Theatre of Blood (1973)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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.

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.

Yes this movie has some similarities with The Abominable Dr. Phibes in the sense of Vincent Price playing a killer. Instead of using plagues to kill of his opponents this time he is using the killings in the plays from Shakespeare into practice or of there aren't any deaths he alters it so the person ends up dead. Here Price is a drama stage actor wanting revenge on all his critics who not only gave him bad reviews but also gave the award he thought was his to another younger actor. Even though I pretty much knew there was nothing going to stop him it was still interesting to see how he would do the killings and be able to mislead both the victims and the police. Filled with dark humour before he does his evil deeds in word and/or disguise this surely is an enjoyable piece of cinema. However to label this as comedy before horror is quite a stretch.

...are just a couple of words originally coined by Shakespeare which might be used in describing this marvellous film. When it was shown for the first time on UK TV on 29th December 1978 I was expecting the usual late '60's early '70's dated swinging tripe, but from the start the credits told me this was going to be a different animal to the usual crop. I've now seen it many times and always enjoyed it and although it's obviously even more dated now it remains a weird mix of styles and emotions to go through – the visuals, acting, story and music can veer between impressive to derisory.Members of a highbrow critics circle are being butchered one by one by someone who doesn't have to brush up his Shakespeare to get some grisly vengeful laughs, always eagerly assisted by a strange hairy person and a gang of drunken tramps. And the murders are grisly if not graphic; nowadays the accent would be mainly on the gore, back then it was still the thought that counted more. The stellar cast apparently so richly deserving of possible Shakespeare-esque assassination included Dennis Price, Robert (What Ho) Coote, Arthur Lowe (who had an especially sentimental scene with Vincent Price), Coral Browne, Robert Morley, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern, Jack Hawkins, Ian Hendry; Milo O'Shea and Eric Sykes were the obligatory pompous policemen. Diana Rigg is now sole survivor as the Grim Reaper has gone about his work relentlessly and silently since then. The film is indeterminate-brow melancholic black farce at its best with the masterful Price hamming it up for all he was worth in one of his best films – and he made many excellent "horror" and otherwise films over the years. It was much better than his previous similar films about Dr. Phibes – I can see this one repeatedly with the same old frisson unlike those efforts.If interested be prepared for a long strange trip: a black comedy, a wistful knockabout farce, an impressive melodrama, an inconsequential masterpiece, and although it's been badly dated for the last 30 years it's something you probably won't forget.