“The Masque of the Red Death” is a 1964 horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. The story unfolds in medieval Italy, a time of the Spanish Inquistion, where an evil haughty prince named Prospero terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry. He uses his castle as a refuge against the “Red Death” plague that stalks the land. The nobility, including Prospero himself, indulge in debauchery while the villagers suffer. The screenplay, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s 1842 short story of the same name, delves into themes of nobility, decadence, and the struggle between good and evil¹³. As the nobles gather around her body, Prospero comments that his consort, Juliana, is now married to Satan, the lord of the flies. Outside the castle, the remaining villagers beg Prospero for sanctuary, but he orders them to go away, leaving them to their fate¹. The film captures the dark atmosphere of a time when true Christianity did not exist, and secrets unfold within the castle walls.

In the role of a martyr – Vincent Price

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 2024-08-20
(1) The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film) – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_the_Red_Death_%281964_film%29.
(2) The Masque of the Red Death (1964) – IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058333/.
(3) Masque of the Red Death (1989) – IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097844/.