One of the last films in Roger Corman’s Poe Cycle (1960-64), The Masque of Red Death is a wonderfully macabre film, and features some of the best uses of color I’ve seen in any horror film. The masquerade party at the end is perhaps its most memorable part, but everything building up to that is entertaining too thanks to Vincent Price’s performance as Prince Prospero. He is a complete tyrant, toying with the lives of others purely for his own pleasure. He does all of this without fear of consequence, which makes the ending all the more satisfying.

As mentioned, the colors in the film are incredible. Red is the most prominent of all. It not only embodies the titular character of death, but there are great bursts of it in many key scenes too. It’s often set against a dark background, making it even more visually striking. Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray, which is from a 4K restoration, handles this all beautifully. I’ve seen the film before, and this is by far the best the film as ever looked. The many colors of the film go hand in hand with the excellent set designs. My favorite being the four connecting rooms, each bathed entirely in one solid color. Besides the lavish rooms above, the dungeon below is also nicely designed. Torches lining the walls, cobwebs on every surface, and candles melted all the way down, all add to the film’s overall morbid atmosphere. I really enjoyed revisiting this film. I had forgotten how much religion played a part in its storyline, and much of its commentary is still very relevant today.

Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray includes both the theatrical, and extended versions of the movie, with the extended including a new commentary track from the always-knowledgeable pairing of Kim Newman, and Barry Forshaw. There’s also an interview with Roger Corman, as well as one with film historian Stephen Jones.

(I want to give a shout-out to Mike Flanagan’s series The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix). I Just finished watching the 2nd episode (The Masque of the Red Death), which features a a modern reimagining of Poe’s masquerade party, and it inspired me to watch this 1964 classic again.).

The Masque of Red Death is available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory