Masks

The Style and the atmosphere brings us back to the 70s. The equipment and the color selection of the rooms show a perfectly chosen dark picture of the events. The tension is kept high all the time. And there are really a few shocking moments in this movie which makes it an unforgettable experience for all horror fans. And to all the people who watched Suspiria in 2018 I just can recommened this german Horror jewel as it´s really very well made.

In the last decade and a half, or so, many aspiring and nostalgic-minded directors attempted to revive the glorious Italian Giallo genre from the 70s and early 80s. Even though several of them are admirable efforts ("The Editor", "Francesca", "Abracadabra", ...) none of them truly captured the true spirit of old-fashioned Gialli. Heck, even the master himself - Dario Argento - didn't succeed anymore with his two final attempts "Giallo" and "Dark Glasses". For quite a long while into "Masks", however, I had high hopes that it would become a terrific and genuine throwback. Writer/director Andreas Marschall eventually does lose his grip on the plot and stylish trademarks, unfortunately, but the film remains worth discovering.

"Masks" definitely ticks a few mandatory and quintessential boxes. The plot is delightfully twisted and complex (and clearly inspired by "Suspiria"), the setting is theatrical, the atmosphere is effectively unsettling, there's (gratuitous) nudity, and the murder sequences are sadist and very gore. The first thing to catch anyone's attention is the authentically nightmarish DVD start-menu, what with its grisly images of a human eye nervously moving around behind a stoic and spooky mask.

The story takes place in a dubious acting academy near Berlin, where after numerous unsuccessful and downright embarrassing auditions, the aspiring twenty-something actress Stella is happy to finally get accepted somewhere. The institute has a very questionable reputation and history, though. The founder Mattheusz Gdula invented a groundbreaking new acting method during the 70s, but many of the contemporary students also died under mysterious circumstances. The acting method is still being practiced, although in the forbidden parts of the school building and for a small selection of students, and there's a vicious killer roaming around to make sure the Gdula legacy remains a well-kept secret.

Andreas Marschall, who also made the more than competent "Tears of Kali", clearly did his homework and studied all the elite trademarks of the finest 70s Gialli. "Masks" is full of nail-bitingly tense moments during which our heroine wanders around dark and ominous corridors while she's being watched, the use of spooky scenery (notably the titular masks) is excellent, and the violent kills are well-spread. The film is at least 20 minutes too long, though, and the third act feels dragging and tedious. There also isn't much mystery regarding the identity of the killer, in my opinion, and the climax should have been a bit more spectacular.

As a huge Giallo fanatic I was so excited to have finally tracked down a bluray of this movie. I came in with hopes high as I've heard it basically Suspiria in an acting school. It started out promising with two back to back gruesome kills but then the plot just dragged and meandered. The editing and pacing was atrocious and not in a fun way like Argento's films. There was zero character development so you didn't care of anybody lived or die. The movie feels very low budget and has that cheap direct-to-video early 2000's horror movie look. This DOES not look or feel like anything like the classic giallos of 70s. And for a movie called MASKS, the killer doesn't even wear a mask (wtf!) but the murder weapon is pretty cool. The ending is a little shocking but when it finally comes around you've probably stopped caring.

This movie clocks in at just short of forever, or at least that's what it feels like watching it. It desperately wants to be Argento's Suspiria (and as noted, does a better job remaking Suspiria than Guadagnino ever did), right down to the music, but it doesn't really work very well, for a number of reasons.

The first and foremost is that none of the characters are remotely likeable or sympathetic, making it very hard to become invested in anything they do. In Suspiria, the characters were often simple, but they were immediately comprehensible and often sympathetic. If you didn't like them, their actions at least could make some sense, even if you weren't aware of the subtler motivations that would only come into play near to the end of the movie. With Masks, most every character is suspect and very unlikeable. Plenty of characters only appear to be extremely hard to like, and there are so many unpleasant characters that they all start to run together very quickly.

Additionally, there's no real buildup of suspense at all. Violence occurs with no real reason behind it, and we don't even know the characters well enough to be invested in them. It's just a vignette around violence, and it doesn't add anything to the story. The setting is weird and unpleasant, but it's also stupid and meaningless.

Ultimately, the whole film is pointless. It could have been ten minutes long and accomplished the same thing. In fact, it probably would have been better, because then the threadbare premise wouldn't have been stretched out so thin. There were some decent ideas in there, but none ended up done well. The acting, whether you know German or not, is very questionable and uneven, which doesn't help matters.

The sets and costumes were good. The makeup and style were generally good. There was also a lot of really engaging photography. The music, though derivative of Goblin's classic soundtrack, is well done and just distinctly different enough to work.

But the rest of the production really lets all of the good down. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: just a bunch of unpleasant people does not make for good horror. There was exactly one line, where the main character lost her temper close to the beginning, where someone got exactly what he deserved, but that was it. It would have been much more interesting and enjoyable if it had actually explored the character developing more, which it really didn't do.

All in all, it's not a movie I can recommend. It may be a better take on Suspiria than the pathetic excuse for a remake that deserves to be forgotten, but that doesn't make it really a good movie. They tried, but as with many films these days, especially homages, they would have done better to keep it brief and do a short film instead...and only then develop it if there's enough material to do so.

Note: 9.5 if I could rate it that This film hits every single mark of the giallo genre and gives a true homage to the genre. This film feels like if Argento was still around and created a new film. First the synopsis is what you would expect for a giallo it's nothing too crazy but as an analogy it does what Suspiria did for dance that this film does for theatre. The film follows an actress who is trying to become famous on stage and soon begins to fall into a cult like group. That's as deep as I'll go to avoid spoilers. I also want to mention what this film succeeds and fails at. First the atmosphere gives off a true 70s vibe and perfects the depth and feel of a classic giallo. Next this film has a beautiful tone that feels surreal, artsy and whimsical but still extremely dark all at the same time. The cinematography is also some of the best I've ever seen it's shot almost like a continuing music video, which is good in this case, and it also doesn't cut away or censor any of the violence portrayed. Next the gore is amazing, it's very effective and used wisely with nice pacing. I would also like to mention this is the best acting I've ever seen for a micro budget film, even though i don't speak German the emotions show through spectacularly. Finally the film leads in an unexpected way, no spoilers. The film does have a few things I don't like. First it has dutch angles more frequently than I would like, but it's barely noticeable due to how engrossing the film is. The only other thing is some character decisions don't make sense and there is a lack of character development outside of the lead, I get it's a horror film but being almost 2 hours long I was a bit surprised. I would recommend this for horror fans who go in with an open mind and don't have the film spoiled for them. I would also recommend it for hardcore giallo fans. Though for an average film viewer it might not be you're cup of tea and at times the film is a bit of an acquired taste. The other thing that a lot of people mention is that the film seems to be style over substance, but I would disagree and say there are underlying themes and I've read many different opinions on what this films message is, for some, if any. If you do decide to check it out it can be more than a bit difficult to track down in person since it got an extremely limited release in the U.S. at only 3000 copies, but amazon still has copies left at around 18 dollars each and they contain the blu ray, DVD, soundtrack and booklet all to accompany the film which is a steal at that price. Overall check this film out its well worth the time in my opinion.