Memorable, crazy movie

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Crappy film

best movie i've ever seen.

Three years after his last rampage, Dr. Anton Phibes is resurrected and seeks a map to Egypt that will give his wife life again, and discovering the truth about the mystical map alerts an old group of nemesis of his resurrection who race to Egypt to stop the madman's plans.It isn't the out-and-out classic the first one was, but this is still a great film regardless. Just as in the first one, one of the finest points is the overall feeling present as this is still a nice, campy ride. Seeing Price return to the role is a great deal of fun and the amount of screen time the film gives him causes that. We have a lot of great moments that just prove to be a collection of camp strung together because Phibes is now out and about in the world where his threat is greater. No longer stuck basing the deaths off the ten plagues of Ancient Egypt, he can let his imagination run wild, and this lets in some pretty ingenious set-pieces as he is now no longer bound by the confines of London anymore to spread his vision. That this is a road movie allows for greater and more elaborate deaths, which is a great advantage as instead of guessing when Phibes would attack here it's a where and with what, and that gives the film a little extra suspense. The film also has a great sense of set-design, and there are some wonderful sets here. The initial Egyptian design is one of the best, and it looks suitably forgotten in the ruins, and the final location sets are just simply breath-taking to behold. It certainly ends the film on a positive note that few other films in this particular style don't often do. This also goes along with the rather strong finale, where the action is quite fun and thrilling within the catacombs of the pyramid and really lets us side with him during this section of the film when it's needed the most. These here really hold it up as there isn't much really much wrong here. The biggest issue here is that the opening flashback to the original wasn't one of the best ways of getting a movie started. It spoils too much of the first film and didn't really do much to bring new information to light. The narrator was the final straw for the scene as it just completely ruined the mood of the scene. It's one of the few times that a film opens on a downward note. Just as in the first one, the fact that Phibes still talks with the voice-box is a disappointment. Even though it doesn't make sense to change it as it wouldn't really fit well with the movie, the fact that it's still here is a hurdle to overcome for Price fans. There is also something different in the campiness in this one over the first one that doesn't make it as fun. It's an indefinable quality, but it is there. It's still a fun, campy movie, but not like the first one.Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence.

Dr. Phibes is back after 3 years of being in a state of suspended animation. He awakens from his 3 year slumber to find his home has been wrecked and the papyrus that contained the information he needed to bring his dead wife back to life has been stolen. Needless to say, Dr. Phibes is out for revenge once again. Those that have ruined his chances to resurrect his wife will be destroyed in a cleaver way that only Dr. Phibes can dream up.Good follow-up flick. Almost as good as the first film. Like the first film, the sets and costuming are elaborate, the deaths are bizarre, the humor is quirky and Vincent Price is great.Worth watching... it's best if you watch the first film The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) then watch "Rises Again" but it's not necessary.8/10

To my knowledge (and trust me, I could very easily be wrong on this), this is the only sequel ever made to a movie in Vincent Price's long, distinguished career. The original PHIBES movie was a surprise success for AIP, so they quickly rushed out a sequel the following year. Alas, like many horror sequels, the movie repeats many of the same patterns and characters from the original, but with little of the same success and charm. It begins by committing a typical horror sequel ploy. Phibes does, indeed, rise again despite the first movie making it seem like he was content to go to his death with his wife. Coming along for the ride is his beautiful mute assistant, who has someone healed from the acid burns suffered in the first movie. Yes, it's a different actress as well.The biggest problem suffered here is the lack of the thematic element present in the first one. The movie was often over-the-top and campy, especially in its' elaborate super-villain type murders, but these were forgiven for the fun presented in the interesting theme of connecting them to the ten plagues. Here, the murders aren't nearly as clever and there is no unifying element to them, except for a vague desert theme.According to internet info, the studio did quite a bit of meddling with this movie pre-release as well. As a result, additional scenes were filmed with Price to explain some of the myriad plot gaps. This causes an immediate problem as the plot gag of having Price communicate with a "voicebox" connecting his throat to a gramophone through a cable. Quite often here Price is able to speak without any cable or speaker present, which further serves to expose the weaknesses of this sequel to the audience.For the most part, if you enjoyed the original, you'll enjoy this movie. It's worth it for Price alone, who has the power to save even the worst horror movies. Just be aware that it suffers the same fate as most sequels do as being a pale imitation of the original.

A lot has been said and written about the sequel to THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, and more than a bit of it has been negative. The plot's too contrived; the murders are not as inventive as they were in the first, that kind of thing. Okay, so if the black humor and the bizarre horror doesn't seem quite as balanced as it was in the first installment, one must take into account that PHIBES' creators James Whiton and William Goldstein didn't write the sequel. Taking the reins this time around are director Robert Fuest and Robert Blees, (who previously wrote WHO SLEW AUNTIE ROO? and co-wrote FROGS, both AIP pictures as well). And to their credit, for having dashed off a sequel so quickly (no one was expecting PHIBES' smash box-office success) it still comes off better than most sorry sequels, prequels and remakes these days. RISES picks up three years after the events of ABOMINABLE, (with a prologue marvelously narrated by Gary Owens). Yes, here we are back at Mauldin Square, where Anton Phibes, having pre-arranged his own resurrection, awakens from his hidden tomb where he lay with his beloved Victoria (again played by Caroline Munro), with his sights set on a new adventure: a trip to Egypt to discover the River of Life, a secret source of restorative power that also bestows immortality on those who discover it, as a blessing for himself, but more importantly a way to bring his wife back to life once more.Here's where the story gets a little dicey (and I'd have to agree somewhat with the nay- sayers at this point). There are two things that the brilliant Dr. Phibes didn't count on: 1) that his house would be razed while he slept for those three years, and 2) that the papyrus map that holds the location of the pyramid where the River of Life can be found would be of any interest to another, equally brilliant and driven party. And that party would be one Darius Biederbeck (Robert Quarry of COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE fame) - archaeologist, adventurer and devout spiritualist. It's never explained how or why, but he has sustained himself on an 'Elixir of Life' for some time (Decades? Centuries? It's never made clear.) But his supply has just about run out, and now, thanks to a dealer who understood the value of the papyrus when it was found during the demolition of the Mauldin Square estate, Biederbeck has the map, and with it the key to securing his existence forever.Not so fast, dude. There's nothing crankier than a mad doctor awakened from his beauty sleep, only to find out that he's been 'cock-blocked' for the chance at eternal life for himself and his missus. We also don't know how Phibes immediately knows about Biederbeck and his predicament, but you can bet that for Darius and anyone close to him, things are about to get very, VERY ugly. The remainder of the film chronicles a bloody race against time, as Phibes and Biederbeck 'slug it out' to see who will win the ultimate prize...and a lot of unfortunate pawns in their chess game wind up sliced, diced and otherwise mauled and mutilated in the process.Hard to say whether it was a question of availability or just good fortune with the casting, but several of the actors from the first film make cameos here. Hugh Griffith, who played the Rabbi sought for counsel by Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey, who also returns) now comes back as Biederbeck's friend and confidante Ambrose, who meets an untimely end (of course.) And comic actor Terry-Thomas, who was drained of blood in Part One, does a quick bit as a shipping agent questioned by Trout and his boss, Sir Waverley (John Cater). As for Phibes' faithful (and possibly supernatural?) assistant, Vulnavia is played this time by Australian beauty queen Valli Kemp (subbing for a suddenly very pregnant Virginia North.) Another point of contention is a walk-on by Peter Cushing as the captain of the ship Phibes and Biederbeck take to Egypt.Even though it might seem like a waste of great talent (one can only imagine what the movie would've been like if Cushing had played Biederbeck instead!), these kind of appearances were not unusual for any of the horror greats during this time period. They all made similar appearances in films of different levels of quality, and they probably paid pretty well, (Christopher Lee did one himself in RAW MEAT, and one loses count of how many Price ended up doing). Anglophiles who are also acting fans will note an even quicker cameo by Beryl Reid as Ambrose's eccentric sister.Price and Quarry do play well off one another in their brief but important scene together, (though I think Joseph Cotten trumped Quarry for sheer screen presence.) The beautiful Fiona Lewis as Diana, Biederbeck's lady friend, gets very little to do but look worried and "damsel- in-distress-y", but she does it rather well. The actors playing the bulk of the victims are pretty much faceless (and you can take THAT literally as well), though their death scenes are painful enough to make you feel for them, even though they had little to no personality to speak of in their VERY brief screen time.So, to sum it up: DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN is not the champagne of horror sequels by a long shot, but nearly any excuse to watch Vincent Price having fun at work is good enough for me, and if you're a like-minded fan, you'll probably feel the same.