Theater of Blood

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Will G Magnificent! Well acted and tremendous fun. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review Alec B Immense fun and a movie about an actor getting revenge on the critics who wronged him is an undeniably great idea. Easily the best of Vincent Price's horror performances as it has the right balance of camp/menace/pathos. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Matthew D A Vincent Price classic with humor and murder! Director Douglas Hickox' British horror comedy Theater of Blood (1973) has a fun and spooky vibe. Writer Anthony Greville-Bell's concept of a frustrated actor seeking revenge on his brutal critics is hilarious. Hickox brings a charming ridiculousness to Theater of Blood. It's quite similar to The Abominable Dr. Phibes with its shocking kills. The campy performances and murders are quite silly. It's absurd and violent with increasingly funny humor. Editor Malcolm Cooke lets things play out pretty naturally in 70's fast and loose style. It's a bit strangely cut, but that's part of the charm. 104 minutes feels steadily paced, even if it starts slow. Cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky slow panning shots creep ghastly imagery into frame. Every shot of Vincent Price's grim Shakespeare performances are fiendish and striking. Michael Seymour's posh English sets and raw stage set is awesome. Ann Mollo's set decoration stuffs each apartment set with tons of movie posters and playbills. John Stears' bloody effects alongside Tutte Lemkow's deranged choreography make for some entertaining scenes. Vincent Price is captivating as disgruntled stage actor Edward Lionheart. His hatred of critics is quite fun to watch, especially as he annihilates his harshest of detractors. Diana Rigg is lovely and adventurous as Price's helpful daughter Edwina Lionheart. Ian Hendry is great as the snobbish theater critic Peregrine Devlin. Dennis Price is great as the entitled critic in denial of his crimes named Hector Snipe. Harry Andrews is excellent as the pompous critic Trevor Dickman. Arthur Lowe's plump critic Horace Sprout getting decapitated is eerie by Dr. Price. Milo O'Shea's tough and alarmed Inspector Boot is gripping. Composer Michael J. Lewis brings a bubbly and weird 70's score. Sound designers Simon Kaye, Les Wiggins, and Doug E. Turner could have recorded the voices more clearly with less noise. Costume designer Michael Baldwin's Shakespeare stage outfits are fun, especially for Vincent Price. Makeup artist George Blackler transforms Price every scene alongside hairstylist Pearl Tipaldi. Overall, Vincent Price killing off his critics in Shakespearean style is a delight! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/01/23 Full Review Carlos S Absolutely stunning, witty, funny, great cast, and the very best of Vincent Price and Diana Riggs, plus Robert Morley or Harry Andrews… saw it when I was 15. Now I'm 60, I think I've seen twice a year since then. The makeup and art direction is unsurpassed. This is a must. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review isla s This is very camp and very much a b-movie, with a real comedy horror feel and coming across as a sort of a 1970s play adaptation. Its quite amusing how things play out, not everything is as it seems. Compared to modern day horror films, its somewhat tame in terms of graphic detail, although if your squeamish about seeing blood on screen then you'd still be best to avoid this. The plot, the idea, behind this film is the most interesting part to this, though the cast is pretty decent for the time it was made. I can only imagine how actors who feel they've been sorely 'done by' 'thanks' to 'sharp tongued critics' may lash out via social media and otherwise these days. There are some decent one liners and the brief scene involving fencing and a trampoline will likely stay in my mind for a while yet. If anything, I feel it may be regarded as a little too over the top these days in some ways but its still a pretty entertaining watch for the most part. A bit of fun. I suppose I'd recommend it as a British b-movie of its time, yes. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Immense fun and a movie about an actor getting revenge on the critics who wronged him is an undeniably great idea. Easily the best of Vincent Price's horror performances as it has the right balance of camp/menace/pathos. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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