Strong and Moving!

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This may very well be the greatest horror-comedy of all time. Theatre of Blood is essentially a film which reworks the same basic ideas that the earlier 'Dr. Phibes' movies had played around with. In all of these films we had an insane, eccentric genius seemingly return from the grave to enact a series of highly elaborate murders based on historical sources on a group of individuals who had wronged him in his earlier life. These films also shared a colourful, stylish and campy nature, which was quite unusual for British horror films; while they also shared a large ensemble cast of quality British actors with the unique American horror legend Vincent Price at the helm in over-the-top splendour. The 'Phibes' films are certainly classics but with Theatre of Blood the level is upped even further. The central idea of the film is fantastic. A stage actor returns from a presumed watery grave to carry out a series of theatrical and over-the-top murders on a series of theatre critics who refused to reward him with the best actor of the year award at the annual critics award ceremony. Given he had been mocked for never acting in anything other than William Shakespeare productions, he kills them all in the style of the Bard's famous plays. It is a brilliant, relatively simple idea which is executed to perfection, with Price on top form - in fact he was never better.It is unique among the vast majority of horror comedies in that both the horror and the humour work alongside each other perfectly without one compromising the other. It is a hard trick to pull off and it rarely works but in this one the comedy is genuinely hilarious and the horror not shy in being properly grotesque. It is a huge testament to the skills of Price in particular that this fine balancing act is navigated to perfection as he was an actor who uniquely understood the comedy in horror, and how to deliver it on screen. It has to also be said that the ensemble cast around him is really quite stellar, with a succession of quality British actors pitching up to be high calibre cannon fodder for the homicidal Price. We also have the great Diana Rigg appear as his embittered daughter, in a film which she still has extremely good memories and opinions of. I guess one of the problems with a film like this is that it feels like a bit of a shame that Price's character has to be defeated in the end, we sort of definitely want him to take out Ian Hendry as well to be perfectly honest! But really, the pacing and set-pieces in this one are truly of a fantastic standard. All of the murders an absolute riot with Price adorning all manner of ludicrous disguises on the way - a particular hilarious highlight being his afro sporting hairdresser Butch.I may even have to go as far as to suggest that this may well be the greatest British horror film ever made. Its uniquely successful combination of horror, wit, style, imagination, high-calibre acting, camp costuming and Grand Guignol excess, makes it a particularly satisfying movie which is endlessly re-watchable. A true cult classic and one of the high points of the horror genre in general. And to think I used to always think the theatre was pointless and boring!

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-

"Theater of Blood" (1973, Douglas Hickox), a comedic horror film about an insane theater actor who begins killing off a circle of theater critics by reenacting moments in Shakespeare, fails to reach its potential, despite a great concept and a talented, exciting cast. Two problems it has are: 1) showing almost all of gory violence; 2) Mediocre direction. It is still a cult film that is worth watching, but prepare for some disappointment.Vincent Price is splendid as the long-suffering Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart. After years of being abused by a smug group of reviewers, he recruits a small group of downtrodden people to participate in his murderous revenge. The monologues where Price is describing the crimes of the next critic to be killed off are one of the pleasures here. The flashback where Price interrupts the critics having a meal in a swanky restaurant to challenge their recognition of a rival actor with a prestigious year end (1970) theatrical award, is a great idea and is mostly amusing.Diana Rigg, playing the thespian's supportive daughter, is one the best reasons to stick this out. She looks fantastic; absolutely beautiful. While she is a direct accomplice in her father's killing spree, she is so photogenic and adept with her delivery that she counters the distaste of the gore. There is no doubt that Ms. Rigg would have been a very thrilling actress to watch on stage, as she is always entertaining just to listen to.Another cast member who is solid is Ian Hendry (Peregrine Devlin). Devlin is the theater critic that Lionheart hesitates to kill. The two have a prolonged sword fight in a gym with comedic touches. Devlin and Lionheart seem connected, particularly when Devlin asks for Lionheart to put him out of his misery. It seems reasonable to believe that Devlin is Lionheart's doppleganger.Too bad Rainer Werner Fassbinder did not direct this. Fassbinder would have hit it out the park. Hickox has great opportunities to make an impression but his imagery always fails to interest. Also, the quotient of violence is difficult to sit through.

* Some mild spoilers ahead *Vincent Price, the star of countless B-Movies from the fifties to the seventies, in his perhaps best role ever. This movie is wicked fun; a failed Shakespeare-actor brutally settles the score with all his critics - but they all meet their demise by having to "act" a part in the plays of the great bard. Very creative death scenes, gory and funny - and absolutely beautifully acted by Price and an ensemble of many greats of British cinema and theatre.Funny enough, there are many parallels between Price's own career and his character's (maybe that's exactly why the director chose him for this part), for Price also failed to get the recognition he deserved until very late in his life and felt unfairly treated by critics. Although many of his films are now regarded as classics, for the most part of his life his films and his (indeed rather Shakespearian) approach to his roles was often ridiculed. Around the time of this film though, critics started to take Price seriously (probably out of fear, LOL).But this film is also interesting for another reason: despite the obvious black comedy it looks almost like a blueprint for a certain category of horror films to come, and films like 'Seven' and 'Saw' owe perhaps a little debt to 'Theatre of Blood'. Highly recommended. 8 stars out of 10.Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/