''The Mask'' (re-released as ''Eyes of Hell'') is a 1961

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

produced in 3-D by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

It was directed by Julian Roffman, and stars Paul Stevens,

Claudette Nevins Claudette Nevins (née Weintraub; April 10, 1937 – February 20, 2020) was an American stage, film and television actress. Biography Claudette Nevins was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She was a daught ...

, and Bill Walker.

Plot

The story concerns a psychiatrist, Dr. Allen Barnes (Stevens), who obtains a mysterious ancient tribal mask after one of his patients (Radin) committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Whenever he puts on the mask, Barnes experiences dream-like visions which become increasingly disturbing and violent and even physically harming his girlfriend Pam (Nevins). The visions begin to alter Barnes' personality, and eventually drive him insane while Lt. Martin (Walker) questions those who knew him and the whereabouts of said mask.

Cast

* Paul Stevens as Doctor Allan Barnes *

as Pam Albright * Bill Walker as Lieutenant Martin * Anne Collings as Miss Goodrich *

Martin Lavut Martin Lavut (December 18, 1934 – January 26, 2016) was a Canadian filmmaker born in Montreal, Quebec. He wrote and directed numerous theatrical and television dramas, and documentary films. Among his dramas are the films '' Certain Practices'', ' ...

as Michael Radin * Leo Leyden as Doctor Soames

Reception and legacy

Production

''The Mask'' was the first Canadian film to be marketed extensively in the United States since the age of silent film, with its use of 3D being heavily promoted.

Release

The film was released in the United States on October 28, 1961. Specially made

3D glasses Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

marketed as "Magic Mystic Masks" (as pictured above), were given to audience members and prompts would be shown on screen for the start of each sequence that utilized 3D.

Home media

''The Mask'' was released for the first time on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on September 30, 2008, by Cheesy Flicks. In 2015, the film was restored by

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

and copyright holders 3-D Film Archive for theatrical and 3-D

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

/DVD release from

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

Critical reception

''The Mask'' received mixed to negative response from critics upon its initial release. Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commended the film's acting, and cinematography, but criticized the film's nightmare sequences, soundtrack, and melodramatic plot. '' Time Out'' panned the film, referring to it as 'a bland and hackneyed murder mystery that was spiced up by surreal nightmare sequences' and "tacky" use of 3D. Brad Wheeler of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' gave the film one out of four stars, offering similar criticism towards its use of 3D and plot, stating that its appeal was "limited to genre fetishists and popcorn-chomping ironists". Some critics, however, were more favorable on the film. Chris Coffel of

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

felt thatin spite of the films thin storyits psychedelic visuals, make-up effects, and set pieces made it an enjoyable

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

in the vein of

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

. The film has since gained a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

over the years and is now considered a cult classic. In 2021, the film was announced to be featured in an upcoming episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''.Mystery Science Theater 3000 Reveals Season 13 Movies, Collider
/ref> This episode eventually aired in both 2D and 3D formats on October 28, 2022, the 61st anniversary of the film's theatrical release.

References

Sources

Books

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Websites and periodicals

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mask (1961), The 1960s avant-garde and experimental films 1960s 3D films 1961 films 1961 horror films Canadian 3D films English-language Canadian films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Louis Applebaum Films shot in Toronto Canadian supernatural horror films Surrealist films Warner Bros. films Films directed by Julian Roffman 1960s Canadian films