Theater of Blood (1973) User Reviews

Very creative death scenes, gory and funny - and absolutely beautifully acted by Vincent Price

[gogoschka-1 · 8/10 · 17 July 2014]

* Some mild spoilers ahead *

Vincent Price, the star of countless B-Movies from the fifties to the seventies, in his perhaps best role ever. This movie is wicked fun; a failed Shakespeare-actor brutally settles the score with all his critics - but they all meet their demise by having to "act" a part in the plays of the great bard. Very creative death scenes, gory and funny - and absolutely beautifully acted by Price and an ensemble of many greats of British cinema and theatre.

Funny enough, there are many parallels between Price's own career and his character's (maybe that's exactly why the director chose him for this part), for Price also failed to get the recognition he deserved until very late in his life and felt unfairly treated by critics. Although many of his films are now regarded as classics, for the most part of his life his films and his (indeed rather Shakespearian) approach to his roles was often ridiculed. Around the time of this film though, critics started to take Price seriously (probably out of fear, LOL).

But this film is also interesting for another reason: despite the obvious black comedy it looks almost like a blueprint for a certain category of horror films to come, and films like 'Seven' and 'Saw' owe perhaps a little debt to 'Theatre of Blood'. Highly recommended. 8 stars out of 10.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

The Third Film in a Very Delightful Series... Sort Of

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 8 March 2010]

Vincent Price plays Lionheart, an actor who specializes in Shakespeare. But he's been getting bad reviews, and did not receive the Critics Circle award. There's only one thing to do: kill off each of the critics in a style modeled after a Shakespearean death.

Although not a Phibes film, this is clearly in the same grouping as "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and its sequel, coming only one year later, and following much the same formula: a man who was thought dead goes after those who wronged him in a methodical manner (here, Shakespeare) and with a female assistant. They also asked Robert Fuest to direct, clearly trying to make the picture as similar as possible.

There are some great scenes, and for me none more memorable than Price's disguise as Butch, the effeminate hair dresser. In general, the whole idea of hippie, homeless slaves (who seem to like big mustaches and afros) is just plain silly, but works in this case.

Price is alleged to have loved this role, and Diana Rigg (who plays his daughter) is said to find this her favorite role. I have to say I prefer "Phibes", but there's never a bad time for Vincent Price, especially when he's on killing spree.

Brilliant Anglo horror & maybe Price's finest moment.

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 12 May 2007]

Theater of Blood is set in an early 70's London where famed theater critic George Maxwell (Michael Hordern) is asked to move on some homeless people squatting in a property he owns, however they turn on him & stab him to death. Several of George's peers & work colleagues are shocked to hear the news of his death & attend his funeral but are again shocked when a horse appears galloping along with another critic named Hector Snipe (Dennis Price) being dragged along behind it & throughly dead having also been murdered. The remaining critics are convinced that someone is out to get them, Inspector Boot (Milo O'Shea) is on the case but doesn't believe Peregrine Devlin's (Ian Hendry) theory that Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) is responsible as he supposedly committed suicide even though his body was never found...

This British production was directed by Douglas Hickox & is a personal favourite of mine. The script by Anthony Greville-Bell has a deliciously dark comic premise of a disgruntled actor taking revenge on his critics in the style of Shakespeare, as a concept it works extremely well & is huge fun throughout. There's a surprising amount of gore & violence considering when this was made but it's more than welcome, the film moves along like a rocket & never bores although there's no mystery to what's happening & therefore it could be considered a little predictable. I love the little novelty death scenes which almost seem like little films in themselves at times, they're pretty imaginative & are good dark fun if you have a liking for the macabre. The character's are good as is the dialogue although the police come across as a bit stupid. There is one scene that I don't get though, it's when Horace has his head surgically cut off & the next morning the maid discovers him & his head falls on the floor but in the very next shot his head is impaled on the top of a milk bottle outside Devlin's apartment & I can't work out how got there.

Director Hickox does a good job & Theater of Blood was shot entirely on location in & around London which gives it a realistic look & feel. There's a nice darkly comic atmosphere to this throughout & Vincent Price is in his prime reciting Shakespeare badly & hamming it up as the villain, I mean he was born to play the part of Edward Lionheart & he apparently said this was his favourite film that he made & I can't really argue with him. There's a surprising amount of gore & exploitation here, there are impalement's, cut out hearts, stabbings, someone is forced to eat their own poodles, there are severed heads, a gory sword-fight, someone is electrocuted & a fair amount of blood.

Technically the film is fine with decent cinematography, impressive special effects & good locations. The theater used was the Putney Hippodrome in London which had been boarded up for years when used in this film, it makes for an imposing backdrop & you can see Price is in his element. The acting is pretty good from an impressive cast including Ian Hendry, Eric Sykes, Dennis Price, Arthur Lowe, Michael Hordern, Diana Dors & Diana Rigg who apparently also considers Theater of Blood as her best film. Vincent Price went on to marry Coral Browne who he met on this film, she's the critic who he electrocutes in the hair dressers!

Theater of Blood is a fantastic Anglo horror film that is a personal favourite of mine, it has a nice dark sense of humour & a fair amount of gore as well. I thought it was great it just worked, definitely worth a watch especially if your a horror or Vincent Price fan.

A nasty and witty treat

[Mike S. · 4 February 1999]

Vincent Price is at his extravagant best in this splendidly black comedy in which some complacent critics receive a cunning come-uppance from the dreadful actor who they drove to suicide. Some brilliantly staged imaginative deaths are the icing on the cake, making this a bit like a very camp "Friday The 13th". But who wouldn't rather watch Vincent at his best than boring old Jason ?

one of Vincent's finest

[LetsReviewThat26 · 7/10 · 6 March 2022]

I loved this movie. It had equal parts gore and humour. The kills were creative and price was at his best. All the cast brought their own unique ness and the prop department I commend for the visuals of prices costumes throughout. I thought the plot was well constructed and brought to life. Overall an enjoyable and humorous in places film.

A hilarious spoof....Vincent Price rules!

[The_Void · 9/10 · 6 October 2005]

Vincent Price is one of the best actors of all time, and this is a SUPERB film! Theatre of Blood follows much the same plot formula as Price's earlier success, The Abominable Dr Phibes, only this time instead of playing a deranged madman; Price plays a self-parody of himself. Edward Lionheart is an over the top version of Price in all but name, and it's clear that the great Vincent Price is the only man that could have lead this film. This macabre film depicts what, I'm sure, many actors would like to engage in; the brutal punishment of less than impressed critics. And these punishments aren't just brutal - Price murders his victims in the style of the Shakespeare plays that they lambasted, and the result is a high camp and very fun little horror comedy. The deaths are all violent, but also very playful and inventive. We see people being drowned in a vat of wine, waking up next to their dead husband, being electrocuted, eating their pets and more! And it's all done with such a big sly grin that the result is practically impossible not to go along with.

Being a British made film, Theatre of Blood utilises that great British style that the Hammer films did so well, and this massively adds to the fun camp element of the movie. We've got all sorts of things from everyone speaking in a thick London accents to the bumbling policed force that made The Abominable Dr Phibes so hilarious. The movie starts of ridiculously, with Price hamming it up to the max, and then it just continues to get more and more ridiculous; with the final two death scenes being beyond the stupidity of anything else Price ever did. Being a self-parody, the impact of this film increases ten fold if you've seen a lot of Price's other work. It's all good though, and despite being knowingly hammy; Price really shows his worth as an actor as he dons all sorts of different disguises. It's hard to mask the Vincent Price persona, but the great thespian manages it a few times in this film. Films of this nature; i.e. ones where a bunch of people get murdered in a certain way, tend to be quite monotonous; but thanks to the superior handling, this one is never dull. Far from it, in fact! Overall, Theatre of Blood, despite often being overlooked, is a great film and one of the best Price ever made. HIGHLY recommended!

Shakespeare joins the theater of the macabre

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 20 February 2019]

"Theatre of Blood" has a masterful plot that probably attracted the high caliber of actors it has for a horror film. It's a story of revenge. Each method of killing is taken from a different Shakespeare play. A couple have novel twists on the play sources. The plot is very novel and clever, and it holds one's interest. Even those who don't particularly enjoy gore should find this film quite intriguing.

But it is definitely a gore-fest of blood and guts horror. It's what one would expect from the master of the macabre, Vincent Price. He has the lead role and is at his gruesome best in this color film that's set in London. The film was shot entirely in England and it has a tremendous cast with prominent British actors of the day.

Price plays long-time Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg plays his daughter, Edwina. Among the rest of the cast are Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Coote and Ian Hendry.

This is a well-written, very well-acted and well-shot horror film. Besides diehard fans of the genre, Shakespeare fans may especially find it interesting, if not entertaining, for its parodies of Shakespearean plays throughout.

Murder Outs

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 4 July 2002]

A very stylish comedy/thriller along the lines of "The Avengers," a popular TV series at the time. Vincent Price is an actor who has survived a suicide attempt and secretly takes revenge on half a dozen critics who savaged his performances in various plays of Shakespeare. With the aid of his daughter, Diana Rigg (who was Emma Peel in "The Avengers" and one of the mean daughters in Olivier's TV production of "King Lear"), seeks out his critics and offs them in ways appropriately derived from WS. It's murder allright. And WS could be very imaginative when it comes to that. I once wrote out a list of the violent acts that take place in "Titus Andronicus," the closest WS ever came to Grand Guignol, and it was as long and even more gruesome than a similar list I drew up for "Dirty Harry." "Titus" has one of the funniest stage directions I've ever seen -- "Enter messenger with hands." It doesn't mean the messenger HAS hands; it means the messenger is carrying a pair of someone else's amputated hands! At that, they had to tame the Bard down for this movie. Instead of Queen Tamara having to eat her own children baked in a pie, the gay critic played by Robert Morley is force fed (to death!) a Cornish pasty made from his two beloved poodles.

Back to this movie, though. What a cast! Vincent Price plays it for laughs, disguised as a gay hairdresser, a Scottish masseur, a French chef, and so forth. His half-hearted, mostly losing struggle with the various accents is enough to break anyone up. The others don't have as much screen time but they make the most of it -- Harry Andrews, Dennis Price, Robert Morley, Jack Hawkins, Coral Browne, Milo O'Shea. Diana Rigg is a sight to see, I should mention. Every movement is like flowing silk. Her figure is unimpeachable and her zygomatic arches should be left to the British Museum.

It's a well-done movie from start to finish. Vincent Price gets to do a lot of Shakespeare. He's no Olivier or Branaugh, but it's okay because the performance ought NOT to be very good. The cinematography is glossy and polished, the score unobtrusive. The actual look of the film is appealing -- the British now how to dress in a way that most Americans don't (but many urban Canadians do). And the writer should get some sort of special award himself. The bits in between the murders are almost as amusing as the story itself. We get to hear snippets of the reviews that torpedoed Price's career. One of them goes something like, "I was fortunate enough to fall asleep at the beginning of Lionheart's performance and awoke much refreshed, not having had to listen to this aging matinee idol's rantings and posturings." (Was the writer ripping off John Simon?) The story line is made clear, whether or not the viewer knows any of the plays. The correlations with the plays are made simply enough for an average reviewer to understand and appreciate the similarities. And the murders themselves are funny -- excuse me. One critic gets drowned in a butt of malmsy -- a barrel of wine -- and the police establish the exact vintage afterward.

I don't want to imply that this movie is a barrel of laughs. There is some physical comedy, including one of the sword fights from Romeo and Juliet, but most of the humor lies less in slapstick and jumping around than in situations and dialogue. Price and his assistant dressed in hospital scrubs, wearing surgical gloves, and setting a bedroom up as an operating room in order to saw off some guy's head. The parody is played straight. You will probably not double over with laughter but I found myself laughing aloud during some scenes. To give you some perspective, I didn't find "The Abominable Doctor Phibes" so hot. I recommend this flick. It is, as I say, stylish in every respect.

Hilarious.... Vincent Price at his best

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 5 November 2002]

A funny script but from a pretty predictable story about a sensitive actor gone mad who devises ingenious methods (based on Shakespeare's verses) to kill the critics he thinks have ruined his career. Price is always hammy, but this director, though very good, lets him go ALL the way, and the results are mixed but fun. It's all fun, actually, and should be seen by all who enjoy a good laugh at gory death.

Easily one of Price's best

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 27 July 2005]

Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart, a Shakesprean actor that the critics hate (one calls him a "ham sandwich"). Enraged by their reviews of his works he commits suicide. But, unknown to everybody else, he survives and decides to kill off his critics one by one using methods described in Shakespeare's plays.

A lot of people have called this "The Abominable Dr. Phibes Part 3". They're not too off the mark--the plot lines are very similar. Still this is better than the Phibes films. It moves quickly, has a large cast of excellent British actors (unknown over here) and some of the deaths are much gorier (this has an R rating--Phibes was PG). If you look very closely at the plot there are huge loopholes and some unlikely situations but it still is a huge amount of fun. There's also a truly incredible saber fight between two men.

This must have been a dream role for Price--he gets to preform Shakespeare and wear a variety of disguises to become different characters. He's just great (as always). Diana Rigg pops up as his daughter--she's not given much to do but looks fantastic. The critics are all well-played by a very talented roster of British actors--I really do wonder how they got some of them to do this (it's pretty bloody). The most outlandish portrayal is by Robert Morley as a gay critic with (sigh) two poodles. It might be offensive if this were a serious movie. Also Price met Coral Browne here and married her in 1974--and stayed married till she passed away.

This, oddly, remains unknown even to Price fans. That's a shame--it's one of his best. Horror, humor and Shakespeare--what more do you need? A 10 all the way.

The Memory Cheats

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 2 May 2004]

The late John Nathan Turner , the most controversial producer of DOCTOR WHO came up with the expression " The memory cheats " . What he meant by that is memory can play tricks on you , a fondly remembered DOCTOR WHO story with the production values of LORD OF THE RINGS ( Or so it seemed at the time ) can be severely disappointing when you re-watch after a gap of 20 years . A battle scene of The Brigadier leading his men against an alien invasion might have seemed like the 1973 eqivulent of BLACK HAWK DOWN but less so when watched 30 years later . I do disagree with what JNT said about the memory cheating but not totally

Unfortunately when watching THEATRE OF BLOOD after a gap of many , many years my memory has cheated more than slightly . I remember enjoying this movie one helluva lot but couldn`t remember why and after seeing it again tonight I was slightly puzzled why I had so many loving memories about it . Okay it`s not a bad movie but it`s not a great one either . Check out this sample of dialogue :

" Are you saying someone in the theatre is trying to kill us ? "

" I would say that`s a distinct possiblity "

What is it about the above ? Is the dialogue written in a flat manner or are the actors giving a flat performance ? It should also be pointed out that the fatal punishments inflicted upon the critics were someting I once remembered as being grotesque and funny but now seem rather silly especially when you stop to consider the plot holes involved such as how did Lionheart and his posse manage to hire a hair salon and TV van ? I also find it difficult to believe that no one guessed the identity of the hippy geezer with the moustache . Even if I had never seen this movie before I would have known who was Lionheart`s right hand man , it`s so obvious it`s laughable

To be fair this isn`t a movie that takes itself seriously and is all the better for being devoid of the post modernist humour of SCREAM and JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK ( Did you know the most popular plot for a Hollywood horror movie nowadays involves internet film critics getting murdered ? It`s true you know ) and Vincent Price is very well cast as the mincing thespian luvvie who is hell bent on revenge and the camp hairdresser called " Butch " did make me smile . Oh and I did love the way policeman are portrayed as being both useless and stupid . I actually thought those bits were taken from a documentary

Not as good as I remembered , but I thought it was a masterpiece when I saw it as a child and nothing is that good in the cold light of adulthood so I give THEATRE OF BLOOD six out of ten in 2004

Dr Phibes plays Shakespeare

[searchanddestroy-1 · 10/10 · 3 April 2020]

It is so obvious that this authentic masterpiece has blood lines with THE AVENGERS series and also Robert Fuest's atmosphere, especially his two DR PHIBES movies. And if I speak of THE AVENGERS TV show, that's not because of the presence of Diana Rigg, no folks; You have here the same scheme as in DR PHIBES movies, every one has noticed. And I am not surprised that Bob Fuest was inspired to direct this one. But if you permit, I would like to add something, Robert Morley played five years later in Ted Kotcheff's WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CHIEFS OF EUROPE? speaking of the nearly same scheme, but instead of stage atmosphere, or medical and surgery one - Dr PHIBES - it is question of gastronomy and restaurants, chiefs and gourmets, a film where is it question of awards and Guild for the king of the eating table. And no one will be surprised to have Robert Morley in such a atmosphere. Where he plays a close character. Just enjoy this one!!!

In my opinion... one of his best "performances"

[lthseldy1 · 6/10 · 18 February 2003]

I liked this one and there were a few roles in this film that really, I mean really cracked me up. The part of Vincent playing a hairdresser was wild, I just died laughing and the way he would get up on that stage and perform in front of those street bumbs was amusing. This movie was about a Shakespearian actor that apparently was unamused by the critics when they bombed his acting ability and downplayed his roles saying how awful he was as an actor. Years later, the actor gets revenge by killing the critics one by one in the same fasion as the plays of Shakespear. This movie is funny, serious, chilling and worth watching.

Had promise, but the 'dark humor' goes too far...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 15 October 2007]

Shakespearean thespian Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) strikes back at the stuffy critics who've skewered him in print and plots an elaborate death for each one. A delicious idea for a black farce is unfortunately hampered by a direction that takes things too far (did Douglas Hickox forget this was supposed to be funny?). Price is in the proper spirit, but such grisly deeds turn the film and his performance into gross, gory camp. Fans of perverse, queasy dark comedies will undoubtedly find the morbid humor here quite amusing, but it's rather a shoddy, brackish looking picture, one with the sour aftertaste of nasty exploitation. *1/2 from ****

One of Price's best

[masercot · 1 February 2003]

There's a lot of commentary on this film here; however, I want to draw attention to the use of dream structure in this movie. People that appeared normal to the victims at first are suddenly balding, idiotic savages. A man looks to a policeman for aid and the audience suddenly notices that his face is not entirely real. The experiences of the victim of Lionheart (Price's character in this movie) each resemble a dream suddenly turned nightmare. It was a very effective device for a horror movie.

Entertaining for Horror films or Price Fans

[ragosaal · 7/10 · 13 October 2006]

"Theatre of Blood" is another horror product with Vincent Price seeking revenge against those that mistreated him; "House of Wax" and both "Dr. Phibes" films are clear examples. However, though inferior to the first one, this movie is much more enjoyable than the other two.

This time Price plays Edward Lionheart a mediocre shakespearean actor demolished by the members of the Circle of Theatre Critics that after surviving a suicide intent goes insane and starts killing his detractors in different ways suggested by Shakespeare's plays.

Tough perhaps a bit too slow the film stands well mainly due to Price's performance; audiences always loved the actor's conscious overacting in this genre and he knew it perfectly. He is at his best in the different characters he plays according to Shakespeare's creations. The victims are a qualified supporting cast that includes such important names as those of Jack Hawkins, Harry Andrews, Ian Hendry, Coral Browne and a brilliant Robert Morley. Former blond sex symbol Diana Dors is there too.

The atmosphere is very well achieved with a sort of a not too bright color as well as a sort of Gothic settings in some scenes (mainly in the abandoned theatre where Lionheart has established his headquarters. Good action and originality in the murder sequences also help the picture.

If you consider "Theatre of Blood" a horror film or a thriller it is a more than acceptable product and if you take it as a horror Price movie its even better. Somehow this fine actor has always managed to gain the audience's sympathy no matter how mean and cruel his character could be.

This film is at least a 7 out of 10 mark for me.

Who Is Killing The Great Critics Of London?

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 28 November 2007]

One of Vincent Price's best films is a black comedy that stars a whole slew of talented British players about a classical ham actor who is taking revenge on the critics who have panned his performances for years. It's really the kind of role any player would sell his soul to have, one where he can lose all restraints and feed on a winter's supply of scenery.

Price is the only American in the cast in this film set in London, but with his classical training and magnificent speaking voice it's not anything even a critic might find fault with.

One thing I do love are the names of the characters, you would think that Charles Dickens might have collaborated with Edgar Allan Poe had this been done a century earlier.

Price has saved each bad review he's gotten and dispatches the critics with a method from the play. Some of the Bard's work used are Julius Caesar, Troilus and Cressida, Titus Andronicus, and King Lear and others.

Diana Rigg plays Price's daughter and such worthy people as Jack Hawkins, Dennis Price, and Robert Morley are some of the critics. Morley's performance and method of shuffling off this mortal coil are the best in the film.

For those who like seeing the light side of Vincent Price, do not miss Theater of Blood.

Be Careful With Your Review

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 2 January 2005]

In 1972, in London, the Shakespearean ham actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price), who is presumed dead, kills each one of the critics who denied to him the award of Best Actor, accusing him of not being creative. He uses the plays of Shakespeare to elaborate his revenge against his detractors and prove they were wrong. "Theater of Blood" is a very black comedy mixed with horror, which has Vincent Price in a great performance as a lunatic frustrated actor looking for revenge, a very dark and gore atmosphere, great photography and an original story that hooks the attention until the last scene. I do not like Shakespeare, so I found the dialogs in many parts very boring. But fans of Shakespeare will certainly love the lines based on his plays. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Sete Máscaras da Morte" ("The Seven Masks of the Death")

The mighty Vincent is out on a deliciously absurd vengeance-spree again!!

[Coventry · 8/10 · 14 March 2004]

I better be generous and praising in my comments on Theathre of Blood here…you never know the spirit of the late Vincent Price resurrects from the grave to annihilate me! J Oh, I'll be sleeping peacefully tonight…I have no intentions of bashing the master and his role here. Price personifies Edward Lionheart, a classical actor who put his heart and soul in a series of Shakespeare plays and expected to be honored for it. But…instead of that, respected critics mocked him and eventually drove him into committing suicide. Yet, Lionheart survived and the group of critics who denied his talent starts to die in peculiar ways. Each of them is found murdered, like Shakespeare described it in his plays… Plot sounds more or less familiar? Well, it should be because Theathre of Blood is nothing more then a propagation of Dr. Phibes' success! The settings and Price's background are different, but the structure and creativity indicate that this film simply is `The Abominable Dr. Phibes part 3'.

Hey, I'll be the last person to complain for this…Even though not very original, Theathre of Blood is extremely amusing and yet another comedy-horror triumph in Price's career. Following the tradition, this film contains some highly exiting killing scenes, including a decapitation, a drowning and 6 more ravishing methods. No need to say Vincent Price is brilliantly grotesque as the obsessed `punisher' and he receives good feedback from other well-appreciated actors, such as Ian Hendry (Repulsion, Children of the Damned) and Diana Rigg (known from the good James Bond episode On her Majesty's Secret Service). The endless amount of Shakespeare references are a must for fans of historical drama and the sequences with Price as a devoted ‘Shakespearean-actor' make you long to see a long-feature event… I'd pay good money to see Vincent Price star in Richard III or King Lear, for example. Theathre of Blood is terrific entertainment and gets forgotten too easily. Therefore, I recommend it to all horror fans and hopefully, it's status will be jacked up a little

Plenty of gore to go around.

[ChuckStraub · 7/10 · 20 October 2004]

There's plenty of gore to go around in this 1973 Vincent Price thriller. Theater of Blood uses a blend of horror and mystery, combined with a strange sense of humor to produce a highly entertaining film. Just a warning for the faint of heart, this film does have many gruesome and graphic murder scenes. That's basically what this movie is about. It's a bit more graphic then I remember movies being in 1973. I thought that the acting was very good. The film was well made but the plot did have a few holes in it. Everything considered, I think 'Theater of Blood' is a very interesting and entertaining movie. Vincent Price was great. You even get to see him doing bits of Shakespearean acting. For Vincent Price fans, you've got to see this one.

Marvellous, gleeful, over the top fun

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 17 January 2007]

Really good fun and surely one of Vincent Price's best films. It's also a super showcase for the Brits of the time, notably Eric Sykes, Robert Morley, Diana Dors and of course the lovely Diane Rigg, excellent in multiple roles..

Surprisingly gory, the films skips happily along despite it's predictable nature, getting in many exciting shots of an already much changed London. Is that Archer's flat they use for the Critics Circle meeting?

Fantastic Thames view and the balcony affording Price the opportunity to recite his most effective soliloquy before plunging to what is assumed is his death. Marvellous, gleeful, over the top fun.

Great horror fun with Vincent Price.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 3 May 2004]

Mix horror with some typical British humor and the result is "Theatre of Blood". And a quite successful mix it is!

9 out of 10 times the combination of horror and comedy doesn't work. For "Theatre of Blood" it works perfectly! The movie at times is pretty gruesome and graphic but still the movie is light to watch because of the fun undertone it has. Vincent Price deserves the most credit, he plays his character with great fun and humor and really is in his element as Shakespearean actor.

The excellent music also adds to the fun of the movie. It gives some of the scene's a truly comical aspect and feeling, such as the fencing scene.

The story is just mostly fun as long as you don't take it all too seriously. If you do that, you'll have great fun watching this movie and you'll enjoy the legendary Vincent Price his performance.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Priceless: tribute to a genius.(possible spoiler in penultimate paragraph)

[the red duchess · 8/10 · 31 August 2000]

Strangely enough, the use of Shakespeare as the inspiration for a series of grisly revenge murders does not vulgarise the playwright, but does raise this glorious Grand Guignol to the level of genuine tragedy. The plot is simple but ingenious. Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) is a dreadful ham Shakespearean ham actor who committed suicide having failed to win a coveted Critics' Circle award. Two years later, each critic of the Circle is subjected to a unique and bizarre murder - one is decapitated in his bed, another is forcefed his own dogs etc. The chief critic, Ian Hendry, figures out that each murder is modelled on deaths in the Shakespearean plays performed by Lionheart in his final repertory season. But the police are unable to find a supposedly dead man, and the murders continue as ordained.

Although nominally a horror film - and a very effective and funny one it is - 'Blood' brings together three genres very popular in the early 70. There is the police procedural, in which inspector Milo O'Shea and his sidekick Eric Sykes start reading books in order to catch a killer. There is the all-star disaster movie, in which a group of once -famous celebrities (here including Dennis Price, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley) are set up and slaughtered for the audience's delectation. And there is the Charles Bronson-like revenge movie, here shorn of any exploitative sexual overtones, but still gruesomely shocking, as in the opening slaughter of Michael Hordern by knife-slashing tramps, or the brilliant scene where his funeral is interrupted by a galloping horse dragging Price's flayed corpse.

The film is, of course, smothered in Shakespeare, and one of the film's themes is how the playwright - the very definition of (English) high art - is not so far apart from culturally despised Hammer films in his work's sensationalist horrors. It is in one sense a plea for viewers - and especially snobbish critics - to look beyond the shallows of genre, to see that horror is capable of great complexity, forcing us, as Shakespeare knew, to consider unpleasant truths about death, fear, sex, repression, history and power.

But Shakespeare manifests himself in other ways, not just in the undigested globs mouthed by Lionheart. Shakespeare's essential idea, if we can suggest such a thing, was that the life was a stage, that our very existence was not natural or given, but a series of performances and masks; that we are mere actors in the service of a greater playwright. Lionheart is the godlike orchestrator of events here, having the power to literally decide others' lives. His base, his home, is a theatre, his very existence a performance - there is no Lionheart outside the roles he plays, or the great drama of revenge he stars in; he lives and dies in the theatre (this surfaces in the mise-en-scene, of course; see particularly the ghoulish plastic proscenium arch Hendry and O'Shea peer through at Horden's mutilated corpse).

Lionheart tries to impose the theatrical on life, erase any distinction between art and criticism, the latter thinking it can remain detached, uninvolved. Criticism is explicitely linked to sterility - the only critic with 'children' has two dogs; Lionheart has a beautiful daughter to do his work for him (another God/Christ correspondence), an embodiment of his power. Unfortunately, in this age of lies and fashion, nobody is willing to hear the truth, and at the end, the surviving critic coldly reviews Lionheart's performance, with as little understanding as he did during the actor's career.

'Blood' is also about another kind of death, the death of repertory theatre in England, the blowing away of the ossified past by the angry winds of the future, symbolised by the conflagration of the old theatre. Hendry justifies his rejection of Lionheart's work by saying that it was too conservative, that the past must give way to the future. Time has revealed the noisy, much-lauded 'angry young man' stuff lauded by the likes of Hendry at the time to be threadbare, imperial clothing; Lionheart on the other hand, is a genuine, terrifying realist, taking realism to its extreme limits. The past can never be forgotten, one of the dominant themes of horror (and Shakespeare); and modernity will always be built on the bones of others, bones not always content to lie still.

Highbrow horror - the revenge of Vincent Price

[grahamclarke · 7/10 · 13 March 2006]

It's not surprising that Vincent Price chose "Theater of Blood" as one of his favorite movies. Besides the usual display of his legendary schtik, playing a vengeful Shakespearean actor he gets to deliver reams of the bard's verse. This he does with much relish, very pointedly demonstrating his theatrical abilities. There is a certain in joke quality in the fact that the supporting cast is comprised of some of the finest British actors of their day, amongst them acclaimed Shakespearean actors such as Michael Horden, Harry Andrews and Diana Rigg.

His character wreaks some nasty revenge on the critics who fail to recognise his thespian talents and all according to the grisly murders portrayed in Shakespeare's plays. This is something that clearly resonated with Price, who likewise was very often, (and justifiably), derided for his hammy horror roles.

It's a role tailor made for Price and he's clearly enjoys every minute on screen. Some scenes are rather unpleasant, but the pervading humor makes this a fairly unique entry as very literate, highbrow horror.

Very disappointing

[halfcolombian · 2/10 · 7 August 2002]

I bought this movie on DVD and it's easily the worst movie I've ever bought. I like vincent price and since I liked "madhouse", "abominable dr phibes", "scream and scream again" among other movies I felt like this could be worth watching. The setup is similar to the other movies I mention, BUT the other movies are good and entertaining and this one is totally unwatchable. It's not funny nor scary. I can't believe this movie got a higher average rating than his other ones. Maybe I'm not enough into shakespeare to enjoy it.