The Mask

The TIFF Bell Lightbox is presenting a newly restored version of the psychedelic 1961 film The Mask (Eyes of Hell) by Julian Hoffer, complete with its original 3D sequences.

“Canadians will now be able to watch the missing link not only in Canadian horror film history, but also in English Canada’s film history in general, as this film was not on many radars as the first Canadian horror feature film (and 3D film),” says Jesse Wente Director of Film Programmes at TIFF. “Understanding the importance of the preservation, conservation and restoration of a fragile medium such as film, TIFF has undertaken vital film restoration projects to ensure that they will be available in all their cinematic integrity for current and future generations. TIFF has partnered with the 3-D Film Archive to digitally restore The Mask (Eyes of Hell) original cut to its most complete version in 2K anaglyph 3D: the 3D segments have been painstakingly aligned shot by shot for optimum quality.”

The Lightbox will be displaying the original mask used in the film outside of Cinema 4 alongside other pieces of memorabilia from the film. Authors Gina Freitag and André Loiselle will also introduce The Mask (Eyes of Hell) on Saturday, October 24 at 9 p.m. for TIFF’s Critics’ Night, as well as sign copies of their new book “Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul” prior to the screening.