The Mask (1961 film) - Revision history

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‎Reviews: Added three more reviews to this 1961 film

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2016-12-01T05:17:28Z

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2016-12-01T04:49:27Z

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2016-12-01T04:43:43Z

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[[File:Mask 1961film.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Scene from ''The Mask (1961 film)''...]]

''The Mask'', AKA ''Eyes from Hell'', ''Eyes of Hell'', ''Face of Fire'', ''The Spooky Movie Show'' (1961)

==Summary==


"Look through the mask... if you can't take it... take it off!" A psychiatrist enters a dream world of horror when he experiments with an ancient Aztec mask sent to him by a patient.

==Details==

* Release Date: 1961
* Country/Language: Canada, English
* Genres/Technical: Horror, Thriller, Art/Experimental
* Runtime: 1 hr 23 min
* Starring: Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, Bill Walker
* Director: Julian Roffman (director), Slavko Vorkapich (dream sequences)
* Writer: Frank Taubes, Sandy Haver, and Franklin Delessert (script), Slavko Vorkapich (dream sequences)
* Producer/Production Co: Beaver-Champion Attractions, Taylor Roffman Productions
* View Trailer: ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJigBoo4DxY link])

==Ratings==
===[http://www.mpaa.org/film-ratings/ MPAA Ratings]===

* Rated: (not rated) (equivalent to a modern PG for mild Violence and Adult Content)

===Tentacle Ratings===
A rough [[Tentacle Ratings|measure]] of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
* Ss___ (One and a Half Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian)

Nothing overtly "Lovecraftian" to be found in this film, aside from the common pulp tropes of sinister ancient cults using mind-shattering magical artefacts; the bizarre and surreal dream sequences and the film's weird atmosphere and subject matter may strike some viewers as "Lovecraftian".

''Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.''

===Reviews===

Review Links:
* A.J. Snyder at Carpeting the World, ([http://carpetingtheworld.blogspot.com/2014/02/criminally-underrated-horror-mask-1961.html link]) - "As someone who has seen many movies that have tried to be 'Lovecraftian', with most falling very short of the mark, I must say ''The Mask'' actually nailed the existential lunacy of Lovecraft far better than many movies that actually were attempting such a thing...."

==Synopsis==

{{spoiler|
A psychiatrist enters a dream world of horror when he experiments with an ancient Aztec mask sent to him by a patient.
}}

==Notes==

===Comments, Trivia, Dedication===


===Associated Mythos Elements===
* TO DO
* setting: [[The Dreamlands]]
* artefact: Aztec mask

===Keeper Notes===


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mask, The}}
[[Category:Film:General]]
[[Category:Film:Film]]
[[Category:Film:Two-Tentacle Media]]
__NOTOC__

@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 Review Links:
 * "Brett H." at Oh the Horror! ([http://oh-the-horror.com/page.php?id=181 link]) - "Overall, the acting is decent for a low budget flick and the plot is once again adequate, albeit a bit drab in parts. Characters are fine, but the mask is the true star of the show, and it’s very worthy of such a title"
-* Richard Scheib at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (1/5 Stars) ([ link]) - "Outside of the crude trippiness of the 3D sequences, ''The Mask'' is dull. The film radiates an aura of cheapness and impoverishment. ...one that depicts a figurative journey inside the dreamscape of the doctor’s mind to grapple with the dark things that have been unleashed, which are seen in terms of crude Freudian dream symbolism."
+* Richard Scheib at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (1/5 Stars) ([http://www.moriareviews.com/horror/mask-1961.htm link]) - "Outside of the crude trippiness of the 3D sequences, ''The Mask'' is dull. The film radiates an aura of cheapness and impoverishment. ...one that depicts a figurative journey inside the dreamscape of the doctor’s mind to grapple with the dark things that have been unleashed, which are seen in terms of crude Freudian dream symbolism."
 * Brian Schuck at Films From Beyond the Time Barrier ([https://www.filmsfrombeyond.com/2011/04/put-mask-on-now.html link]) - "''The Mask'', made for around $250,000, does a damn good job of spooking the viewer with visions that seem like a mad blending of Salvador Dali, Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft."
 * A.J. Snyder at Carpeting the World, ([http://carpetingtheworld.blogspot.com/2014/02/criminally-underrated-horror-mask-1961.html link]) - "As someone who has seen many movies that have tried to be 'Lovecraftian', with most falling very short of the mark, I must say ''The Mask'' actually nailed the existential lunacy of Lovecraft far better than many movies that actually were attempting such a thing...."
-* Howard Thompson at The New York Times ([ link]) - "Unfortunately, even with Mr. Roffman's professional coating, the picture seems like another reprise of the old Jekyll-Hyde business, with the mask only a replacement of those foaming test tubes."
+* Howard Thompson at The New York Times ([https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/28/archives/screen-hidden-horrorsmask-in-3d-arrives-at-the-warner.html link]) - "Unfortunately, even with Mr. Roffman's professional coating, the picture seems like another reprise of the old Jekyll-Hyde business, with the mask only a replacement of those foaming test tubes."
 * Joseph A. Ziemba at Bleeding Skull ([http://bleedingskull.com/mask-the-1961/ link]) - "''The Mask'' is the greatest nervous breakdown I’ve (n)ever witnessed. If only my own nightmares could be this good."

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	===Comments, Trivia, Dedication===		===Comments, Trivia, Dedication===
	<!-- Optional; describe anything known or reported by experts about the origin of the story or inspiration for elements of it; list dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note -->		<!-- Optional; describe anything known or reported by experts about the origin of the story or inspiration for elements of it; list dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note -->
		+	* Compare to the contemporary films of [[William Castle]], which shared similar aesthetics and similar use of spectacular gimmicks; in the case of ''The Mask'', each film-goer was given a cardboard replica of the film's titular mask, with 3D glasses built into it, and was supposed to put the mask on when a mysterious voice in the film issued instructions....

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 * Release Date:  1961
 * Country/Language:  Canada, English
-* Genres/Technical:  Horror, Thriller, Art/Experimental
+* Genres/Technical:  Horror, Thriller, Art/Experimental, black-and-white with some 3-D dream sequences
 * Runtime:  1 hr 23 min
 * Starring:  Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, Bill Walker

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 ===Associated Mythos Elements===
 * TO DO
-* setting:  [[The Dreamlands]]
+* setting:  [[Dreamlands]]
 * artefact: Aztec mask