The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)

Plot Outline: Organist and scholar, Dr Phibes, takes a brutal revenge upon the team of doctors who oversaw his beloved wife die on the operating table. His revenge is anything but normal as he uses the 10 Biblical curses that Moses called down on Egypt to murder the team.

The Review: One of Vincent Price's best films and a true genre classic, The Abominable Dr Phibes is a campy, ridiculous-at-times affair saddled with flair, stunning visuals and a great turn by one of the maestros of the horror genre. Price hardly says anything for most of the film as his character is supposed to be only able to talk with the use of a voice box. But together with some really great make-up and his facial expressions, when he does manage to speak it's absolutely brilliant. Price's velvet voice together with his Shakesperian-esque delivery make any of his lines imminently quotable. You can't help but root for the man at times because although he's not being very nice and killing people, you can still see where he is coming from with wanting revenge and he is too committed to his wife. Each one of his devilish plagues are classic death scenes in their own right - my favourite being the draining of Terry-Thomas' blood because he was alive whilst it was being done! Nasty indeed. It's style over substance for the most but it works. It's basically a slew of set pieces strung together by a thread which many of Price's later films would become. Take his lair for instance, complete with clockwork band and impressive Phantom of the Opera style organ. Was there any real need for it other than to add camp and flair value? Even the ending stands out a mile because it's just a pretty downbeat one. Credit to the director for having the guts to end it that way because it was a fitting finale.

Final Verdict: Slapped with a healthy dose of black humour throughout, The Abominable Dr Phibes never really takes itself too seriously and with a truly classic turn by Price, it ranks up there as one of his best work and one of the best horror films from 70s Britain.

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