Is The Maze a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
Blu Ray Distributed by Kino Lorber
Newly Restored in 3-D by 3-D Film Archive from 4K scans by Paramount Pictures Archives! The Maze is a 1953 atmospheric horror film in 3-D, directed by William Cameron Menzies (Invaders from Mars, Things to Come) and starring Richard Carlson (The Magnetic Monster) as Scotsman Gerald MacTeam (Carlson) who abruptly breaks off his engagement to pretty Kitty Murray (Veronica Hurst) after receiving word of his uncle’s death and inheriting a mysterious castle in the Scottish Highlands. Kitty refuses to accept the broken engagement and travels with her aunt (Katherine Emery) to the castle. When they arrive, they discover that Gerald has suddenly aged and his manner has changed significantly. After a series of mysterious events occur in both the castle and the hedge maze outside, they invite a group of friends, including a doctor, to the castle, hoping they can help Gerald with whatever ails him. Menzies was known for his very dimensional style, focusing many shots in layers – The Maze was his final film as production designer and director.
Trashmen Rubbish Round Table
Jamie
JamieOk so we have a 3-D movie starring Richard Carlson from Creature of the Black Lagoon and It Came From Outer Space so maybe my expectations were set high. I love both of those films and with knowing very little about The Maze, I was excited to perhaps see a forgotten masterpiece.
Jimbo
Let’s start with the 3-D presentation. It may be one of the best 3-D transfers I’ve ever seen. I watched The Maze on my Optima consumer 3D projector with active shutter glasses. I can wholeheartedly endorse this release for fans of 3D cinema. But even if you don’t watch in 3D, the B&W cinematography is atmospheric and moody. Simply a beautiful film to watch.
Jamie
We agree that Kino’s blu ray rocks – it’s 3-D presentation is flawless with no issues with ghosting whatsoever.
Kino did a great job on The Mask which they released last year and they continue to release 3-D films ( I need to get a copy of September Storm). In fact, aside from Kino and Twilight Time, I don’t know another studio that is still releasing older, genre movies in 3-D.
Jimbo
But what about The Maze as general entertainment? What is The Maze? What evils lie in wait within The Maze? The film takes these questions very seriously and will hold you at complete attention.
Jamie
Richard Carlson plays Gerald MacTeam, a young Scottsman about to be married to his fiancé Kitty (Veronica Hurst) who gets a letter from a family member of his estate/ castle Craven that he must return at once. No reason is given but he jets and leaves his fiancé in the dust.
Not to just lose her future husband for no reason, Kitty and her aunt Edith (Katherine Emery) decide to go after Gerald and find out what happened. Upon arrival they find Gerald and some strange, zombie-like servants who refuse to speak about what is going on, only that they must leave.
Refusing to do so, Kitty and Edith stay and even convince their friends to come to Craven and help / support Gerald with whatever he’s going thru.
All of this I liked. The story was a complete mystery as I had no idea what was going to happen next. There is a maze of hedges in the back (did Stephen King see The Maze prior to writing The Shining?) that Gerald warns Kitty not to ever enter.
Jimbo
The suspense surrounding the strange goings-on at Craven Castle allow the viewer to have complete investment in the mystery. And because we are blocked from the truth, through the eyes of Kitty Murray (Veronica Hurst), we experience Kitty’s frustrations and want to know the truth even more.
However, when the mystery is finally revealed (and over-explained in a wrap-up coda) it is cataclysmically disappointing to a point it almost ruins the entire experience. I said almost.
Jamie
Yeah you and I are on the exact same page. When we watched it together you mentioned that The Maze is similar to a Stephen King novel: the first two acts are great and when you are totally invested in the story and characters, along comes act three to fuck it all up with an ending so unsatisfying it almost ruins the movie.
Jimbo
Strangely I have very little to say about Kino Lorber’s blu-ray release of The Maze. Usually when this happens it’s because I’m fairly lukewarm on the movie. On the contrary, I thought The Maze was almost perfect. I said almost.
Jamie
The Maze is not a film I would probably ever re-watch, would you?
Jimbo
I’d watch The Maze again. The problem with any mystery is that, once you know the answers, it gives the audience little incentive to return. And because the “answer” is so laughably absurd, I would watch this again just to see the reaction of others with whom I’m sharing.
There are only two bits of information I’m curious about. First, I’m curious about the film’s mid-point intermission card. Usually film intermissions are present on epics longer than 3 hours. Since The Maze is only 90 mins, I presume the original theatrical presentation had a brief intermission to offer temporary relief brought on by the headache inducing anaglyph 3D (red and blue).
Jamie
This is discussed on the audio commentary track by film historians Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek, Robert J. Kiss and David Schecter. The commentary is pretty dry but very informative. They mention that it was common in the 1950’s to have an intermission for 3-D films. This helped the audience adjust heir eyes and give them a “rest” so to say. This was common with other 3-D films of the era, notably House of Wax.
Jimbo
The second question I have is about that ending… Who came up with that idea, and how did it make it to screen?
Jamie
This too was discussed in great lengths on the film’s commentary track as The Maze is loosely based on a true story and was originally a novel about a patriarch of a family who..well…I guess I can’t say as I don’t want to ruin the film. I can say that the conclusion was also the same in the novel as it was in the film.
Jimbo
By this point, our readers are going to think, “I have to see this movie just for this ending that Jimbo/Jamie refuse to spoil!”
Jamie
Pretty much. What is interesting is that on the commentary track they discussed how certain audiences were terrified of the film’s conclusion while over the years, more and more critics had the same opinion as we have. Such a shame – this could have been a classic too.
Hidden Treasure / Dumpster Fire?
| Jimbo: |  (3.0 / 5) |
| Jamie: |  (2.5 / 5) |
| Average: |  (2.8 / 5) |
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Special Features
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- Audio Commentary by film historians Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek, Robert J. Kiss and David Schecter.
- Interview with Veronica Hurst
- Original 3-D Trailer
