Masquerade

Boris is a quack prestidigitator whose premonitions suddenly begin to come true. One of the first of these kinds of stories possibly, but often immitated since. Reminicent of a One Step Beyond story. Worth a look though.

This 1961 installment of the Boris Karloff-hosted hour-long TV anthology series, "Thriller", is one of the best of the lot. Starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Tom Poston (along with a creepy John Carradine), "Masquerade" is delightfully "tongue-in-cheek" from start to finish. With a great, great twist ending too!Liz and Tom are stranded in a severe rain storm, and stop by the nearest residence for shelter. Too bad -- for them that is. Because this "residence" is occupied by some rather odd inhabitants (Carradine and family).This plot has a very familiar ring. It's the same storyline that exists in the feature film "The Old Dark House", the outstanding 1932 horror classic. But in "Masquerade", the "horror" is heavily tinged with humor (mostly humor in fact -- but still a little scary around the edges at times). A nice blend of scary images and humor make this episode quite fun to see.The very first thing you'll notice as this episode begins is something that is distinctly familiar to nearly all horror movie fans -- that being the house that was used as the location for this "Thriller" program. It's none other than Norman Bates' homestead from the film "Psycho" (which was released just 16 months prior to the airing of this TV episode)! It *does* seem rather strange (IMO) for this by-now highly-recognizable "Psycho" house to be shown in a TV episode.With lightning illuminating the house and thunder crashing during the heavy rainstorm, the producers of this "Thriller" episode did an excellent job of photographing this famous old house, and creating an eerie setting at the beginning of the program. The famous dwelling looks even spookier in this "Thriller" episode (if that's possible) than it did in Mr. Hitchcock's movie."Masquerade" first aired on network TV on October 30, 1961 -- the 43rd episode of the "Thriller" series, which ran for just two seasons (67 total episodes).This VHS video comes via "MCA/Universal Home Video" and runs approx. 50 minutes in Full-Frame (1.33:1) format. The audio is Hi-Fi Mono. The video opens with a short "Trailer" ad for the six MCA/Universal VHS videos in this "Thriller" series. Each video contains one (approx. 50-minute) episode from the short-lived 1960s Boris Karloff series. They're all pretty darn good too. Getting them all wouldn't be that bad of an idea. A much better idea than spending a stormy night in the "Psycho" house, at any rate. LOL! :)

Tom Poston and Elizabeth Montgomery take refuge in an old dark house on a rainy night and get more they bargained for when confronted with a family of extreme eccentrics. The house, by the way, is the same one used for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, which lends the episode a familiar air. Did I mention that it's a comedy? Well, it is, and it's filled with delightful twists and turns. Poston and Montgomery make a nice couple, and maybe became enamored of the supernatural as a result of this show. In the next couple of years Poston would go on to star in a couple of comedy-thriller films for William Castle, while Miss Montgomery would find herself turned into a witch, albeit a benign one, on the TV comedy Bewitched. Perhaps it all started with Masquerade, which is that rarity, an amiable horror spoof, suitable for children, with no blood or gore to speak of and plenty of thrills in the bargain.

This is my favorite of all the Thriller VHS tapes.Boris Karloff as a houseguest? Creepy. But to horror fans he was more than welcome with his landmark anthology series. "Masquerade" is a black comedy with a twist you'll see coming, but you won't mind.During a dark and stormy night honeymooners Roz and Charlie Denham(Elizabeth Montgomery and Tom Poston)reluctantly accept the grizzly(and grisly)hospitality of Jeb Carta(the great John Carradine)and his grown son Lem in their cobweb-draped house(and yes, it's the PSYCHO house; must have saved a bundle on the budget). Are the Cartas just bad housekeepers with a weird sense of humor? Don't ask Ruthie Carta, the wild-eyed, wild-haired lady in a cage upstairs. And Roz and Charlie have just until dawn to find out...Snuggle up with your significant other for a scream and a giggle.

True fans of Horror who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s love this show. Even Stephen King, in his book DANSE MACABRE (p. 216 of the oversized paperback), calls this "the best horror series ever put on TV." The show's host, Boris Karloff, was obviously no stranger to the genre, and he even starred in several notable episodes.This particular episode, "Masquerade," is one of the tamer episodes horror-wise, but it still sets the creepy mood that was the trademark of the series. Also notable are pre-fame performances by Tom Poston and Elizabeth Montgomery, as well as a nice little turn by John Carradine. Unlike the majority of THRILLER episodes, it does contain humor and has a humorous twist ending that, by today's standards, probably seems a bit cliche. Nontheless, it is a very entertaining episode and well worth a watch.

Not too long ago, the classic early-sixties horror/suspense/crime series "Thriller" ended a highly-edited run on The Sci-Fi Channel, where it was tucked into the wee hours of the morning. To its credit, Sci-Fi showed all of the series' episodes, horror and non-horror, and in their original order, which made this episode all the more significant, as it was the first truly supernatural installment in the series, and an excellent one. The story is conventional but very cleverly done and wonderfully atmospheric, paving the way for such great entries as Robert Bloch's "The Hungry Glass" and Robert Arthur's "Pigeons from Hell." Karloff, who had a tendency to ham up such roles, is excellent here as the magician/seer who suddenly finds himself cursed with terrible powers. The ending, while unsurprising, is memorably tragic. One of the best!