The Abominable Dr. Phibes, 1971.
Directed by Robert Fuest.
Starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Peter Jeffrey, Virginia North, Hugh Griffith and Terry Thomas.
SYNOPSIS:
Dr Anton Phibes, long thought to have died in a car accident, embarks upon a murder spree against the doctors who failed to save the life of his beloved wife.
In the 5 years that I’ve been doing October Horrors (yes, it really has been that long), I’ve looked at films featuring some of the biggest names of classic cinematic horror, such as Lugosi, Karloff, Cushing and Lee, to name a few. However, one that I strangely haven’t even glanced at until now is, in my view, perhaps the creepiest of them all; Vincent Price. So to make up for this, we’re taking a look at a film that is a fan favourite of the famously cultured horror icons vast filmography; The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
With a voice that sounds like a mix of a classic American gentleman and a spider crawling up your back, Price dominates the screen as the titular Dr Phibes, a scarred musical genius on a mission of revenge. Strangely though, Price, despite having that creepy voice, doesn’t speak all that much, conveying much of his sophisticated menace via his expressive piercing eyes that always have a maniacal glint in them or via a sly and deeply creepy smile. Although when he does speak, via a voice box hooked up to a gramophone, Price’s iconic voice could cut glass with its almost operatic proclamations about his beloved wife and his chilling condemnation of the surgeons who, in his eyes, murdered her. It’s a highly entertaining villainous performance that demonstrates why Price was rightly revered as the horror icon he was. And it’s all the more impressive that he does it all without moving his lips.
The supporting cast is also great, although most of them, aside from a straight-faced Joseph Cotten, seem to be under the impression that they are in a comedy. Packed full of British character actors, most of them engage in absurdist wordplay, physical tomfoolery, and all seem to be on the hunt for the laugh track to whatever sitcom they’ve escaped from. They aren’t bad performances, and the somewhat comedic silly nature of these larger than life characters fits in well with the darkly campy tone of the film.
Dr. Phibes is far from a straight-up horror film, presenting itself as a very silly horror-comedy, with a very dark British sense of humour running throughout. With recurring jokes about the misnaming of Inspector Trout (not Pyke as people seem to think) and a police chief so uptight that I’m amazed his bowler didn’t fly off when he shouts, suffice to say, the humour is corny and somewhat old fashioned. Yet, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer daftness of the whole thing.
The darker comic elements come into play when Phibes carries out his killing spree inspired by the Ten Plagues of the Pharaoh, it leading to some bizarre but inventive death scenes. We have sequences in which a man is mauled to death by some angry and real looking bats, a pilot is forced to crash his plane after being mauled by rats hidden in the cargo and a nurse is drenched in Brussels sprout juice (yes, really) and then eaten by locusts. The funniest is perhaps the most simple, a man is suddenly impaled by a bust of a unicorn, forcing police to “unscrew him” from the wall via a darkly hilarious sight gag, much to the annoyance of a stuffy old man reading his newspaper.
The strangest set-piece is the final curse; the death of the firstborn, with Phibes kidnapping the son of the lead surgeon and handcuffing him to a table, the key to the lock hidden in the boy’s chest, forcing his father to operate. And if that’s not bad enough, Phibes places an acid vat above them both that will drop its contents over the boy in six minutes. Didn’t the Saw films do something similar? Although, this film is much classier thanks to Price hamming up a storm as the doctor operates, goading him about how he ‘MURDERED’ Phibes wife.
The production design is impressive, particularly Phibes lavish and elegant lair steeped in the Art Deco style, adding a bit of class and sophistication to an evil lair that is sorely lacking from other horror films. I mean, Dracula didn’t even give his castle quick dust before he had visitors. The music is also terrific, with occasional moments in which Phibes sits at the organ and bangs out a ghoulish number like he were the Phantom of the Opera or performing a ballroom dance with his female side-kick, adding a nice touch of brevity to proceedings. I like the clockwork band that Phibes conducts, his manic mannerisms being a sight to behold as he waves his hands clad in a jet black cloak.
If I had any issues with Dr. Phibes, it’s that it plays like a series of vignettes instead of a complete film. Characters are introduced, they meet death at Phibes hands, police are baffled and bumble about, Phibes plays on his organ or monologues to his dead wife. It’s not a terrible approach, but it can leave things feeling a tad repetitive. The ending is also slightly lacklustre, although, in fairness, this issue is somewhat mitigated by the existence of the sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again, released the following year. We’ll maybe get to that one in a future October.
Darkly comic, whimsical and boasting a terrific performance from horrors most sophisticated gentleman, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a wonderfully weird slice of British camp horror. While it may be a tad repetitive and its humour a tad silly, these elements combine to give the film a very peculiar charm that I simply couldn’t resist.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
