The Vincent Price Movie Review

Released in 1971
Directed by Robert Fuest
Written by James Whiton and William Goldstein

“Nine killed you. Nine shall die.”

“Bravo!”
“How bizarre!”
“How did this movie ever get made?”

These three thoughts alternated repeatedly through my mind while viewing the Abominable Dr. Phibes for the first time. (i’ve seen it about 20 times since then) How do I begin to explain this wonderful movie? It’s a combination of horror and black comedy that is mixed together with a refreshing amount of style and a sense of the bizarre.

Dr. Phibes (Vincent Price) is an independently wealthy genius with multiple PhDs. He also has a beautiful but dead wife, a beautiful but mute servant (Virginia North), the coolest looking organ ever created, and a penchant for revenge…Old Testament style revenge. The latter is unfortunate for the British doctors who failed to save Phibes’ wife during surgery. Blaming them for their lack of skills and neglect, Phibes starts bumping off the doctors one by one, each in a novel fashion inspired by the biblical ten plagues of Egypt. (bats, frogs, bees, boils, etc)

Dispatched to stop the gruesome murders is the good-natured but incompetent Inspector Trout,(Peter Jeffrey) who always seems to be one step behind Phibes. His bumbling antics and dry dialog provide much of the black humor in the film.

What really makes this movie special is the way it’s infused with style and a touch of whimsy. The sets are done mostly in the 1920’s Art Deco style, and look very slick. (the movie is set in the 1920’s) The music is great as well, and features some songs from the 20’s that most people will recognize and also some interesting organ instrumentals.

This is definitely not your average cookie-cutter film and as such I know some people will not like it. But for me, this makes my Top 10 Vincent Price movies, and is one of my favorite films period.

They did make a sequel that, like most, is not as good and is “more of the same.” Another movie that is similar in style is Theater of Blood, which I found to be interesting but ultimately couldn’t capture the original magic that The Abominable Dr. Phibes had.

Tags: vincent price

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