The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

The 1960’s brought us a plethora of Edgar Allen Poe stories that were adapted for the screen. Behind these was the “King of the B’s” Roger Corman, who brought audiences Poe titles like The Fall of the House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Raven (1963) and, of course, The Masque of the Red Death. The Masque of the Red Death is arguable the best of Corman’s Poe adaptations. It is an ambitions film, featuring lavish sets, period costumes, Bacchanalian indulgences and a strong performance by the prince of horror himself, Vincent Price. Though the film takes a few liberties with Poe’s original story, namely adding some Satanism to the mix, it remains fairly faithful to the short story and certainly stands heads above other Corman films.

Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) is a wicked ruler, leaving the peasants to die from a strange plague called the Red Death that is sweeping the land while he and his noble friends wall themselves up in his castle. They ignore the outside world and indulge in every kind of debauchery available while breaking all the seven deadly sins of greed, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy, pride and even wrath. Prince Prospero is a Satan worshipper, though, and enjoys watching the corruption of his guests. He is baffled by peasant Francesca’s (Jane Asher) steadfast faith, and is determined to corrupt her pure spirit. Meanwhile, the Red Death creeps closer and closer to the castle, and no amount of brick and mortar or weapons can keep Death away.

The Masque of the Red Death is one of my favorite Poe stories, and Corman’s film is like watching it come alive. The stunning visuals and vibrant colors are all captured in the film. I especially liked the set design and how the different colored rooms in Prospero’s castle were presented. The contrast of light and dark is well represented within the visuals of the film; even the order of the rooms goes from bright to dark to bright to dark again. The good vs. evil theme was supported by the color schemes, including the fact that Francesca wore white in her first appearance of the castle and Prospero’s garb was always dark.

Besides the obvious color symbolism, the medieval and gothic visuals are striking. This is one of Corman’s most colorful films, and the large palette used seems decadent and sinful in itself! The bright, bold interiors of the castle are quite a contrast to the bleak peasant village and fog-shrouded countryside. The theme of class struggle within the film can be seen not only in the actions of the nobles, but also in the gaudy colors they parade around in. Of course, all, both peasant and noble, are made equal by the Red Death! This is another theme the film explores. It doesn’t matter what you believe or how much money you have because no one escapes death.

Moving on from the abundant themes found within the film, I must say that Vincent Price’s performance as the cruel Prince Prospero is a joy to watch! He is absolutely perfect as the villain, even forcing his guests to behave like animals at one point!! He does everything for his own amusement and entertainment and his lavish, non-stop ball is just a means for him to further corrupt his guests. His cold, detached demeanor makes you shiver in anticipation, but his maliciousness makes you want to keep watching what he’ll do next! On the contrary (because the film is all about contrasts), the peasant Francesca, played marvelously by Jane Asher, does things for others instead of herself. She basically sacrifices herself to save her father and the man she loves from Prince Prospero, all the while infuriating and fascinating Prospero with her acts of love and kindness.

In a film all about juxtaposing good vs. evil, it’s odd to note that though Prospero is obviously evil, Price gives him a charming subtext that is almost irresistible. No matter how evil we see him as, we can’t help but want to know more about him. It’s hard to say if this is because of how the character is written or because of how Price played him, but this temptation to follow Prospero remains.

Overall, The Masque of the Red Death is probably the best adaptation to date of the Edgar Allen Poe story. It stays faithful enough to the story but holds the audience’s interest by adding a satanic subplot to the proceedings. It also explores the sharp contrasts between good and evil through use of symbolic use of colors, costumes, sets and other visuals. The Masque of the Red Death is Corman at the top of his game during his “Poe” period, and I encourage anyone who is a fan of the “King of the B’s” or Vincent Price to check out this lavish production!

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Last Man on Earth (1964)

With the impending I Am Legend film starring Will Smith looming close on the cinematic horizon, I felt it necessary to go back and watch other films that were based on Richard Matheson’s legendary book. My first pick was Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price.

Last Man on Earth is a bleak and desolate picture shot in black and white that George Romero himself has claimed to having inspired Night of the Living Dead. Its hopeless atmosphere coupled with Price’s strong performance has made it a cult favorite even though it was quickly dismissed at the time of its release in 1964.

Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) wakes up day after day to the same monotonous and lonely routine. Each day he wakes up is just “another day to live through,” according to him. He is all alone in a post-apocalyptic world. Everyday he drives through debris-filled, utterly lifeless streets, looking for supplies to sustain him and dumping corpses into The Pit. You see, three years ago a plague infected the entire human population, turning them all into vampires. Everyone, that is, except for Morgan (he is immune because of a run-in with a vampire bat). Now he spends his days fortifying his home, driving the empty streets for useful supplies and dumping dead bodies of vampires into a fire pit. The days may be Morgan’s, but the nights belong to the creatures of the night. When night descends, Morgan must be safe inside his house or risk being torn to bits by the shuffling and zombie-like vampires!

The film stays fairly true to the book, but it lacks the sense of dread that pervades Matheson’s story. Matheson initially adapted the script from his own book, but the producer handed it off to William Leicester to beef up. Matheson was furious at this development and very unhappy with the way Leicester adapted it. He insisted his name be pulled off the credits, replacing it with pseudonym Logan Swanson. If you’ve read Matheson’s book, it does feel like something is off and not quite right about the script. Though the script stays fairly true to the events in the book, there is a certain sense of isolation and horror that appears to be missing.

One thing that isn’t missing or lacking is Vincent Price’s performance. Price captures the heartbreak, hopelessness, longing and loneliness of the last man on earth in a very subdued, but no less affecting, manner. He tones down his usually hammy performance to give us one of his best performances ever.

From watching Last Man on Earth, it becomes pretty obvious that it was, in fact, one of Romero’s influences for Night of the Living Dead (as was Matheson’s book). Both were filmed in black and white (though color stock was widely available at the time) and feature an austere and grim look, both visually and philosophically. They share a very similar tone, but Last Man on Earth just lacked a certain something.

Also, the infected undead in Last Man on Earth, with their slow, shambling walk and hunger for the kill, act more like zombies than bloodsuckers. Still, they can’t stand garlic, sunlight or mirrors and only a stake through the heart will kill them. Every night they attack the house where Morgan lives, yelling at him to “Come out!” but they don’t have the brains to break in. While these nightly ghouls aren’t very scary in our day and age, they purposely aren’t the most horrifying thing in the film. The most terrifying thing is being the “last man on earth,” an outsider, a minority and all alone. There are so many different levels to that particular fear and so much social commentary that could be found in this film…

Yet, I just couldn’t bring myself to really like this film. My main complaint was with the pacing. Though you cared a great deal about what happened to Dr. Morgan, there was far too much time spent on flashbacks of his (and the world’s) past. The focus should have been on the terror at hand as opposed to what happened in the past or explaining how the plague occurred. These flashbacks bog down the film and make its already slow/subtle pace even more meandering. The ending, where we discover the fate of the last man on earth, almost makes up for pace. Almost, but not quite. I’ll be very interested to see how they end the new I Am Legend film…

Last Man on Earth is a close adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, but it fails to capture the complete spectrum of desperation, loneliness and hopelessness that the novel horrifies the viewer with. Still, it’s definitely worth a look for Vincent Price’s excellent performance, the desolate world it portrays and its deeper outlook on humanity.

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Witchfinder General (1968)

Known as one of the best British horror films, Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm) was recently re-released stateside by MGM on DVD. Though I don’t think it lives up to the title as one of the best British horror films, it certainly showcases the evil, cruel and sadistic nature of man during England’s infamous witch trials.

In civil-war torn England circa 1645, Cromwell’s Roundheads are fighting against King Charles’ royalist troops. The land is in upheaval, full of lawlessness, distrust, religious persecution and superstition. It is in this unpredictable atmosphere that Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), otherwise known as the Witchfinder General, travels from town to town along with his assistant Stearne (Robert Russell). The two men obtain confessions from accused “witches” (usually just unpopular townsfolk) by viciously torturing them. Hopkins and Stearne do this for money, but also for the pleasure of watching others’ displeasure. If they cannot obtain a confession by torture alone, the two perform “tests” (such as seeing if the accused will float or sink in water) to prove they are the Devil’s servants.

Meanwhile, a young soldier named Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) is planning on marrying Sarah (Hilary Dwyer), niece to a Catholic priest (Rupert Davies) in quaint Brandeston. On a short leave from duty, he visits the two and receives the uncle’s blessing for the marriage. He happily takes his leave to go back to his post, but unbeknownst to him he gives directions to the Witchfinder General, who is on his way to Brandeston to condemn the Catholic priest!

After gathering the mob who accused the unpopular priest (he is Catholic while most of the townsfolk are Protestant) of working for the Devil, Hopkins and his assistant invade the priest’s home and brutally beat and stab him. Sarah pretends to be but a lowly servant girl and offers herself to Hopkins to save her uncle’s life. The torture stops, but the priest is thrown in prison to rot. When Hopkins’ bloodthirsty assistant learns of the “understanding” between the Witchfinder and Sarah, he violently rapes her. After Hopkins finds out about this, he wants nothing more to do with her and the torture of the priest reconvenes. The priest is eventually hung, leaving Sarah distraught and dishonored.

Richard soon discovers what has occurred and hoofs it back to Brandeston. There, he and Sarah have an impromptu wedding before he sets out to track down the Witchfinder General for revenge!

There is no question that Witchfinder General is full of sadism and brutality. Its depictions of unjust and unfair witch trials are appalling and extremely hard to watch, especially if you keep in mind that these things actually happened. Still, despite its cult status as one of the best British horror films ever made, it still has several flaws that dampened my enjoyment of this film.

The pacing is probably the number one problem, and the film feels like it starts and stops, starts and stops one too many times. Scenes seem to drag on and on as the film meanders to its maddening end. There are several instances that I was overwhelmed with boredom and just wished the film would get on with it already! The script (based on a book by Ronald Bassett and written by Tom Baker) should have been considerably tightened up to flow more smoothly and tell the story better.

Witchfinder General is not all bad, though. Fans of British horror films will probably eat it right up. It also features great acting, especially by the usually (marvelously) over-the-top Vincent Price, who puts on a very subtle and cruel performance as the Witchfinder General. The rest of the cast does a marvelous job as well, including Ian Ogilvy as the heroic Richard, Hilary Dwyer as a strong but very frightened Sarah and of course Robert Russell as the reprehensible and sadistic Stearne.

Another positive of the film is the unabashed cruelty portrayed. The film looks unflinchingly at the horrors experienced by accused witches and, to this day, it’s quite hard to watch. The ludicrous tests for witchcraft (including the sink or float theory mentioned above), along with the vicious torture of the accused all culminated in hanging, being burned at the stake, or some other unthinkable act. This film really explores the evils people are capable of inflicting on their fellow human beings, which, in the realistic setting of witch trials, is truly terrifying.

Also worth mentioning is that this was director Michael Reeves last picture before his drug overdose (a reputed suicide) at age 26. He had only made two films before Witchfinder (The She-Beast with Barbara Steele and The Sorcerers with Boris Karloff). It was reported that he had some fantastical arguments with Vincent Price while shooting the picture!

Witchfinder General may not be the best British horror movie ever, but if you are a big fan of British horror films or a witch trial history buff it will definitely deliver. As for the rest of us, a rental will probably suffice to view Price’s sadistic portrayal and the brutal (and all too real) torture of innocents.

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