A Máscara Maldita

Yes, I have to agree that this is really not a great film. However, as the previous reviewer has commented, it is worth watching at least once for the 3-D sequences, which were done by the famous Slavko Vorkapitch. The premise is actually a great use of the 3-D medium. Whenever the main character puts on the haunted mask, that is the cue for the audience to put their 3-D glasses (Which were in the form of a "Mystic Mask" when I saw this in it's original theatrical release in 1961!). He then has these wild 3-D dream sequences, which are definitely the ONLY good part of the film. In order for this to work in ANY movie theater the 3-D sequences are in the anaglyph format, which uses the red and green glasses, and does not require a special projection lens or silver screen. The film is otherwise black and white, except for the 3-D sequences, which use the red and green encoding to create monochromatic 3-D. It should be noted, however, that this process does not translate very well to video. The 3-D effect may be significantly reduced or not work well at all, depending upon the monitor, color settings, etc. Probably the laserdisc version of this will have the best 3-D effects.

... I don't know if that's correct, but I liked it. Paul Stevens stars as a psychiatrist who feels guilt after a patient dies. The now-dead man worked in antiquities and had recently acquired a mysterious mask that he claimed had sinister mystical attributes. The patient had mailed the mask to the doctor, who decides to try it on, only to discover that his patient was right. Also featuring Claudette Nevins, Bill Walker, Anne Collings, Martin Lavut, Leo Leyden, and Norman Ettinger.

When originally released, audience members were given 3D glasses in the shape of small masks, and they were prompted to don them whenever the mask is worn onscreen. They were treated to nightmarish sequences in 3D. These are the best parts of the film, featuring foggy ruins filled with corpse-like people, masked killers, and human sacrifice. The rest of the movie is rather unmemorable, but the nightmares/hallucinations caused by the mask make this a worth-see for horror enthusiasts. The version I watched had the 3D sequences intact, and luckily I had some old cardboard 3D glasses laying around.

This silly, stagy, slow moving horror film is probably still the best 3D movie ever made. Once you wait through the bland story, and the call comes to "Put On The Mask"; it becomes another film. These 3D sequences are the best, freakest ever put on film, and they transfer to TV remarkably well in the Elvira edition. If you have any taste for oddities at all, this is a must.

This early 60's horror film is one of the slowest moving ones ever. The film begins with an awesome title sequence...some flickering abstract lines, mixed with some deliciously eerie music. Following that (and before the story actually starts), we have one of the most dreadfully boring narrators ever in the history of film, explaining to us what a mask is, and that when the characters in the film put on the mask of the title, we are to do the same with our 3-D specs.

The story itself is a bore, painfully written and with some ludicrous, laughable acting (my favorite was the grumpy landlady). The 3-D sequences are something else entirely from the rest of this film. You'd think they came from a different movie. They are moody, eerie, well thought out and put together. Some of the in-your-face effects still don't work well (even in a theatre) but they are hokey good fun. However, once the non-stereo scenes come back on...they are redundant and increasingly annoying. Still, this is a cult classic by any standards, and you can't help but love it. Understandably, it has quite a following.

The 1961 THE MASK is about a psychiatrist who is given an ancient Aztec or Mayan mask by a patient who has just died. The doctor feels compelled to put the mask on, and has horrific visions of the walking dead, sacrificial altars and weird chambers with plenty of fire to boot. Sort of like Orpheus in the underworld. It was shot in 3D, and I can tell you from first-hand knowledge how absolutely terrifying this movie was when I saw it on its initial release. I was 11 at the time. Loud, electronic music made it even harder to sit through. It was Canada's first shot at a horror film and is almost, dare I say, a work of art for the set pieces the doctor experiences each time he wears the mask. The movie, which could just as easily have been a stage play, holds up very well, at least in the 3D segments. The rest is simply filler. Remade many years later with Jim Carrey, but with a decidedly different approach.