Killer Mask

Even though I didn't get a review up yesterday, thanks to a headache I had most of the day, I did manage to get a post up at least. To my surprise, After Dark is going for a new set of 8 Films To Die For already. They should be out around the same time as they were this year. Hopefully they will be in at least a few more cities this time around. I managed to get in as press for After Dark this year, to my utter surprise. My plan is to make a post for each film that will be part of the new Horrorfest, and then update that post as new information, pictures, or even trailers, as they make their way out. This post is for the film I watched today though, Death Mask (1998), another film in my quest for 9 Linnea Quigley films. She is actually in this a lot, which was nice.

This film opens in an odd way. We see Angel (Linnea Quigley) in the shower, with someone knocking on her window. It is cut with scenes of people getting killed, and I had a feeling these were scenes we would see again. Wilbur (James Best) works at a carnival getting people to see the masks that he has created over the years. He tells people that they were collected from all over the world, but the truth is, he made each of them. His attraction isn't very popular though, which leads Guido (John Nutten) to tell Wilbur to turn it around or he will be gone. Wilbur sees his masks as art, but knows that people don't really want to see the pain that he puts into them. Since he was scarred by his father when he was a young boy, he has lived with people making fun of him all his life. Angel has a soft spot for Wilbur, and doesn't mind his scars (which really don't look as bad as everyone in the film tries to make you believe that they are). Angel decides to take Wilbur to an old woman that lives in the swamp, believing that she can help Wilbur. Zaranda (Brigitte Hill) agrees to help Wilbur, after he explains he wants to create a mask of beauty. Wilbur wants this so much that he offers his life, and then his soul, in order to do so. Zaranda agrees to help, but also offers a warning as well. Wilbur makes his mask, but discovers that while it is a thing of beauty, it can also be a death mask.

I could tell that Death Mask was a low budget movie from the start, but it doesn't always have that low budget feel to it. I was surprised by the way the film starts off, since they basically give away most of the deaths right off the bat. Death Mask was written by James Best. Do you know that name? I didn't, and I didn't recognize the actor either. I didn't grow up watching The Dukes Of Hazzard, but I have managed to catch some of the repeats over the years. James Best played the part of Sheriff Rosco in that series. I didn't know this until after watching the movie, but it was something of a "no way" moment. The movie itself wasn't the best in the world as far as the plot goes, but it still has a charm about it. It is more about the characters, at least Wilbur and Angel, than it is the horror. While this is a little disappointing, it was also nice to have a character driven story at the same time. It was too bad that the deaths were given away so early in the film. I didn't know where in the film they would pop up again, but once you start to see where the death took place, it wasn't hard to figure out what was going to happen very soon.

Not a lot here as far as effects go. A little bit of blood here and there, but nothing major. A beheading is found, but it is quickly done so you really don't see all that much from it. The mask itself (that you can in the movie poster), is kind of cool looking. When Wilbur puts it on, we get some cheesy looking CGI effects that morphs the mask a little bit. Flames show up in the eyes of the mask, and this looked neat to me. I wish they had just left it at that, instead of including morphing effects. The acting turns out to be the best part of Death Mask. It was nice to see Linnea Quigley in more than just a cameo role for once. She wasn't the main character, but she at least was the main supporting character. Out of the five films I have now reviewed for this part of my challenge, this is the biggest role I've seen for Linnea. Her acting was actually hit and miss. There were some scenes I thought she was great in, and some that were not so great. James Best does a wonderful job though. Director Steve Latshaw says that Best ad-libbed a lot of what we see in the film. Not all of it made the cut though, but they did include some of it for the DVD. Another good performance came from Brigitte Hill.

I was hardly blown away by this film, but I enjoyed my time with it all the same. This is the only film that James Best has a writer's credit for, and it does show some at times. His acting makes up for it, but the other actors don't always cover it up so well. If it wasn't for showing the deaths right away, and Wilbur not being as ugly as everyone seems to think he is, this would have been a better film. I enjoyed it enough to give it a 3 star rating, but I see it as a low score this time around. I can see how people would be bored by this movie, with it not being high in horror. If you like good characters though, I would suggest giving this one a watch. It might just surprise you.
3 out of 5 Been known to wear a mask at times myself