Synopsis

After returning from Africa horribly disfigured by a tribal ritual, Sir Edward Markham is hidden and chained in his brother Julian's estate. When Edward is seemingly buried alive, grave robbers recover his coffin and set him free. Concealing his face behind a red mask, he begins a violent campaign of revenge while Julian and others struggle to uncover the truth behind his curse.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film takes its title from Edgar Allan Poe's 1844 short story "The Oblong Box," but the story's plot is unrelated to the movie. The production instead combines Poe-associated motifs such as premature burial and masked figures with an original revenge narrative.

• The project was originally developed with Michael Reeves, who had recently made *Witchfinder General*. Reeves became ill during pre-production, and Gordon Hessler took over before filming was completed. Christopher Wicking contributed additional dialogue.

• Screenwriter Lawrence Huntington died on November 29, 1968, only days after production began.

• This was the first film to place Vincent Price and Christopher Lee together in starring roles, a pairing later remembered as one of the notable meetings of classic horror cinema.

• American International Pictures released the film in the United States on June 11, 1969. Its German release, under the title *Im Todesgriff der roten Maske*, followed on February 6, 1970.

• The film's relationship to Poe was used prominently in its marketing, even though the connection is primarily thematic and titular rather than an adaptation of the short story itself.

• Home-video editions have varied in length. Earlier VHS versions were cut, while later releases restored footage including material involving the murders, a garden conversation, and a brief scene featuring Dr. Neuhartt.