Blood Fiend (1967)
"Theatre of Death" (original title)

The Theatre of Death in Paris specialises in horror presentations. A police surgeon finds himself becoming involved in the place through his attraction to one of the performers. When ... See full summary »

Director:

Samuel Gallu

Writers:

Ellis Kadison, Roger Marshall

Stars:

Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, Lelia Goldoni

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lee	...	Philippe Darvas
Julian Glover	...	Charles Marquis
Lelia Goldoni	...	Dani Gireaux
Jenny Till	...	Nicole Chapelle
Evelyn Laye	...	Madame Angelique
Ivor Dean	...	Inspector Micheaud
Joseph Fürst	...	Karl Schiller (as Joseph Furst)
Betty Woolfe	...	Colette
Leslie Handford	...	Joseph
Fraser Kerr	...	Pierre
Dilys Watling	...	Heidi
Steve Plytas	...	Andre, Patron of Cafe
Miki Iveria	...	Patron's Wife
Terence Soall	...	Ferdi
Ester Anderson	...	La Poule (as Esther Anderson)

Storyline

The Theatre of Death in Paris specialises in horror presentations. A police surgeon finds himself becoming involved in the place through his attraction to one of the performers. When bloodless bodies start showing up all over town he realises there could be links with the theatre.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | belly dancing | sliding panel | costume party | ring | 

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Taglines:

The bood fiend will disgust and repel those to weak to share a living nightmare of the bizarre!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Fiend

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pennea Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jenny Till receives an "introducing" credit.

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Connections

Edited into Drive-In Madness! (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Shock Treatment"
(uncredited)
Music by Trevor Duncan
Josef Weinberger Ltd

User Reviews

"It pulls every hokey horror cliché in the book then throws them to the winds."

In Paris a series of grisly murders are taking place, in which the victims are stabbed with a knife that leaves a triangular wound and then are drained of their blood. Inspector Micheaud (IVOR DEAN) and pathologist Charles Marquis (JULIAN GLOVER) suspect that they are dealing with a killer with vampiristic tendencies. Marquis has a girlfriend called Dani Gireaux (LELIA GOLDONI) who is an actress at the "Theatre De Mort" - the "Theatre Of Death" where the principal themes of the plays are murder and mayhem. The company is run by the eccentric and obsessive Philippe Darvas (CHRISTOPHER LEE) who becomes the chief suspect because when Marquis gives him a lift home and tells him that a knife that resembles the murder weapon was found among his props, he seemed eager to get out of the car and continue on foot. Secondly, he seems to have hypnotic control over one of his fellow actresses, Nicole Chapelle (JENNY TILL). Things look worse for Darvas after he disappears late one night leaving his hat and blood soaked cloak in a park, but Nicole's trance doesn't appear to be letting up. Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise and the police must either find Darvas' killer or the true culprit...

THEATRE OF DEATH begins slowly and tamely (in every murder sequence the camera moves in for a close up of the victim's terrified face then cuts away to the next scene). However, it cannot be denied that this is a unique film in its own right as it features one of Christopher Lee's best performances and it deals with an ingenious modern day vampire story, which is far more realistic than the mythical vampires that Hammer dealt with. The film pulls every hokey horror trick in the book such as eyes moving in portraits and the French characters speak with impeccable English accents very much as the Transylvanians did in the Hammer films. However, what makes the film unique is that it packs an ingenious twist at the climax and as a result the film has given us these hackneyed horror clichés, it throws them to the winds and when the identity of the killer is finally revealed it comes as quite a surprise as every one is expecting it to be Christopher Lee's character as this is a part than everyone associated with him at the time. Its not him but I won't spoil it anymore for those who have not seen it! Add to that, all the performances are excellent and there is the stylish camera-work of Gilbert Taylor who would later go on to shoot the first STAR WARS (1977) for George Lucas.