'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' review

'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' - 1971

Story in Brief: In mid 1920s London, doctors are turning up dead, killed in strange ways. These particular dead doctors point towards one specific case and therefore one primary suspect. There is only one problem facing the police: he's dead. Isn't he?

Thoughts:

I've inherited a number of things from my father. My basic physical appearance, the sound of my voice, an interest in growing large sideburns, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, a bunch of things I can't recall at the moment, and this movie. As I was growing up, I remember my father waiting for this movie to show on television and catching it whenever he could. At the time, it seemed like it and the sequel played every month or so on local television. I remember the first time I saw part of it. We were at my grandparents house, it was near the end of the movie and the suspense was building. We had to leave before the movie ended. That hurt. Years later, it would be one of the first movies I would record upon getting a VCR. I like this movie and knew that going into purchasing the DVD.
This was also, as far as I can remember, my introduction to Vincent Price. It is not quite the typical Vincent Price performance where he smiles and his voice drips and purrs. For storyline reasons his expression is almost constantly blank and his voice is projected through a speaker. This leaves his eyes as the only true way he can express himself. He does. What little variability is left in his voice is used to its best effect, to express longing for his dead wife, to express bitterness at his situation, to curse his enemies.
Phibes' character is rather unusual for this type of movie. It would have been particularly easy to have him be deranged for the sake of being deranged and just killing a bunch of people. Phibes' has motivation for what he does. He may well be out of his mind but in his own mind his actions are totally justified and logical. His reasons for arranging the deaths of all this medical personnel are given to us bit by bit as the movie progresses making them easier to understand and accept. It also allows the viewer to empathize with him. He isn't a simple cold hearted killer that we want to see destroyed at the end of the film like, perhaps, Jason from the 'Friday the 13th' series. He's a sad crazy little man that needs to be stopped, but not necessarily destroyed.
The methods of killing are generally quite clever. When animals are part of the equation, the shots are fleeting so as to help preserve the illusion. There are a couple methods of execution that require a certain amount of disbelief suspension, but considering there is an influence from the 'Avengers' television programme amongst the creative staff and the general strangeness of that programme, this is perhaps not surprising.
The acting is top notch. Price, as noted, is more serious in this film than he's generally perceived to be. Joseph Cotton, as the head surgeon and therefore last target, displays his incredulity and then his concern well. Terry-Thomas is, well, Terry-Thomas, full of bluster and amusement with but one serious moment.
The movie is clever with a serious tone, but moments of humour arise to round out the film. For instance, the policemen assigned to the case are allowed to be serious characters but the people they interview are often quite strange. In addition, their boss is overbearing, loud and, well, seems to lack intelligence without being an idiot. Since most people have survived through a situation like this at their work, it makes the eyerolling the policemen get to do behind their superior's back very amusing and familiar.
The ending is a bit, well odd, and I've long had some issues with it but it doesn't wreck the film for me.
Very simply, I recommend the movie itself and encourage you to view it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Had the presentation of this film been substandard, I may have toned down that recommendation. It is not. The film looks beautiful with a minimum of nicks to distract the eye. The colours are bold and deep. The widescreen ratio looks correct and it's 16 by 9 enhanced. It looks grand.
The sound is good too. It is clear and crisp, and nothing appears to have been done to meddle with the original mono sound. Occasionally the 'processed' sound disappears from Phibes' voice, but every time I've seen the movie on television it has played that way. It is evidently a fault from the original voice-over recording.

This film is part of the 'MGM Midnite Movies' line and SRP is $14.95. It can often been found for $9.95 and is a deal at either price. The only extras are a few alternate languages and a trailer. I do not recommend watching the trailer first if you've never seen the movie before as the trailer gives too much away (but it does have some 'alternate' voice-over moments and should be watched).

Highest recommendation to get.

(Please note that I wrote this review some years ago already and the pricing information may possibly no longer be accurate. Beyond that, I still agree with the review.)