Retinopathy of Prematurity Movie Reviews

Masque of the Red Death...this was one of Roger Corman's more lavish AIP productions. This one benefited from more money, accessibility to great scenery, and a great location. As with most of Corman's Poe movies, there is a good amount that's speculated from Poe's original story, as they were usually pretty short, at least not enough material to fill out a hour and a half movie. Vincent Price plays Prince Prospero, a satanic nobleman with a penchant for cruelty, especially with regards to the peasants within his realm. On discovering that the red death has been found within the small village he oversees, he orders it to be burnt to the ground. He then also invites the local nobility to his castle for protection against the red death, and they proceed to envelope themselves in depravity and much debauchery. Watch for some great performances by Patrick Magee as Alfredo, Hazel Court as Juliana and Jane Asher as Francesca. The dream sequence with Juliana was really done well, similar to the dream sequence with Ray Milland in Premature Burial. Ultimately, the carrier of the red death comes to the castle during a masquerade, and Prospero assumes it's his unholy master, but soon learns otherwise. There is a side story, one with a peasant girl, Francesca, played by Jane Asher. Prince Prospero spares her when he has her village destroyed, and seems to be intrigued by her innocence, her purity and his need to corrupt her to gain favor with his master. A great production, and a great performance by Vincent Price. One part I found especially creepy was that little girl that they made to appear as a little woman through makeup and such. And then dubbing in an adult's voice when she spoke...The one problem I did have with this movie was it was almost too lavish. In particular, Prince Prospero has a number of rooms linked together, and each is painted a different color, a somewhat gaudy color. And it's not just the room, but all the furnishings in the room are the same color. One room is an ugly yellow, and then through the door is another room is exacly the same, yet purple and so on...the last room was black, and was supposed to be his sort of satanic temple. But I digress...this was a fairly small bone for me to pick on, but I think Trading Spaces would have had a field day with this place.

And on the flipside we get Premature Burial. Apparently, Roger Corman had some kind of minor falling out with AIP, and decided to make this movie without AIP. He approached Pathe, which did color for the movies, and they showed interest in backing Corman on this movie, as they wanted to get into film distribution. Well, things moved on from there, and the cast was set, and then AIP bought Pathe, making it a AIP production in the end. The only reason I mention this is because Ray Milland, not Vincent Price stars in this movie. Vincent Price had been under contact with AIP, so when Roger Corman wanted to cast the movie, he was unable to get Vincent as the star. Some say the movie suffers from this, but I disagree. I think Vincent Price was an amazing actor, but I really enjoyed Ray Milland in the lead role. Ray plays Guy Carrell, a man obsessed with being buried alive. In the basement of his manor, there are tombs where his family members are interred. When he was young, his father passed away, but Guy thinks his father wasn't really dead, and claims to have heard him trying to escape. Apparently his father had a disease that could present the appearance of death, even when the person wasn't really dead. Guy's fear of being buried alive stems from this. His fear is so great he builds a crypt, complete with numerous escape routes should he ever suffer the same fate. His thoughts of death and being buried alive consume him, and so his relationship with his new wife suffers. Hazel Court plays Emily, his wife, and she thinks he's suffering from a sickness of the mind, his being so pre-occupied with the subject and she tries to get help from the family physician. She finally convinces Guy to destroy his crypt and try to live a normal life. I have to say, I thought his crypt was pretty cool, and he seemed to have thought of everything. It kind of reminded me of those bomb shelters people built in the 50's in case of nuclear attack. Anyhow, Guy has an attack, brought on by trying to prove his father didn't die as he thought, and goes into a comatose death-like state and his worst fear comes to reality, that of being buried alive! He manages to escape, and learns of plans by others to hasten his demise and begins to set things right. A pretty decent entry, although I saw the ending coming from about halfway into the movie. An red herring was offered to us in who was responsible for the odd goings on, the little things intended to fuel his fears, but it was presented in such a way it was so obvious that it couldn't be true. That was probably my biggest problem with this movie, and I tried not to give anything away in illustrating it. The dream/nightmare sequence was quite good, and filmed very similar to the dream sequence in Masque of the Red Death. I guess if something works, stick with it. I really enjoyed Ray Milland in this movie, a man ruled by his obsession with premature burial. Was this a common problem back in the day? There was rationalization presented to support his fear, but I guess most everyone has to fear something, although premature burial is pretty low on my list.

Vincent Price is in great form as the evil Prince Prospero holding sway in his castle while the Red Death ravages the countryside in this 1964 classic. He has his pick of who joins him there and who perishes in the plague. Joining him in his depraved revelries and satanic practices is his Lady---Julianna (the luscious Hazel Court) who may be wearing out her tenure. Prospero has forced an innocent village girl (Jane Asher) to join him in hopes of converting her to satanism and instructs a resentful Julianna to groom her. He has also imprisoned the girl's lover and father in his torture dungeon. Prospero is planning a huge masked ball to celebrate his "triumph" over the Red Death and has assembled his most faithful gluttonous followers in the castle. But Death is not so easily tricked. Probably the most famous of AIP's Price/Corman/Poe adaptations is notable for the great Nicolas Roeg photography and the brilliant use of color throughout as well as a couple of nods to Ingmar Bergman. Outstanding script by Charles Beaumont and R.Wright Campbell make this one of the most literate horror films from the Poe cycle as well. A MUST see for any horror buff. Also included is 1962's "The Premature Burial" which is sorely lacking Price (in the role played by Ray Milland) as a man obsessed with being buried alive. He has built a specially equipped crypt designed to prevent this from happening. Lavishly mounted, with Hazel Court as his duplicitous fiancee, "Burial" looks good and benefits from foggy sets and the haunting tune "Waltzing Matilda" sung by gravediggers but I found myself wishing Price had the lead instead of Milland. But whatever, I enjoyed it anyway. Great looking DVD package of two AIP/Arkoff/Nicholson treats and a must for fans of the great 60's Poe cycle.

Two great films for the price of one!

Masque of the Red Death, another in the Corman-Poe-Price series from American International, is considered by many to be among the best of the series. Great sets, vivid color, creepy story - in short, all the elements are in play here. The DVD features a very clean print and a bonus documentary with the fascinating Roger Corman. Well worth the price MGM is charging, you should also pick up "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Pit and the Pendulum," just some of the other AIP films available through this series.

Premature Burial, a Ray Milland vehicle directed by Corman, is about a man who is terrified to be buried alive. It isn't great, but solid nontheless, and eminently viewable, with the same gothic atmosphere that won't disappoint fans of the Poe series. There is a Corman documentary for this one, too. If you like Milland, look for "X - The Man with the X-ray Eyes", "The Thing with Two Heads", "Frogs", and "The Attic".