THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (Moth Sanctuary Productions)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNbftZw7AUg 

Available until: Unknown

Sometimes we have things planned in the schedule and for whatever reason they don’t work out so we have to bring in another production to replace it so we can keep up with our three reviews a day. After the brilliance of Moth Sanctuary Productions’ Company of Wolves, I couldn’t resist sneaking in another one. And I did say a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to get to know more of Edgar Allan Poe’s work…

The Masque of the Red Death is a frightening story, perhaps all the more so because it’s one we can identify with up to a point. A plague known as the Red Death has invaded the land of Prince Prospero. Victims suffer horrific symptoms and don’t survive. Prospero hopes to escape the Red Death and he and 1000 friends go into isolation together in his castle.

It’s a chilling tale and there are several moments when you almost want to switch the recording off… but you can’t because it’s so brilliant and you have to know what happens next. Andrew Bate reads it beautifully and quite calmly, but at the same time his voice contains more than a hint of danger under the surface and the only question is when the danger will arrive and what form it will take. Andrew showed in Company of Wolves that he’s brilliant at characterisation, but this story has few characters, despite the cast of 1000. That is actually part of the horror of the story, the feeling of being surrounded by strangers and not knowing who they might turn out to be. It’s the atmosphere that gives the story its power and the atmosphere in Andrew’s reading is very strong.

The music and sounds in the background are very cleverly done, softly creeping in and out to lift the tension in the story still further. It’s ominous but often beautiful at the same time, creating a unique sense of atmosphere which soothes you one second and fills you with trepidation the next.

The YouTube description asks for comments on which moments were the most unsettling. It isn’t easy to pick one and I don’t want to give too much away, but the image on the video, the symptoms of the plague and one particular sound which gives the impression of being like a countdown… those are just three early unsettling moments and there’s much more to come.

If you like readings with a theatrical element or if you just like audiobooks, this is another great story from Moth Sanctuary Productions.