Originally written 12/23/15
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is
an outlandish and campy movie. It is extremely colorful and brightly lit for a
horror movie. It feels as though the 1966 Batman
TV series was an influence in terms of the film's absurdity and vivid art
direction. It was an interesting choice to give Vincent Price almost no dialog,
especially since his voice is so iconic. His character is a mute who speaks through a modified gramophone like an electrolarynx (This movie is really weird, you guys). Even odder is that his character has
minimal screen time despite being the title character.
When
the film is not following Price around his villainous art deco lair, the movie
plays out as more of a mystery film. A detective and the police force solve the
mystery of a series of bizarre murders (Spoiler Alert: It was Phibes), and then
stop him before he can kill again. The murders have an inventive, if not
contrived, biblical plague motif. There are attacks with giant bats, hail,
rats, and so on and so forth. The film's climax plays out like a precursor to
the Saw traps, and is a graciously
intense finish to an otherwise underwhelming film.
There
are many interesting ideas going on in Dr.
Phibes. So many interesting ideas, in fact, that they feel crammed at times
and can never fully coalesce. The police mystery parts of the movie are
unremarkable and dull, and most of the biblical plague murders are more goofy
than suspenseful. I still admire the creativity at play in the film, even the
movie cannot quite decide what it wants to do with all its ideas. If you are
looking for a horror film with a campy visual flair, or are just in it for the
weirdness at play, this movie is worth checking out.
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