Stop me if you've heard this one. So there's this plague going around and killing everyone, and this rich ruler who lords over his people with a cruel hand shuts himself up in his castle so he can be safe while everyone else dies of the disease. Then he holds a huge party (because he's a jerk) and invites a bunch of other rich people to come celebrate at his castle. It's a masquerade ball, so everyone comes in costume, and one guest wears a lavish red costume with a skull mask because he's the "red death," the plague, get it? Then after partying all night the guests start feeling sick, and they corner the mysterious red clad stranger, and they rip off his mask, but surprise! It's just a skeleton, because the guest is ACTUALLY the red death, and now they're all going to die. Whoops.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote the original story, and since I was obsessed with his stories as a kid (still am, honestly) I read the story over and over. This movie adaptation, like most of the movies based on Poe's stories, takes a lot of artistic license and doesn't follow the story exactly, but it still sticks true to the idea that cruel people are going to get what they deserve, and riches can't protect people from death.
Vincent Price is really creepy in this movie. Growing up he was like a familiar old uncle who popped up in my favorite ghost movies and added an air of elegance. Then I grew up and watched movies like this one and "Witchfinder General" and realized he's good at being evil and cruel when he has to be. What a jerk. Seeing him humiliate people for his own entertainment really makes me hate the guy even more than I did reading the original story. It's odd watching this movie this year, with the whole Covid 19 showing what it's like to have an actual plague going around killing people. It makes the movie even more creepy for me.
This movie is really drawn out. I mean, there's not much story to sustain a two hour movie, so I get that they have to add some stuff to pad the running time, but does it have to be so boring? How many times do we need to see women wandering around the castle having things jump out at them and yell "boo"? Or watching people wander the countryside, or wander through boring dream sequences, just a lot of wandering going on here. I'm sorry, but we don't really care about the guards or rven the prisoners, so all the scenes featuring them just bore me to tears. No one is very likeable or sympathetic in this movie, so I spent most of the running time rolling my eyes and waiting for the masquerade ball scenes, since I know those will be the best part of the movie.
Seeing the evil ruler throw his jewels around and then laugh at the party guests who scramble to pick them up, is really mean-spirited, so that scene works, and seeing him shoot anyone he doesn't like, or set them on fire, or command his guards to do it underscores what a dick he is. Vincent Price gives a good performance, and that's what saves this movie, because I would probably have died of boredom otherwise. Overall, the ending is cool, and Vincent Price is fun to watch, but this movie can get drawn out and boring at times. Just don't expect too much from it and you might enjoy yourself
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