course, I loved Vincent Price. I saw an interview with him on British TV where he says that he is a huge Anglophile, so it’s easy to see how he could embrace a British aristocratic demeanor. The look on his face (spoiler alert) when he reveals the face under the mask as his own, is perfect. His expression says more than any words could convey. When I think of Poe and movies, I think of Price.