Vincent Price found a whole new career in the late 1950s as a star of mid- and low-budget horror films, including an influential series of Edgar Allen Poe features made for Roger Corman, but his two "Dr. Phibes" movies have become cult movies in their own right, thanks to their unique mix of a period piece, performance art, dry British humor, and steampunk science fiction flair in a 1920s setting.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) opens with a mysterious figure under a massive cloak and a white face like a death mask rising from the floor playing a magnificent pipe organ, like the Phantom of the Opera or Captain Nemo from 20,000 League Under the Sea. It's an elegant prelude to a series of elaborate murders inspired by the ten Biblical Plagues of Egypt and, with the help of his loyal assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North), unleashed on the medical men and women who failed to save his wife on the operating table many years ago.
Victims are killed by bats, bees, locusts, hail, exsanguination, and a frog mask that crushes the skull of its wearer. During this, a pair of befuddled Scotland Yard detectives (Peter Jeffrey and Norman Jones) and their exasperated Superintendent (John Cater) race to solve the mystery and stop the murders before Dr. Vesuvius (Joseph Cotten), the lead surgeon in the fateful operation, is targeted.
Of course, as the title of the sequel explicitly tells us, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) to begin a new quest: find the Elixir of Life in Egypt to resurrect his dead wife and give them both eternal life. Robert Quarry plays his nemesis here as the leader of an archeological team racing him to the pyramids with a new set of victims for Phibes' elaborate and bizarre methods of murder. Peter Jeffrey and John Cater are back as the Scotland Yard duo, always one step behind as they provide deadpan commentary, and Valli Kemp takes on the role of faithful assistant Vulnavia.
In both films, director Robert Fuest embraces the mix of Jules Verne retro-science fiction, art deco style, and flamboyant murder set pieces, all executed with dry wit by Fuest. It's a spectacle on a budget, which Fuest pulls off by focusing on the ingenious and bizarre methods of execution and the showmanship of the executioners. Price delivers a silent performance, a mix of silent movie exaggeration and magic show pageantry, while his dialogue plays out like narration.
Together, they make a unique contribution to seventies horror cinema, a mix of Gothic horror, steampunk devices, and theatrical execution that has been picked up, at least in part, by the elaborate and creative set pieces picked up in such horror franchises as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and Saw.
Two discs in a single Blu-ray case. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is presented with two commentary tracks, one by director Robert Fuest and one by Justin Humphries, author of The Dr. Phibes Companion. Dr. Phibes Rises Again features commentary by Humphries and film historian Tim Lucas.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
This double feature collects a pair of memorable cult movies from the 1970s and would be great additions to any library collection of classic horror films.
What kind of film series would these features fit in?
Vincent Price was one of the great horror movie stars of his era and these films showcase him in a very different manner than his great Poe films. They would be perfect for a retrospective of Price's films, of cult movies of the seventies, or of the changing face of horror cinema through the decades.