The Abominable Dr. Phibes
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Movie Reviews of The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Movie Review: Campy yet ghoulish fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
Vincent Price will always be remembered best for his numerable horror film roles. While many of these films may be less than stellar, occaisionaly one would come along that outshone all the others. "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" is one such little gem.Price plays Dr. Anton Phibes, a musician and all around twisted genius with a mission. Phibes is bent upon killing off the team of doctors who failed to save the life of his beloved wife after a rather nasty automobile accident. Of course, being a twisted genius, Phibes doesn't go about exacting his revenge like any other normal homicidal maniac. He's decided to take the Old Testament plagues visited upon Pharaoh and Egypt and adapt them for his own nefarious purposes. The way Phibes uses the plagues of blood, bats, boils, hail etc. I'll leave for you to see.
Now, if you go into this film expecting a straightforward horror film, with lots of blood and gore, you may be disappointed. Director Robert Fuest, as one reviewer has already pointed out, had a stint on "The Avengers", and he tells this story in the same tongue in cheek style that was so typical (and endearing) of that classic TV series. Also, the lavish deco designed sets lend the film a stylish and sometimes surreal look and feel. The clockwork musician sequences are a notable example of this stylish/surreal imagery. There are also some wonderful performances here -Joseph Cotten as the senior physician for whom Phibes saves as the last of his victims, Virginia North as the ethereal and lethal Vulnavia, and Terry-Thomas turns in a nicely comic performance as one of Phibes' earliest victims.
The really knockout performance here must go to Vincent Price as Dr. Phibes. Price manages to strike a fine balance between the camp and yet menacing role of Phibes without over playing either side. A wonderful little story element in the film has Phibes' vocal apparatus having been destroyed in the accident that claimed his wife. In order to speak he has constructed a device that allows him to attach a plug into the side of his neck (he also eats and drinks through this hole) while his voice emerges from something that looks like an old megaphone speaker off of a Victrola phonograph player! This meant that Price had to record his lines first and then act out through facial,eye, and body movements the emotion of his words as his famous velvety tones emerge out of the speaker. Not an easy trick for any actor. Price is also able to give Phibes a sympathetic slant as well. Phibes is certainly a murderous maniac and misguided in his quest for revenge but Price allows us to see a human side as Phibes sits and talks to a photograph of his dead wife. Phibes was obviously obsessively in love with his wife and its this same obsession that drives him to do the twisted things he does. This powerful love of Phibes' also gives the character a hint of necrophilia which becomes particularly apparent during the films finale.
All in all this is a wonderfully quirky little film. Great production values, fine script and performances make this an above average horror movie. And if you've ever wondered what it means for something to be "camp" then this is a fun way to learn the meaning of the word.
Movie Review: Sick, Warped, Hideous, Grotesque...And A Lot Of Fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
Warning: you pretty much have to have a really dark sense of humor to enjoy this flick to the fullest. With as much a body count as it bears, the violence is almost cartoonish, yet that's part of the enjoyment to be had in this slick, campy shocker carried on the shoulders of one of the genre's undisputed master thespians.
Between 'House of Wax' , this flick and 'Theatre Of Blood', Vincent Price seemed to be at home playing nice guys who REALLY hold a grudge when they're wronged. Anton Phibes is Snidely Whiplash reincarnated for the post-counterculture, a wickedly determined antihero who constantly teeters between bloodthirsty showman and aching widower, and even with his character's face destroyed, Price manages to glean the sincerest of emotions through his 'reconstructed' voice.
His motivations are simple: he blames the doctors who were charged with saving his beloved wife for her untimely death, not to mention his own deformity and presumed death in his initial efforts to reach her in time. His mission is straightforward: to wreak horrible, bloody vengeance upon those who he feels took his beloved Victoria from him. His methods are maniacal: derived from the gatakh - ten ancient curses meant to bring darkness upon the land, among them bees, bats, frogs, blood, hail - Phibes crafts an insanely-elaborate and horrific demise for each of the targeted medics - even the poor young nurse who aided in the operation earns no mercy from Phibes' wrath.
From the first shot to the last, 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' is a glorious visual tapestry. From its opening credits, as Phibes rises like Hades from the bowels of his subterranean domain on the roar of a hellish pipe organ, the movie feels like a wonderfully-creepy EC comic come to life. While some of the actual death scenes are not quite as imaginative as they could have been, others are simply jaw-dropping.
And the movie is loaded with dark humor, most of it stemming from the two police officers attempting vainly to rout Phibes' next murderous operation. Their efforts fluster their superior, as well as the surgeon Dr. Vesalius - portrayed with much sincerity and humanity by Joseph Cotten - for whom it becomes clear Phibes is saving the best for last. In one of the film's most macabre comedic developments, even the officers' attempts to provide an escort for one of the targets from his own office fails quite miserably - and their attempt to mask it from the doctor's clientele so as to avoid a panic will probably make you gasp.
There is, of course, the obligatory mute servant: Vulnavia, a lovely gypsy woman portayed effectively by Virginia North. It's never determined what her precise relationship is with Phibes, or why she seems so quietly loyal to him, but she makes for an exotic element to the proceedings, and in some cases, a quite capable distraction with which Phibes pulls off another elaborate killing.
'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' is wonderfully demented, dazzingly constructed and a feast for the eyes that will give you chills. It's definitely worth checking out.
Movie Review: The Man behind The Mask
Summary: 5 Stars
A tortured dark soul grieves his lost love who perished at the hands of nine physicians who could not save his beloved wife, so he becomes determined to avenge her death in this perceived wrong-doing. "Dr. Anton Phibes", a genius in theology and an expert organ player, formulates just punishments to deal with incompetence, using the Old Testament's theme of the plagues, and engineers their consecutive deaths in kind, inclusive of employing talismans bearing hebraic symbols representing each plague. In quite a ritualistic manner, using a torch, he melts the faces of their various waxen effigies to seal the deed done. With the precision of a veritable master Ninja, and with the aid of the silently succulent Vulnavia, a graceful creature who provides the charmingly seductive misdirection of a Satanic Witch to render victims agog, Phibes moves in for the kill. A wonderfully complimentary relationship. Also of remarkable note, she plays the violin as the doomed meet their demise; and at one point, Phibes applaudes the spectacle of a plane swirling down towards destruction after the pilot is attacked by a legion of rats in the cockpit. Personally, I found the rats, as well as the bats in an earlier scene, to be absolutely adorable, actually.
Phibes is a man haunted by his past, which he lives as the present, presiding in his total ball-room environment with automatons to create a wonderfully eerie atmosphere reminiscient of Dr. LaVey's Den of Iniquity. His throne is seated before a beautifully ornate crimson-phosphorescent organ, which he plays with diabolical fluorish into the night, channeling his pain through his music. He vows to avenge her death as well as join her by her side when the task is completed, and so it comes to pass in a glorious ending scene wherein he traverses the living realm, and is reunited with his beautiful wife in eternal darkness. For Phibes, a romantic in his black heart, this last noble gesture was indeed worth the world, who remained the god of his existence, and lived completely on his own terms. He himself fulfills the final element, whose death became just as mysterious as his life.
This is an aesthetically-beautious film, repleat with Satanic architecture as well as ideology. Those who know will recognize these subtle, and sometimes rather blatant displays {also note that this film is directed by Robert Fuest, who also directed The Devil's Rain}. Obviously, to those familiar with the life of our Founder, there are several parallels between the Dr. Anton Phibes character and that of Dr. Anton LaVey - they even share the same first name, and certain propensities. It is no wonder this film is recomended on The Church of Satan Video List. Take a perusal - these films are becoming incrementally more available.
Movie Review: Love means never having to say you're ugly.
Summary: 5 Stars
Fighting the trauma of his wife's death, Dr. Phibes uses his imagination and psychotic ways to enact his revenge on the medical community of London. Instead of just going the normal judicial system route, Phibes takes a page from the Bible and uses the ten plagues to ease his sadness. Hail, boils, and bats are just a few of the methods that he uses to bring justice upon the eight doctors and one nurse that couldn't save his wife. When the police begin to get suspicious, they begin putting the puzzle pieces together. Oddly, what they discover is that they may be dealing with an element not of this world. The infamous Dr. Phibes holds secrets and it will be left up to one cunning detective to uncover the truth. He will need to work fast before the insatiable Dr. Phibes strikes again.
This "cult" classic was film well before its time. Set in the 1920s and released in 1971, there are elements to this picture that can be felt in the heart of our horror/thriller genre today. Price gives us one of his most memorable roles as the daunting Dr. Phibes bent on revenging the death of his wife. Coupled with moments of Se7en, the Abominable Dr. Phibes chills and entertains better than some recent films of a similar genre.
I would like to comment on one of the themes of this film, which is "love". Phibes commits these acts due to a love that cannot be stopped or snuffed. This is a powerful message to be sending to a generation where divorce is at an ultimate high and idea of soul mates is slowly diminishing. Dr. Phibes, beyond the fact that he murders, is actually promoting devotion and love. He could be a spokesperson for the power of emotion. Just a random thought as I watched this film.
What sets this film apart from others made during this time is the imagination of the script and the powerful sets. The powerful set design and Technicolor-esque photography are so bright, beautiful, and distinctive that it only aided in creating the creative world in which Dr. Phibes resided. The set design reminded me of a splash of Kubrick tossed together with a few shreds of Jim Henson's darker eye. Add to this mix some fancy and modern camera work, enjoyable humor, and grotesque murders and you have built only a larger platform for Price to do what he does best. This was one of those films that just seemed to "click" at every level. Director Robert Fuest did all of his homework while creating this masterpiece that will remain in my eyes a pivotal film in the history of horror.
Grade: **** out of ****
Movie Review: The Right Price for Phibes!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautifully presented DVD. The price is very low ... on Amazon, because there are no extras but the theatrical preview. No chapter card inside the jewel case, even though there is a chapter selection on the DVD itself. It has been put out by M.G.M in their new, and in my opinion, exciting line of DVDs called Midnite Movies. So far the line-up has been so-so to grand. The so-so being such films as The Man From Planet X (which I have to admit, I still liked for it's cheesy miniature sets depicting the moors and the hokey alien invader), the grand being such films like Die Monster Die with Boris Karloff and Nick Adams and The Abominable Dr. Phibes with the immortal Vincent Price. Dr. Phibes has been rendered in its original widescreen aspect ratio, including enhancement for widescreen televisions. It does not say on the jewel case whether it had to be restored or the sound remastered, but it sounds great, even if it is only mono, and it looks fantastic. Lovely splashes of vibrant sharp color. This is a film that hardly settles comfortably in any genre. It is horror, yes, but it has a continuous line of British-style humor running through it that makes the horror seem surreal. Not one actor in this film is below par. Vincent Price created a horror icon with his portrayal of Dr. Phibes, in this film and it's follow-up, Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Both of the films have been heralded for their style, macabre humor, and intelligent plots. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a must buy for horror fans, and especially Vincent Price fans.
Dr. Phibes is a genius villian on a scale with Hannibal Lecter. He exacts revenge, using the Old Testament as his guide, on the surgical team he holds responsible for his beautiful wife's death. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the photos of his wife are none other that Hammer's beauty/horror actress Caroline Munro.
And, good news for Vincent Price fans! Within the next few months several more jewels starring the Master of B-grade horror will be release on DVD, including The Pit and the Pedulum, Fall of the House of Usher, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. So, reserve the DVD for late-night viewings, `cause you've got a full schedule ahead.