The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)

A film that remains, arguably, the high point of Roger Corman's career, The Masque Of The Red Death is a fine adaptation of material by Edgar Allan Poe. Vincent Price gives another fantastic turn in the lead role, the supporting cast all do great work, and the whole thing has a style and mix of the fantastical with the genuinely horrifying that should please most horror fans.

Europe is plagued by the "Red Death" and nobody is safe from it. Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) is a cruel man who is determined to keep himself healthy and alive, and so decides to throw a ball for invited guests at his death-free castle. He believes that his home is a refuge from the plague, although it is not a refuge that he is willing to share with everyone. Will everyone stay safe? Even young Francesca (Jane Asher), a young woman taken by Prospero from a local village for his amusement?

Dripping with gorgeous little touches in almost every scene, and chock full of great lines of dialogue (with Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell being the men responsible for the script), this is a treat from start to finish for anyone allowing themselves to relax and soak up the whole experience. It's atmospheric, often quite bizarre, and all anchored by that rich Price performance.

While the leading man is the main attraction, in terms of the cast, he's not the only one doing a sterling job. Asher does well in her scenes, a sweet and innocent individual stuck in a terrible situation, and Hazel Court is mesmerising as the wicked woman, Juliana, who wants to be by Prospero's side. Patrick Magee as the selfish Alfredo (who ends up involved in the most memorable scene in the film). David Weston is the least interesting of the main characters, as Gino, but he's easy to root for as he sets out to rescue the lovely Francesca from Prospero's castle.

Although most horror fans are aware of, and praise, the Roger Corman movies that were developed from the works of Poe, it's still quite a pleasant surprise to revisit his earlier works and see just how different that output was compared to the many b-movies and creature features he has lent his name to in recent years.

It's a great shame that Corman transformed himself over the years, from a canny artist who had great business savvy into a businessman who buried any art in the quest to provide audiences with simple pleasures, but it's hard to criticise a man too much who has provided me with movies as enjoyable as this one before also, in his capacity as producer, providing me with schlock as enjoyable as Sharktopus.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Masque-Red-Death-Amazon-com-Exclusive/dp/B00A43NUY6/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398997367&sr=1-2&keywords=the+masque+of+the+red+death

Don't forget, every copy of my book sold gets a few pounds in my pocket, and gets you a good read (if I say so myself).

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)

A solid, if unspectacular, Hammer movie, The Man Who Could Cheat Death feels, in many ways, like a forerunner to the far superior Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde. There's the lead character who turns out to be a bit of a dabbling scientist, a potentially disastrous romance, and a bit of biological tinkering that leads to the death of numerous innocent women.

Anton Diffring plays the titular character. He also happens to be a celebrated artist, and travels around quite a lot. This is due to the fact that he's managed to stay surprisingly youthful for far longer than the laws of nature would dictate. He has help from Dr. Ludwig Weiss (Arnold Marle), but the main plan for the upcoming procedure needed to rejuvenate him involves Dr. Pierre Gerard (Christopher Lee). And if Dr. Gerrard doesn't play along then maybe the innocent Janine Du Bois (Hazel Court) can be used to persuade him.

Written by Jimmy Sangster, based on a play by Barré Lyndon, and directed by Terence Fisher, this is an enjoyable chiller with some great character interactions and one or two fine set-pieces. Unfortunately, it just doesn't do enough to make it memorable, even though it's not actually a BAD film.

Diffring is fine, but fans will always wonder what Peter Cushing (the first choice) would have done with the role, especially acting opposite Christopher Lee once more. And Lee is very good, in a non-villainous role. Marle is very enjoyable, and gets to deliver some great dialogue, while Court is suitably lovely. Francis De Wolff plays Inspector Legris, a man who sense that something is very wrong, but can't quite place his finger on the unbelievable truth.

It's unfair, perhaps, to say that having Cushing in the lead role would have been enough to elevate the whole movie, but it's also something that I can't quite stop considering. This is a film built around a few central characters discussing morality and mortality, and few actors could deliver any such lines better than Cushing.
As it is, The Man Who Could Cheat Death is still watchable. It's just not anything great.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Could-Cheat-Death-Skull-Blu-ray/dp/B004W6JJXC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393854644&sr=8-2&keywords=the+man+who+could+cheat+death

The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

Okay, before the review starts let me just ask you one question, based on a supporting performer in the movie.

Tell the truth now, is this not the best "direct look to camera" that you've ever seen?

I think it is, hence its inclusion here.

But let's get to the entire movie.

The first proper Hammer horror that set the template for many movies to come (the Technicolour horror, the updating of the Universal classics taken mainly from literary forerunners, the greatness of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, etc), this also remains one of their best movies.

It's a pretty familiar tale, with enough changes made for everything to feel fresh and exciting. Peter Cushing plays the obsessed scientist and it's not long before one small success in the ongoing battle against Mr G. Reaper sees our protagonist getting quite obsessed with actually creating life and playing god. His long-time companion, and former tutor Paul (Robert Urquhart) tries to keep things from getting out of control but Hammer fans will already know how things will unfold.

Directed by Terence Fisher, and written by Jimmy Sangster, The Curse Of Frankenstein has plenty going for it. The pacing is perfect, the character of Victor Frankenstein is brilliantly portrayed by Cushing and it's easy to quietly root for him even as his methods become more and more unhinged, Urquhart makes for a decent friend/voice of reason and the script and cinematography are both well above-average for something that people could easily dismiss (both then AND now) as pulp genre fare.

Hazel Court is lovely enough as Elizabeth, though she doesn't get all that much to do, but Christopher Lee is a bit of a disappointment as the creature. Not his fault really, it's just hard to top that original design and performance with Boris Karloff in the role. Hell, even De Niro didn't manage it so Lee shouldn't feel too badly as he certainly doesn't embarrass himself either. It's also fun to see a young Melvyn Hayes (probably best known to UK TV viewers from his role in It Ain't Half Hot Mum) in the role of young Victor and Valerie Gaunt is great as a housemaid who dares to threaten the baron when she realises that she will never be more than his secret mistress.

A great success when first released, this movie deserves to be seen and enjoyed by fans for many, many years to come and deserves all of the adoration it has received over the years.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curse-Frankenstein-Blu-ray-DVD/dp/B008LU8MME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350081696&sr=8-1