The Age of Commercialism

Perfect cast and a good story

Load of rubbish!!

A Major Disappointment

Theater of Blood is for some strange reason called one of Vincent Price's best movies, but I personally think it's one of his worst (it's only beaten by From a whisper to a scream aka The Offspring). The best and scariest part is the opening scene where the first victim is chased by crazy hobos. The rest of the movie is just boring...I had to fight to stay awake.It's also a very sadistic and cruel movie, especially when they force the fat gay guy to eat his own dogs. It's probably supposed to be funny, but I thought it was disturbing and sick. Skip this garbage and watch House on the Haunted Hill or House of Wax instead.

After several top movie critics are viciously killed, the police discover it is the followers of a celebrated Shakespearean actor thought dead and ordering them to assist in his revenge on critics who savaged his work and race to stop him before his revenge is complete.This is one of the finest and most enjoyable efforts in his career. First and foremost, it must be said that this is Vincent Price's movie. Here, he delivers one of his finest performances to date, and it's simply a joy to see Price perform so splendidly in what was obviously a role written specifically for him. That makes his performance all the more watchable, as he's supposed to be acting ham which is due to the way the film carries itself out. The way the plot dictates matters makes it all the more watchable as it's quite fun to see how ham Price can be this involving a Shakespearean actor seeking revenge on movie critics for harmful reviews is a role Price was born to play, and in here it really works for the film. Besides the greatness of Price's role, the film is memorable for the method of murder as being one of the most creative and imaginative in horror cinema. Because of the way Price's character is written, basing the deaths on the movie the critic bashed, this is further proof of Price's genius in the role as the deaths are so much fun to watch, yet require a large amount of intelligence on the viewer to deduce what is going on with the deaths. That is quite a change and one that is quite welcomed in the film by giving this the kind of atmosphere to allow for quite an impressive time here. There are a couple of great action pieces in here that are quite entertaining going off of that, featuring a duel at a fencing school which is inventive and exhilarating going back and forth between the fighters, a stellar series of gruesome deaths as well as the opening attack in the theater which is an effective way to get the movie rolling and delivers lots of chills. The other big plus here comes from one of the best finales in a long while which includes a spectacular gathering and the overall burning-down-the-building finish that offers a rather touching finish. These make this one a blast to watch while not really offering up too many flaws. It's biggest problem is that this is a little bit more intelligent than what most of the usual horror fans are used to since the viewer is required to know Shakespeare and his works, for that drives most of the horror in here. Knowing that will increase the level of involvement in the script as well since the large amount of detail in here is not something for those that have very little experience with the works of Shakespeare to just get into. Otherwise, this is a great film.Today's Rating/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Released in 1973 and directed by Douglas Hickox, "Theater of Blood" stars Vincent Price as a bitter Shakespearean actor in modern London who is thought to be dead due to suicide. Actually, he's alive-and-not-well and murdering his unrelenting highbrow critics. Diana Rigg plays his understanding daughter while Milo O'Shea is on hand as the inspector. The score is excellent, even moving, and the first act is quite serious. But then Price's hammy approach and the increasingly unbelievable murder scenarios thrust the movie into black comedy territory. Still, it's just serious enough to (sort of) suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. It's another take on the basic plot of "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and its sequel (1972). It's also reminiscent of "House of Wax" (1953), although I give that one the edge. The jaw-dropping Madeline Smith is on hand on the babe front, but she's unfortunately underused as a decidedly peripheral character. There's Rigg, of course, if you find her attractive. I don't, but she's likable enough. The movie's colorful like Hammer flicks, albeit with a slightly bigger budget and the corresponding location shooting. Fans of Vincent Price horror and, especially, the three movies noted above should eat this up while others might find it too talky, one-dimensional and overlong. The movie runs 104 minutes and was shot in London, Brentford & Windsor, England. WRITER: Anthony Greville-Bell. GRADE: B-

Ranked as his personal favourite amongst Vincent Price's vast acting catalogue, Theatre of Blood seems to have stood the test of time thanks to a macabre mixture of tongue-in-cheek blood-letting and genuinely gruesome horror, a stellar ensemble of memorable cult British thespians, and some interesting observations about the death of theatre. Perhaps the latter is looking a little too much into it, but it gives the film an interesting angle, especially with Price delivering one of his greatest performances as a strictly Shakespeare performer, roles the actor himself expressed a desire to play, only to be repeatedly type- cast in the horror genre that was admittedly very good to him.Price plays Edward Lionheart, a forgotten thesp who spends his time performing in full make-up in an abandoned theatre to a gang of meth- drinking vagrants. Only a few years ago, he believed he was on the cusp of winning the elusive Critic's Circle Award, only for it to be awarded to a younger actor who embraced the 'new'. Distraught, Lionheart was thought to have committed suicide in front of the critics who voted against him, but actually survived the attack and was nursed to health by the gang of drug addicts who found him. Lionheart was simply preparing for his greatest performance yet, and is hell-bent on murdering or destroying the people he thinks wronged him, all in the style of his greatest idol, William Shakespeare.Above all else, Theatre of Blood is just bloody good fun. Narratively, it isn't much more than one murder after another, each one as gory and rather clever as the last. My personal favourite is Lionheart disguising himself as a camp hairdresser, dressing in outrageous clothes and a huge blonde wig in order to lure critic Chloe Moon (Coral Browne - Price's future wife) into a false sense of security so he can fry her with hair curlers. This is crazy stuff, and I don't care how many horror films you've seen, you've never seen one with a Tybalt/Mercutio-inspired sword-fight. On trampolines. But I'm selling the film short. The script, by Anthony Greville-Bell, is really quite clever, and with an ensemble this good (Diana Rigg plays Lionheart's daughter, and supporting roles go to Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Robert Morley, Michael Hordley and Arthur Lowe), Theatre of Blood doesn't disappoint.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com