There are several firsts associated with this obscure but stylish horror item: it was the first Canadian film to be widely distributed in America; it was the first product in the genre to emanate from the country (so, keeping David Cronenberg in mind, it has a lot to answer for); and, it was the only Canadian production ever to be (partly) shot in 3-D! Given the film's successful combination of art and exploitation, it should come as no real surprise, therefore, to find its director Julian Roffman later engaged as a producer on another notable Canadian horror film, THE PYX (1973) as well as the cheesy exploitation flick THE GLOVE (1979); interestingly enough, my twin brother and I also emerged with divergent opinions on this one but, judging by the final star rating, there can be no doubt as to who eventually won the argument
although, admittedly, his similarly less enthusiastic judgment of THE UNSEEN (1945) had just made me reconsider my own! Actually, this was my second stab at acquiring the film as my first attempt only provided me with a faulty copy. The plot deals with the deadly effect that an ancient burial mask has on whoever happens to don it – from the young disturbed kid being treated by his skeptical shrink at the start of the film (driven first to a homicidal fury and then suicide) and later on, the psychoanalyst himself who receives the mask itself in the mail (a last-minute gift from his former patient)! The film's real raison d'etre and true coup is the surrealistic externalization of the psychoanalyst's demented hallucinations in a reddish-hued Hades (in an otherwise monochrome film) peopled with eyeless arm-grabbing zombies, with the exception of one literally eye-popping specimen, that anticipate the look (complete with monastic attire) of 'the vampires' in THE OMEGA MAN (1971). Ostensibly, these 3-D nightmare sequences (preceded by the ominous off-screen "Put the mask on...now" command – obviously a cue for the audience to put their special glasses on – and underscored by jazzed-up music) were the brainchild of celebrated and multi-talented artist Slavko Vorkapich – best-known for co-directing (with Robert Florey) the avant-garde short THE LIFE OF 9413, A Hollywood EXTRA (1928) and devising the montage segments in Frank Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) – but, apparently, his ideas proved too ambitious for the low-budget afforded them and, consequently, they were (mostly) discarded
even if he is still given full credit for them in the film's opening titles.
Review of The Mask
