Théâtre de sang

Vincent Price plays Lionheart, an actor who specializes in Shakespeare. But he's been getting bad reviews, and did not receive the Critics Circle award. There's only one thing to do: kill off each of the critics in a style modeled after a Shakespearean death.

Although not a Phibes film, this is clearly in the same grouping as "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and its sequel, coming only one year later, and following much the same formula: a man who was thought dead goes after those who wronged him in a methodical manner (here, Shakespeare) and with a female assistant. They also asked Robert Fuest to direct, clearly trying to make the picture as similar as possible.

There are some great scenes, and for me none more memorable than Price's disguise as Butch, the effeminate hair dresser. In general, the whole idea of hippie, homeless slaves (who seem to like big mustaches and afros) is just plain silly, but works in this case.

Price is alleged to have loved this role, and Diana Rigg (who plays his daughter) is said to find this her favorite role. I have to say I prefer "Phibes", but there's never a bad time for Vincent Price, especially when he's on killing spree.

Vincent Price is one of the best actors of all time, and this is a SUPERB film! Theatre of Blood follows much the same plot formula as Price's earlier success, The Abominable Dr Phibes, only this time instead of playing a deranged madman; Price plays a self-parody of himself. Edward Lionheart is an over the top version of Price in all but name, and it's clear that the great Vincent Price is the only man that could have lead this film. This macabre film depicts what, I'm sure, many actors would like to engage in; the brutal punishment of less than impressed critics. And these punishments aren't just brutal - Price murders his victims in the style of the Shakespeare plays that they lambasted, and the result is a high camp and very fun little horror comedy. The deaths are all violent, but also very playful and inventive. We see people being drowned in a vat of wine, waking up next to their dead husband, being electrocuted, eating their pets and more! And it's all done with such a big sly grin that the result is practically impossible not to go along with.

Being a British made film, Theatre of Blood utilises that great British style that the Hammer films did so well, and this massively adds to the fun camp element of the movie. We've got all sorts of things from everyone speaking in a thick London accents to the bumbling policed force that made The Abominable Dr Phibes so hilarious. The movie starts of ridiculously, with Price hamming it up to the max, and then it just continues to get more and more ridiculous; with the final two death scenes being beyond the stupidity of anything else Price ever did. Being a self-parody, the impact of this film increases ten fold if you've seen a lot of Price's other work. It's all good though, and despite being knowingly hammy; Price really shows his worth as an actor as he dons all sorts of different disguises. It's hard to mask the Vincent Price persona, but the great thespian manages it a few times in this film. Films of this nature; i.e. ones where a bunch of people get murdered in a certain way, tend to be quite monotonous; but thanks to the superior handling, this one is never dull. Far from it, in fact! Overall, Theatre of Blood, despite often being overlooked, is a great film and one of the best Price ever made. HIGHLY recommended!

A Tour de Force for Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood! Price plays a gothic Shakespearean actor who begins to slay all of the critics responsible for not giving him the best actor honours for the year. Price kills each in the style and spirit of a Shakespeare play. Each is killed with a generous dose of witty, dark black humour. The whole cast is superb as is the writing. A special treat is the performance of Robert Morley as a motherly critic forced to eat his doggies(babies) baked in a pie ala Titus Andronicus. A must see for Price fans.

There's a lot of commentary on this film here; however, I want to draw attention to the use of dream structure in this movie. People that appeared normal to the victims at first are suddenly balding, idiotic savages. A man looks to a policeman for aid and the audience suddenly notices that his face is not entirely real. The experiences of the victim of Lionheart (Price's character in this movie) each resemble a dream suddenly turned nightmare. It was a very effective device for a horror movie.

Vincent Price is at his extravagant best in this splendidly black comedy in which some complacent critics receive a cunning come-uppance from the dreadful actor who they drove to suicide. Some brilliantly staged imaginative deaths are the icing on the cake, making this a bit like a very camp "Friday The 13th". But who wouldn't rather watch Vincent at his best than boring old Jason ?