The Abominable Dr. Phibes
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Movie Reviews of The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Movie Review: Astonishing Phibes Anagram discovered
Summary: 5 Stars
First, Don't let this masterpiece pass you by. 2nd, because I'm the type of person to think about this type of thing, I discovered an unusual, and very appropriate anagram for "The Abominable Dr. Phibes".....A HIBERNATED BIMBO HELPS.
Vulnavia, you are immortal.....
Movie Review: Saw it again today on cable!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a favorite when I was ten years old and it came on TV for the first time in 1973. The look on Price's face when he is pushing the gold spray-painted wheelbarrow of brussel sprouts will never be duplicated...well maybe Johnny Depp could manage it someday. Five Stars!Movie Review: 5 stars for dark humor. RevengeRules
Summary: 5 Stars
Price is priceless (sorry, I couldn't resist)in this role as a vengeful spouse killing those responsible for his wife's death. It is dark comedy with some music thrown in. The Price is right on target for this flick. Get it.
Movie Review: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1972)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is really a FUN movie. Cinematography and sound both are awesome. Vincent Price is always a treat. The English detectives are entertaining as well. Crank up the surround sound and enjoy !Movie Review: Art Deco Diabolus
Summary: 4 Stars
World famous 1920s organist Dr. Anton Phibes died in a fiery car crash, racing to the bedside of his ailing wife, Regina, who perished after only six minutes on the operating table. Now, a few years later, the nine-person surgical team who lost Regina Phibes are losing their own lives. Some diabolical madman is employing the G'tach - the Biblical plagues of Egypt - to dispatch them, in hideously creative ways: one doctor is butchered by bats; another's neck is crushed in a constricting frog mask at a costume ball; a third is completely exsanguinated, his entire body's supply of blood neatly lined-up in pint bottles on the dresser. Who but Phibes would have a motive to kill them? But how could a dead man so materially reach beyond the grave?If the story sounds mundane, rest assured the production is not. Director Robert Fuest was an alumnus of The Avengers T.V. series, and Dr. Phibes follows that famous show's formula for extreme British eccentricity. The entire first ten minutes of the movie is performed without a word of dialogue, beginning with a dark-robed, faceless figure, rising from a subterranean pit into a sumptuous art deco palace, playing the organ; he cranks-up a robot quartet of jazz musicians, and embraces a raving beauty for a waltz; the pair silently glide in a bizarre and luxurious limousine to a sleeping man's residence, and deposit a cageful of bats in his room; and then they retire, to a light tune, as the poor victim is shredded by their pets' tiny teeth.
The rest of the movie follows suit, piecing together the macabre mystery that is Anton Phibes even as he pieces his own disfigured face in place with theatrical makeup before embarking to commit each of his exceptionally colorful crimes. Phibes is one of the most memorable characters in horror cinema, a skull-faced, croaking-voiced virtual automaton. He is a proto-Hannibal Lecter, a psychotically creative killer of exquisite manners and taste - which is, in fact (along with the absolutely unique production design), what makes this fabulous film work: Phibes is generally more sympathetic than the callous medical men he dispatches.
The cast is terrific, featuring such notable character actors as Hugh Griffith and Terry Thomas, and Joseph Cotten as Phibes' sole survivor. The stunning Virginia North is Phibes' silent but deadly cohort in crime, Vulnavia, and Caroline Munro has a notable cameo-in-absentia role as Phibes' dearly departed bride, Regina. And it goes without saying that Vincent Price perfectly personifies the anti-heroic mad doctor title character.
Some of the makeup and gore effects are on the campy side, but the period production is absolutely beautiful. This film can be enjoyed on many levels, whether as a straight horror film or a brilliant parody. It's marvellously entertaining, no matter how you look at it.