Theatre of Blood (1973)

Wonderful Movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Theater of Blood is for some strange reason called one of Vincent Price's best movies, but I personally think it's one of his worst (it's only beaten by From a whisper to a scream aka The Offspring). The best and scariest part is the opening scene where the first victim is chased by crazy hobos. The rest of the movie is just boring...I had to fight to stay awake.It's also a very sadistic and cruel movie, especially when they force the fat gay guy to eat his own dogs. It's probably supposed to be funny, but I thought it was disturbing and sick. Skip this garbage and watch House on the Haunted Hill or House of Wax instead.

Vincent Price was the king of horror in the early 60s having just successfully bringing Edgar Alan Poe to the screen with director Roger Corman. To this day those films are treasured by horror fans and used in English classes to demonstrate the transfer of the written word to the screen. After those films Price starred in several other horror films but nothing that was as popular and for a time he did little more than TV appearances.That changed in 1971 when he came back to the forefront in a small film called THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES. It was followed in 1972 with a sequel, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN. So it only seemed natural that he would come out with another horror film the following year which is where this film comes into play.Using a theme that was found in the Phibes films we have another series of deaths at the hands of a madman. This time around the protagonist is Edward Lionheart (Price), a Shakespearean actor who supposedly committed suicide after being shamed by the critics circle. But death was not meant for him yet and he survives with the help of a group of vagrants who become his henchmen/women.The critics circle is still around and doing well. But suddenly they begin to be killed off one by one. And with each death is some cryptic message involving the plays of William Shakespeare. The initial suspect is Lionheart's daughter, Edwina (Diana Rigg). But top critic Peregrine Devlin (Ian Hendry) doesn't believe it. Of course the rest of us know she's involved in one way or another as we've witnessed her at each murder in disguise, a bit that tried to make the viewer unaware but which we can see through easily.Each of the deaths of the critics is played for both disgust and humor of the darkest sort. For example one critic, fond of his two tiny dogs, has them fed to him in meat pies. As with Phibes we have her examples of cleverly written murders that are involved in a countdown to the last one. The problem is it doesn't quite work as well this time around.The fault here doesn't lie in the performance of Price or of Rigg for that matter. Both do a great job here, Price especially. It's one thing to perform a role poorly but quite another to perform it as someone trying to do it justice but doing it over the top unintentionally. The movie just doesn't have the same feel that the Phibes films did even though you can see the obvious attempt to replicate those films.In the end the move remains a fun horror film to watch but moves along at a much slower pace than the aforementioned films. That does more damage than good here. Price fans will find this a must see if for no other reason than to see his performance. The same goes for fans of Rigg.The presentation lives up to the standards of all releases from Twilight Time with the best picture quality found. Extras include an isolated score track, an audio commentary track with film historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman and the original theatrical trailer. As with all Twilight Time releases they've limited it to just 3,000 copies so if you're interested in one order it today.

Shakespearean Ham actor Edward Lionheart is heartbroken when a critic's choice circle awards a bratty newcomer as Best Actor of the Year and plots bloody revenge on the stuffy journalists who denied him his cherished accolade with a series of gruesome, ironic deaths.Vincent Price is allowed to dial-up the drama here and goes OTT without being ridiculous. Lionheart is a sympathetic anti-hero with a diabolical mind. There's no doubt in my mind that this movie inspired future horror juggernauts such as Se7en and Saw, only with a very dark sense of humor and a glorious musical score.As a time capsule of lost London this film offers a priceless glimpse into locations long-gone. Not one scene of Theatre of Blood was shot in a studio with every single location being a once-tangible place, most notably the old Puntney Hippodrome which Lionheart makes into his secret lair (now a block of council flats...why?). But, man, am I glad I was not yet alive to witness those grisly fashions.There's a rugged urgency to Theatre of Blood that disconnects it from the more grand horror productions of Vincent Price's career, however it makes for a fitting bookend to a solid 20-year run.

Many fans regard this movie as Vincent Price's finest hour and I would largely agree. This is the sole movie that stands as a tribute to the legend of Price, here playing up to his "horror star" role in a delightfully over-the-top performance of eye-rolling, lip-smacking ham. Fans will no doubt realise that one of Price's best assets was his distinctive, unique voice, which is put to good use here as he recites lines from Shakespeare like nobody else. Hated Shakespeare at school? In that case I would recommend that you watch this movie and find out how Shakespeare can be fun.Visually, this movie is about as striking as any from the period, although the direction of Douglas Hickox is pacy and interesting, making some moments surreal and others suitably grand. The music is evocative, especially that of the opening credits which are sheer brilliance, lyrical and quite moving in equal measures. The credits help to sum up a whole era of classic film making which, sadly, will never be recaptured again.Word has it that the starry supporting cast all agreed to do this film as a tribute to Price, and it's not hard to believe that. I've never seen a film before where EVERY character is played by a familiar, recognised name. First up are Milo O'Shea and Eric Sykes, playing two bumbling and caricatured police detectives who milk their dialogue for all its worth and are frequently amusing. I loved the ending with Sykes hiding in the boot of the car; "I can hear what sounds like a train...getting louder...ARGH!". Secondly, we have the lovely presence of Diana Rigg in reserve as Price's youthful assistant who aids him in his macabre murders.Then there are the art critics, who all meet a string of inventive and wild deaths. It begins with Michael Hordern getting slashed to death by a gang of crazed delinquents in a deserted factory while his wife potters around nervously at home. Next up is the inimitable Dennis Price, speared through the stomach, then, for me, the film's comic highlight: Arthur Lowe gets his head sawed off and stuck on top of a milk bottle! After this the deaths follow in rapid succession; Harry Andrews is lured to a derelict theatre and has his heart cut out, Jack Hawkins is fooled into murdering his wife (a cameoing Diana Dors, playing up to her sex symbol reputation), a delightfully camp Robert Morley is stuffed to death and devours his own two poodles, Robert Coote is drowned in a barrel of wine, Coral Browne electrocuted and more. Familiar British ladies Madeline Smith and Joan Hickson also put in welcome appearances.Within this repetitive framework are two standout moments which are testament to Price's love and ability to evoke the grand. The first comes when he returns to the apartment at which the critics have met after losing the actor award; sorrowful, he recites lines from Hamlet before throwing himself off the outside balcony. The second is the fiery climax in which Price devises a fiendish torture for Ian Hendry, by burning out his eyes like Gloucester in King Lear. He then gets to mutter a second soliloquy while wandering mournfully around the burning ruins as onlookers crowd around outside.As well as all this, there are incidental pleasures to be had from the clowning of Sykes and O'Shea; an energetic fencing bout to enjoy, plus the amusing antics of a crowd of meth-drinkers who befriend Price before eventually turning on him. Although made in '73, this film is explicitly gory for the time and has enough to satisfy even the most jaded gore hound today, with smoking hearts plucked from chests, all manner of impalings, decapitations, and disgusting moments, all portrayed in an effective Grand Guignol tribute which, although low budget, manage to overcome some of the cheap look that the two Phibes films were blighted by. Above all, though, the most impressive thing is Price himself, and this film stands as an effective symbol of his life's work and achievement, and all that he embodied as a horror actor. Unmissable viewing for fans of the period.