The Masque of the Red Death

Synopsis

A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

88
Chicago Reader
This is both beautiful and horrifying, with a fine sense of ambiguity and a wealth of subtleties.
80
The Dissolve
No stranger to sneaking left-wing politics into his genre films, Corman emphasizes the struggle between the callous haves and the suffering have-nots, while Price’s performance teases out the story’s seediest elements.
80
TV Guide Magazine
While Corman may veer dangerously close to pretention, his crisp staging and confident visual style keep the film from collapsing under its own weight.
80
Empire
Creepy Price in all his gnarled splendour.
80
The Observer (UK)
Marvellous, macabre horror story from Corman's Edgar Allan Poe series. Vincent Price is a diabolical delight, his 12th-century Italian tyrant Prince Prospero a worthy model for Machiavelli. [21 Feb 2004, p.53]
70
The New York Times
The film is vulgar, naive and highly amusing, and it is played with gusto by Mr. Price, Hazel Court and Jane Asher. As for Mr. Corman, he has let his imagination run riot upon a mobile decor singular for its primary color scheme. The result may be loud, but it looks like a real movie. On its level, it is astonishingly good.
70
Variety
Vincent Price is the very essence of evil, albeit charming when need be.
70
Time Out
Less polished than The Tomb of Ligeia, but still the best and most ambitious of Corman's Poe cycle.