Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

How sad is this?

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

In the Nineteenth Century, in London, the prominent medical doctor Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) receives a letter from his former sweetheart Baroness Maude Sardonicus (Audrey Dalton) with the invitation to visit her husband Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) and her at his castle in Gorslava. Soon Sir Robert learns that the notorious Baron is an appalling man that frightens the local population. On the arrival in the castle Sir Roberts sees Sardonicus's servant Krull (Oscar Homolka) torturing a maid with leeches in a weird experiment. He meets Maude and her husband that wears a mask covering his face. Sir Robert has a private conversation with Sardonicus and he learns that the Baron was the peasant Marek Toleslawski that lived in a poor house with his wife Elenka Toleslawski (Erika Peters) and his father Henryk Toleslawski (Vladimir Sokoloff), who gives a lottery ticket as a gift to Elenka and dies. Months later, Marek and Elenka learn that they have won the lottery; however the ticket was buried with Henryk. Marek decides to retrieve the ticket in his father's grave and when he sees the face of Henryk, he freezes his face with a horrible grimace. Sardonicus wants Robert to recover his face; otherwise he will destroy Maude's face. Will Sir Robert succeed?"Mr. Sardonicus" is a creepy horror film directed by William Castle. The story is a sort of combination of the story lines of "Nosferatu" (or "Dracula"), "The Man Who Laughs" and "Les Yeux Sans Visage" among others. William Castle plays with the audiences asking for the fate of Sardonicus. The make-up of Sardonicus is impressive. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Máscara do Horror" ("The Mask of the Horror")

Guy Rolfe in the title role and Oscar Homolka as his Igor like assistant highlight the film Mr. Sardonicus. A search for a lottery ticket in the grave of his father turned out to be a frightening experience causing Rolfe's face to freeze in a smiling grimace. As he was already one nasty dude as the local nobility this causes the people of his fiefdom to have as little to do with the castle as possible.Ronald Lewis is a visiting British physician conducting experiments with various exotic plants that are poisonous. Some of them might have healing properties. Will they work for the man now known as Mr. Sardonicus. Even Rolfe's wife Audrey Dalton won't kanoodle with him as he's that repulsive.Guy Rolfe played many a cruel villain, some well known examples are in Ivanhoe as Prince John and King Of The Khyber Rifles. In this one however the man truly has had nature affix his loathsomeness on his face. As for Oscar Homolka that deep voice and the bushiest eyebrows on cinema with the possible rival of Donald Wolfit for that title gave him a lock on all kinds of ethnic European types. Good thing Mr. Sardonicus came late in his career or he might have been typecast in horror films and not as good as Mr. Sardonicus.William Castle who always liked gimmicks in his film, the better for people tear themselves away from the little screen in their homes had the audience allegedly 'vote' for Rolfe's fate. I like it fine the way it was, we're not sure just how much good doctor Lewis played in him winding up the way he was and that's as it should be.

Boy oh boy, I already was an avid William Castle fan based on all of his work that I've seen thus far (approximately six of his most commonly known achievements), but now I ought to be considered as a downright Castle GROUPIE! "Mr. Sardonicus" is probably my new favorite Castle film, as I absolutely loved the (admittedly grotesque and far-fetched) story, the supreme Gothic ambiance, the charming make- up effects and the wondrously sinister performance by Guy Rolfe. Sir Castle also distinguishes himself as a master story-teller, as the plot slowly and gradually unfolds with a great emphasis on secrecy. It is best that you don't know anything about the plot from beforehand, and then I guarantee you'll be fascinated and increasingly curious regarding the revelations and background of the titular character. Actually, it's too bad that most of the reviews and summaries promptly and blatantly reveal Mr. Sardonicus' horrible secret, because the element of surprise and "shock" are downright terrific if you don't know anything (like I did). The year is 1880 and eminent surgeon Dr. Cargrave suddenly gives up everything when he receives a letter from his former love interest Maude. She's married now and lives in the Eastern European castle of her husband; the reputedly sinister Baron Sardonicus. Maude begs for Dr. Cargrave's help in the letter, and thus he travels to her, only to learn that Sardonicus is indeed a petrifying persona… The baron explains Dr. Cargrave about the grisly events that led to him wearing a mask and then immediately blackmails him into testing some of his breakthrough medical theories on him. As stated already, the plot is quite grotesque and implausible when you contemplate about it, but first and foremost it's compelling and authentically unsettling. The tale of the lottery ticket is truly inspirational, if you ask me, and it automatically provides the film with some profound themes like greed and desecration. These are themes that you don't immediately expect in a movie directed by a showman who became famous through stuffing his low-budget horror movies with gimmicks and interaction with the public. Speaking of which, "Mr. Sardonicus" only features one gimmick, at the very end, and it's actually the dumbest and most redundant element of the entire film. This flick stands on itself, without needing the help of any kind of gimmick, thanks to atmosphere and solid scriptwriting. Many sequences, like the nightly trip to the fog-enshrouded cemetery, are sheer highlights of Gothic horror. The titular character Baron Sardonicus is, because of his looks but simply also his nihilistic attitude and vile persona, a monster that undoubtedly deserves a high ranking in the list of most villainous cinematic characters in history. Guy Rolfe gives away a splendid performance, and also the entire supportive cast is terrific, most notably Oskar Homolka as the creepy one-eyed servant Krull. Along with "Homicidal", this William Castle gem comes with my highest possible recommendation!

Gothic horror in the style of the old Universal thrillers, with a cruel baron who "experiments" on unsuspecting young girls to find a cure for his frozen grin. An obvious inspiration is THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, although the make-up here is far more grisly. Also grisly are the torture scenes, not horrifyingly so (in fact, it's almost a playful approach to sadism), but definitely creepy. The performances are generally not that bad, with a memorable turn by Oskar Homolka (the villain from Hitchcock's SABOTAGE) as Sardonicus' mysteriously disfigured Igor-esque lackey. Guy Rolfe is appropriately menacing in the title role, and Ronald Lewis and Audrey Dalton hold their own as the heroes. The plot is a tad slow and full of holes, but in general the film is enjoyable. It also culminates in another delightful Castle gimmick: glow-in-the-dark "Punishment Poll" cards the audience would hold up to decide whether or not to show Sardonicus any mercy. There's only one ending, of course (who's gonna let the bad guy off the hook?) but Castle's obvious glee in the pretense is a joy.