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...

Book of the Week: Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup

First off, I'm really excited that it's finally October. That means I'm going to do my absolute best to have a post ready for you guys every day this month. That being said, I've also noticed that sometimes I tend to lean too much towards horror cinema, and not enough towards print (if you don't count the vintage comics.)

But there are a lot of really awesome Horror books out there, both fiction and non-fiction. So today, I'd like to tell you about one of the best nonfiction horror works I've read. "Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup", by Tom Weaver. Yes, it is a mouthful to say the whole title, but it's really worth reading if you have any interest in classic low-budget horror.

The interviews themselves are incredible, giving you an incite into several brilliantly cheesy films that unfortunately we wouldn't be able to have otherwise, because a lot of them tended to leave their out-takes and extra footage on the cutting room floor. I particularly loved the interview with a selection of people who had the good fortune of working with Roger Corman before he became officially famous.

The interviews are in-depth, and entertaining. Honestly, it's like reading real conversations. A lot of times, I have difficulty getting through biographies or nonfiction works, because there's a fine line between fact-telling and bland. This is a perfect companion with a B movie marathon, and a lot of the films mentioned in this book are actually on Netflix instant watch right now.

If you manage to find this book, don't pass it up. If you find it and decide to read it, don't pass up the Mel Welles interview. Some of you may remember him better as Mr. Mushnik...the one that's not in the musical...

Oh! And the great interview about The Creature From the Black Lagoon...I could go on for ages. Just read the book...