“Mystery Science Theater 3000” Celebrates Halloween with “The Mask,” a Surreal, Cheesy Horror Noir [Review]

Photo Credit: Alternaversal / Shout! Studios.

Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s done Christmas specials and Thanksgiving specials, but never before have they done a Halloween special. Until now! This Halloween, MST3K tackles the Canadian horror classic, The Mask. And as if embarking on their first Halloween special wasn’t enough, this episode takes MST3K into an entirely new dimension – 3-D to be exact! If you’ve been watching the new episodes that have been airing on the Gizmoplex, then you already know what to expect here – a lot of well-paced jokes, some creative and absurd host segments, and a whole lot of fun. But if you’re new to the world of Mystery Science Theater 3000, “The Mask” might be a great place to board this train. It’s the perfect candidate for an MST3K episode – surreal, cheesy, and a bit nonsensical. And the episode makes the most of this strange, surreal movie.

The Mask

Overall, Julian Roffman’s The Mask is an excellent choice for MST3K‘s first Halloween special. It’s certainly not the worst horror film the show’s ever tackled – not by a long shot. But it strikes that perfect balance between mundanity and surrealism that makes it perfect for some good ol’ fashioned riffing. The Mask follows Dr. Allen Barnes (Paul Stevens), a psychiatrist whose patient recently died under suspicious circumstances, as he experiments with a mysterious ancient tribal mask. But the further Dr. Barnes delves into the mask’s secrets, the more disturbing the visions he sees becomes. And the stranger his own behavior grows. Is there any truth to the legends of the mask’s curse? Or is Dr. Barnes slowly descending into a madness of his own design?

Like many of the films MST3K tackles, The Mask features a lot of promise. On the surface, it’s an intriguing blend of psychological horror and film noir-style murder mystery. The problem is that the movie never finds a way of combining those influences into a coherent whole. Instead, the dueling elements of the film tend to distract more often than delight. The occult mythology surrounding the mask is far more interesting than the more pedestrian mystery surrounding Dr. Barnes’ deceased patient. But the film never actually explains anything about the mask, choosing instead to layer it under enough opaque subtext that Jonah and the ‘Bots even joke about it, asking for “subtext subtitles”. Still, there’s fun enough to be had here, between Dr. Barnes’ admittedly gorgeous mask-induced nightmare sequences and the fully committed performances from the entire cast. And it’s that genuine enjoyment-factor that makes The Mask perfect for MST3K.

Halloween – the MST3K Way

As for the episode itself, it’s pretty classic MST3K. Building off of the success of season 13’s earlier episodes, “Episode 1311” delivers all treats and no tricks. Everything about this episode just works. The episode’s riffs continue to be spaced out in a way that maximizes laughs while also giving the movie enough time to breathe and be understandable by the audience. Jonah Ray, Baron Vaughn, and Hampton Yount bring such electricity to Jonah, Tom Servo, and Crow that it’s easy to just vibe with them as they go down increasingly absurd paths with their jokes. And the host segments are exactly as delightful as you’d want them to be, with everyone fully luxuriating in the Halloween vibes. There might even be a new Halloween-y song to get excited about, too – but no spoilers!

As for the 3-D aspect of the episode, I can’t really speak on that. Critics were only provided with the 2-D version of the episode, so that’s all I’ve seen. But even in the 2-D version, it’s easy to see some of the moments that are just gonna pop when seen in 3-D – both in the movie itself and in some of the host segments. It won’t be anything as mind-blowing as modern 3-D films are, but that shouldn’t be surprising. If you’re at all familiar with the 3-D movies of yesteryear, you’ll probably find something to be delighted about. On the whole, Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s first Halloween special gives you everything you want out of an MST3K Halloween episode. Put simply, if you’ve been enjoying the other season 13 episodes, then this episode gives you more of what you’re loving.

Final Thoughts

Season 13 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 continues to be my favorite season since the show came back in 2017. It’s just a perfect blend of the DIY nature of the original run and the more polished nature of the Netflix run. And this Halloween special is a great example of that. The visuals are simple yet effective. The jokes come quickly, but not so quickly that they prove overwhelming. Jonah and the ‘Bots have the kind of dynamic that makes you feel like you’re watching a cheesy movie and sharing a beer with your friends. And it’s just such a fun show to watch.

The Mask is the perfect film for a Halloween episode of MST3K, too. It’s spooky enough, surreal enough, and strange enough to get plenty of laughs. But it’s also enjoyable enough in its own right to not be painful to watch. If you’re enjoying this new season, you’re gonna enjoy this episode too. And if you’re new to the world of Mystery Science Theater 3000, then The Mask might just be the perfect starting point.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSEfC0Feu5o]

Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Episode 1311: The Mask premiers October 28th at 8 pm only on The Gizmoplex. All episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 13 are available exclusively on The Gizmoplex.