Vincent Price entered his campy period with great panache in Theater of Blood, 1974. It was made just after his Dr. Phibes films.
I have great fond memories of Theater of Blood, as I saw it in a movie house with my Mom and brother, when they came out to Colorado for my graduation commencement. We were VP fans, and this was a film we all enjoyed immensely.
In this movie, smartly directed by Douglas Hickcox with great style, Price plays a hammy Shakespearean actor (ironically not much of a stretch) who jumps off a bridge after his performance of King Lear is roasted by the London critics.
Believed dead, he returns to take revenge, killing each of the offending critics according to death scenes in the plays of William Shakespeare. Take notice, reviewers: bad notices can be hazardous to your well-being.
Price met future wife Coral Browne, who is cast in this film as one of the ill-fated critics. The great supporting cast features the divine Diana Rigg as Price's daughter (and partner in crime). Ian Hendry, Robert Morley, Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Milo O'Shea and even Diana Dors amongst other great UK actors, all playing this straight-faced -- and straight-laced!
A great treat for the Halloween season. On dvd and download.
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