Rare Flix: The Masque of Red Death (1991)

A Film so good that it never made it to DVD.  How many Films exist in this limbo at this point?  Is it just Elves and Faces of Death IV?  The 1991 Version of The Masque of Red Death must love to be in such elite company.  This is a strange one for me.  I looked around for it for awhile.  It's not like I expected much- it Stars Frank Stallone.  That said, you want what you can't have.  A little while back, I found a beautiful haven of Dead Format Media and this Film was in there.  The Film was mine, even if it was only on VHS.  Is it good?  The Plot alleges that it is based on Poe's Story, but, well, it's not.  It's about a rich guy hosting a Party and people dying, but it's not the same.  It's on the edge of being 'a reimagination' of the Story, but even that is being generous.  This is technically both '80s Trash and '90s Trash as it was made in 1989, but just not released fully until 1991- yea.  Can the 'Star Power' of Herbert Lom, Frank Stallone and Brenda Vaccaro make this work?  To find out, read on...

A young woman is driving to a Party in Bavaria to get pictures of a Celebrity- as you do.

Before she gets there, she stops and wanders into a Crypt, freaks out...and it was all a dream.  F--k you too, Movie.

In the actual Story, she goes undercover to said Party dressed *allegedly* as Cupid.

The Party is a pretty garish affair, with a mix of supposedly-fancy setting and actually-cheap clothes.  As a bonus, a bad '80s Band to keep everyone Wang Chunging tonight!

A note on the Screencaps: VHS Copy means that I had to mine Google for these.

She has to get inside the social circle of the Owner- Lom- and that means hanging out with Duke- Frank Stallone.

I bet she's wishing for death now!

Oh thank God, it's a Killer...I mean, Oh God, it's a killer!

This masked man starts his spree with...a Waiter, but eventually moves on to other people like Vaccaro.

Can a group of Characters that range from dull-to-very-dull solve the mystery before they all die?

Or will the killer- who is not The Plague- get the final laugh?

Well, yes and no.  Everyone but the Reporter dies and so does the killer.  The End.

A pretty generic Film that has been mostly lost to time.  Is it a big loss though?  The Film generally looks nice, giving you something other than a Cabin or a Dormitory as a Set for a Slasher Film.  The Film only looks cheap when you notice all of the little details.  There's also the fact that it looks outdated for 1991, since it was actually made in 1989.  They already had a set- used for a different Film-, so they just made another Film real fast.  The Story is pretty nonexistent, mostly consisting of random Subplots and Character Moments.  None of them really feel *that* impactful or exciting.  Do I care if the Reporter gets back with her ex-boyfriend?  Do I care if the Model gets respected?  Do I care if they all don't trust the Butler?  If the Story is pretty nothing, are the kills at least notable?  Kind of.  The first one is pretty bloody and there are *some* inspired moments there.  You just have to slog through the nothing Plot, so-so Pacing and bad '80s Music to get there.  Want me to really sum up how generic this is (setting aside)?  As our Final Girl leaves, she has to go past the skewered villain and she does so...very slowly.  Once she turns her face away, the killer's eyes pop open and grabs her...before dying.  That's just sad.  Speaking of sad, compare the so-so mask and outfit for our Killer to the one most commonly-used in big Stage Productions of 'Red Death'...

Next time, I finish off the works of a Director that I dealt with for a long time.  Will Seven be his lucky number?  Stay tuned...