The black facts on Red Death

Roger Corman's "Masque of the Red Death" proved to be a devilishly delightful foray into atmospheric costume drama horror, circa 1964. Fascinatingly, the film is chock full of symbolism, motifs and subtexts that speak to the intelligence of its original author and the filmmakers who adapted Poe's tale. Here's what we learned based on last evening's discussion:

THIS FILM IS REPLETE WITH SYMBOLISM AND MOTIFS. CAN YOU CITE ANY EXAMPLES?

·       Man’s obsession with sex and death, as exemplified by Prospero’s affection for Juliana and Francesca, and his determination to keep the Red Death plague outside his castle walls

·       The color red, which also represents sex and death in the form of:

o   the two redheaded women

o   the white rose turned red (innocence, beauty and purity turned to dark passion)

o   the last of the suite of colored rooms, this one black but lit with a rich red light

o   the incarnation of the Red Death plague itself in the form of a mysterious figure clad in crimson

·       Man’s bestiality, hedonistic tendencies and animal instincts: consider the mentions of dogs and hounds; the man in the ape suit; Prospero commanding subjects to behave like a pig, worm, or other creature; the falcon that kills another bird.

·       Touching as an act of desecration: the white rose that is turned red; the menacing of the prone Juliana by weapons of torture; the bloody hands of the sick, terminal party guests clutching out for Prospero at the end during the dance of death sequence; the poisoned dagger sequence; the satanic cross branding; the falcon’s attack on Juliana

·       Freudian symbolism, as exemplified by the running of Francesca down an eerie corridor. In an interview, Corman said: The girl “must run down that corridor!” Corman explained with a laugh. ‘That is very symbolic and extremely important. To me, the corridor is, simply, a vagina. You must set up two things in the movement down the corridor; I think it is a child’s approach to sex, in which he knows there is something great and wonderful out there but that child has also been told by the parents, ‘That’s bad—don’t do that!’ So to recreate that feeling—because I think the sense of horror does have elements of sexuality within it—you go down the corridor, and the audience must be saying to the person—identifying with the person—‘Don’t take another step. Get out of there right now! Don’t open that door! At the same time, the audience must be saying, ‘Open the door. We must see what is behind that door!’ If you set that sequence up correctly, it never fails to generate an emotional response.”

·       Dichotomy—the contrasts between Francesca, symbolizing good, and Prospero evil; and vice versus virtue.

·       The ultimate theme of the film is not good vs. evil, however; it’s that death plays no favorites between the two—by the film’s conclusion, only six random survivors are left, and good and evil characters alike have perished.

HOW IS THIS FILM DIFFERENT OR SIMILAR TO OTHER OUTINGS IN THE CORMAN/POE CYCLE OF 8 FILMS?

·       All explore the repression of sexuality, the disintegration of personality, and the entry of an innocent character into a realm of decay and corruption, from which the innocent prevails.

·       Most include some eerie dream sequence.

·       It is the first to explore Satanism, and also one of the very first Hollywood films to dabble in this topic, preceded earlier by Val Lewton’s “The Black Cat,” and “The 7^th Victim”.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO ADAPTING A POE STORY TO CINEMA?

·       Poe’s tales are often introspective, moody, atmospheric stories that relay the inner thoughts and emotions of a character and lack action, realistic characters and dialogue.

·       They’re also often very short, lacking enough back story, character development and subplots to sustain a 90-minute or longer film.

·       One advantage to adapting Poe, however, which also attracted Corman: they are in the public domain and free to tinker with.

  

DOES THIS FILM REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHER MOVIES OR WORKS OF LITERATURE?

·       Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, which also features a dance of death and a mysterious figure of death that stalks the characters.

·       Poe’s short story “Hop-Frog,” a revenge tale about a dwarf that Corman chose to weave into this tale to pad out the story.

·       Witchfinder General, also starring Price, featuring an utterly evil, merciless torturer who has women burned at the stake for supposed witchcraft

·       The story “Torture of Hope” by Auguste Villiers de I’Isle-Adam, from which a sub-plot in Masque is taken.

OTHER FILMS IN THE POE CYCLE DIRECTED BY ROGER CORMAN

·       Fall of the House of Usher

·       The Pit and the Pendulum

·       The Premature Burial

·       Tales of Terror

·       The Raven

·       The Haunted Palace

·       The Tomb of Ligeia