"Corman's classiest horror picture, probably the best one he ever made, arguably one of the best ones anyone ever made. The familiar Poe story of a group of corrupt 12th-century aristocrats hiding from the Plague in the castle of devil-worshiping Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) is enlivened by the inclusion of a number of powerful set-pieces, including a totally terrifying sequence when Prospero's mistress (Hazel Court, in her best performance) offers herself to Satan and is accepted. The film is helped immensely by the fantastic photography of Nicholas Roeg - who would emerge a few years later as a fine director in his own right with films like Performance and Don't Look Now - and a set of marvellous supporting performances by a cast of veteran English character actors. All the familiar Corman thematics are here: people groveling for money, pearls before swine, mankind seen at its worst. In addition, Corman leaves several intriguing questions unanswered, like the old man in the village who seems immune to the Red Death, and the climactic kiss between the corrupt Prince and the virginal peasant girl (Jane Asher). Not a big budget picture, but it looks terrific. In all, a fairly rich metaphysical exercise."