If I was living in the middle of a pandemic I guess I too would simply hide out in Vincent Price's gothic, psychedelic Satan cult castle for rich perverts. Prince Prospero is one of very best Poe performances that Corman and Price conceived of during their run together, primarily due to his almost perfect intersection of aristocratic egotistical elegance (never has a character blatantly loved flamboyant costume dress-up and goofy one-liners and scenery chewing as much as Price clearly did himself) and playfully icky sadism.

He is not as psychologically tortured or sympathetically guilt-ridden as other Poe protagonists, but simply a man who follows a basic misanthropic idea to its logical conclusion: that if God is dead and moral secular…

i regret to inform that here in 2018 AD we now have a famously germophobic ruler who in making a pact with evil has sealed off the border to those fleeing death whilst amusing himself with games of cruelty and moral corruption directed at his courtiers who laugh uproariously as the whole of the world dies around us and it is not remotely as awesome as i had been promised. i await a refund and would like to speak to your manager.

woe betide those who believe stolen wealth and sufficient walls can keep from them that which awaits us all!

((tfw u get married to satan, drop a bunch of acid, die a thousand deaths and finally come down…

"Why should you be afraid to die? Your soul has been dead for a long time."

I found this to be sadly beautiful. A superlative take on Edgar Allan Poe's short story. Price is at his peak, and this is arguably Corman's finest hour.

First off, all hail those evocative opening credits! I love the splash of red, and that's a cool effect with the rose. It immediately hints at the level of class this Corman production possesses as a whole. The tale has Prince Prospero dismissive of the provincial types of the village he oversees, which is now dealing with a plague known as the Red Death. He burns the location in an attempt to contain the sickness. Meanwhile,…

The Masque of the Red Death is considered by many to be the finest film in Roger Corman's Poe Anthology. Who am I to argue? The film is absolutely electric - a powerhouse performance from Vincent Price, beautiful Gothic visuals and a heavy plot with themes of class, death and religion. While the Red Death sweeps the land, the rich and prosperous look to tyranny to shield them from pestilence. Tyranny comes in the form of Prince Prospero whose sadistic court offers a safe haven to those he deems worthy. Everything in this film is lifted by a keen attention to detail - the vibrant colourful visuals depict disgusting decadence which shows off the dichotomy between the rich and the…