Great, gory tale of a Shakespearean actor's revenge on the snobbish theater critics who snubbed him.
Vincent Price has a field day and revels in playing everything from a gay hairdresser named Butch to a sadistic t.v. show host. Price himself -like Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing- has been tragically overlooked and his work here is a dark, campy delight! The monsters he created in The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Pit and the Pendulum are horror classics but there's a prejudice against horror films and they never seem to be taken seriously by most award groups or critics. Diana Rigg (Emma Peel from The Avengers) is also along for the ride -playing his equally disturbed daughter- and seems to have just as much as 'ol boy Vincent.
The murder sequences are based on Shakespeare's most brutal theatrical killings and director Douglas Hickox has no sympathy for the viewer: they're violent, uncomfortable, disturbing and highly thrilling all at the same time.
Theater of Blood is a film made with some skill, wit, good acting, and lots of blood making it one of the '70's best cult movies and something that would be interesting to see if it was remade.
Vincent Price has a field day and revels in playing everything from a gay hairdresser named Butch to a sadistic t.v. show host. Price himself -like Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing- has been tragically overlooked and his work here is a dark, campy delight! The monsters he created in The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Pit and the Pendulum are horror classics but there's a prejudice against horror films and they never seem to be taken seriously by most award groups or critics. Diana Rigg (Emma Peel from The Avengers) is also along for the ride -playing his equally disturbed daughter- and seems to have just as much as 'ol boy Vincent.
The murder sequences are based on Shakespeare's most brutal theatrical killings and director Douglas Hickox has no sympathy for the viewer: they're violent, uncomfortable, disturbing and highly thrilling all at the same time.
Theater of Blood is a film made with some skill, wit, good acting, and lots of blood making it one of the '70's best cult movies and something that would be interesting to see if it was remade.