Book of the Week: The Terrifying Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Okay, okay, of all the Poe collections...I bet you're wondering why I'm recommending this one in particular for the book of the week, and I'll keep it fairly simple. It's available free on Amazon Kindle, and it's most of the best ones. That, of course, would be: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter, and The Pit and the Pendulum.

Now, there are plenty of other amazing works by the man who I'd go so far as to say was the greatest American author of Gothic literature, not the least of which being 'The Raven', which don't find themselves in the confines of this digital (or paperback) book, but I do think these are an ideal start for a young reader making his or her first foray into spooky classic works. Each of them have found their way onto the silver screen in anthology and feature length incarnations for very good reasons. They're timeless. They're awesome. They're how you should be spending the evening tonight, and if you're an adult...perhaps with a nice glass of wine, though I'd say avoid the sherry. Then again, if it can't be helped, maybe try to obtain your own amontillado...some people aren't too generous with it.

Horror Flick of the Week: Masque of the Read Death (1964)

It's a tough go for me to say I like Roger Corman movies. I should, I mean...he's (arguably) the true king of low budget horror and even just low budget movies in general. His skills at creating a 'decent' film with relatively little money in an incredibly short amount of time are legendary. Thanks to him, many people got their launch in the industry. This all sounds great...but I've hardly seen many of his movies that left me astounded. I also read a pretty inflammatory book of interviews about him once which kind of put me off Corman for awhile. But I digress, because I'm not here to talk about his faults today. I'm here to mention one of my favorite Corman (and Price) films which itself stands as a pretty good example of the incredible movies he was capable of when he actually tried.

Some day Mister Corman will receive a very good post from me, but I don't want to spend all of this entry focusing on him. I want to focus on my flick of the week, 'Masque of the Red Death'. Loosely based on the Poe story of the same name, and I say loosely because the movie adds a thousand more details. Good ones, which managed to flesh out an otherwise decent but not outstanding Poe story.

I can't help but wonder if Corman went on a Bava binge before undertaking the explosion of color this film turned out to be. Everywhere you look, the lighting and the costumes match the setting just so. I really can't stress enough how absolutely stunning this picture was.

Everyone in this movie is at their best. Vincent Price. Hazel Court. Roger Corman himself, directing of course. I might even go so far as to say that I think this is his best movie. It also goes incredibly with a good bottle of red wine, to match the mood.

There is a lot of dialogue and presentation in the whole film, very minimal action. But when the action does take place, it is very gruesome. Especially Hazel's scene wherein she marries the devil and soon...'joins him in their nuptial rights'. Masque is a very good introduction piece before delving into a heavier cinematic work, like 'Kill Baby...Kill' or 'Black Sunday', both excellent...but very long movies.

In short, I highly recommend this 'Masque of the Red Death' for anybody who loves a good bit of color and period clothing...with a little bit of blood thrown in for good measure. But you can also take your pick of the other colors of death, if you like too...