This half revenge, half murder mystery is highly regarded within the horror biz. It plays like Phantom of the Opera eloped with Seven after having plunged headlong into a train as its conductor, his a head full of acid, continued to scream listlessly long after the fact.
The plot is simple. Phibes (Vincent Price in his 100th role) is seeking revenge on the medical team who failed to save his wife’s life while she was on the operating table four years prior (the film is set in 1928). However, Phibes is obviously lacking the critical acumen in that none of the parties involved did anything overtly malicious to evoke Mrs. Phibe’s death. Nonetheless, Phibes plots to execute each of the members via the 10 Biblical plagues.
Now, the entertaining part, initially, is anticipating each of the ensuing deaths until it is revealed that neither Phibes, who is reported dead via a car wreck midway through the film, or his wife, inhabit their graves, thus the mystery. This tangent inappropriately takes the precedence of attention headlong into its subplot and thoroughly negates the suspense hereto.
The work also suffers from inadequate logic in many cases, the foremost that resounds in my mind being when Scotland Yard discovers Phibe’s pattern and puts the next member of the medical team, a nurse (Susan Travers), under police protection. They lock down the perimeter but, when it is discovered that she has been murdered (even though Inspector Trout, played by Peter Jeffrey, utters that there is no way Phibes could get to her unless the was already in the building), the police do nothing to secure the area. This, along with the often cited poor excuse for blood (more like dyed water), serve as unnecessary distractions amid a plot which, if it was presented in a more substantial manner, wouldn’t be wobbling on its already feeble legs.
Now, being a huge fan of satire, black humor, and camp, I must state I fail to see the fascination with the work in this light. Maybe I was tired. I did find the scene with Trout and the wry goldsmith (Aubrey Woods) amusing and would have like to have seen more of the latter (the goldsmith is only given one scene). I also enjoyed the inconsequential presence of Trout being epitomized by the fact that no one could remember the officer’s name throughout the duration of the film. However, I think that if the work were to succeed as a comedy at any level, Price perhaps downplayed the camp to such a degree that it was perhaps too subtle. All of this does not mean that the film was boring at any given moment–it did hold my attention throughout albeit at times divided between the Phibes’ current metaphysical status and the crimes as they were being committed–but neither plot truly roused my interest past the opening scene, which I must confess, was rather nontraditional for a horror film to say the least.
I do not like to give negative reviews as I attempt to follow the wise words of Donald Barthelme, “That which cannot be praised should be surrounded with a tasteful, well-thought-out silence.” Unfortunately, it comes with the job however grudgingly. That said, I will close with the assessment that I consider this work suggested viewing for Price aficionados only.
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
