Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Red-Barracuda
This may very well be the greatest horror-comedy of all time. Theatre of Blood is essentially a film which reworks the same basic ideas that the earlier 'Dr. Phibes' movies had played around with. In all of these films we had an insane, eccentric genius seemingly return from the grave to enact a series of highly elaborate murders based on historical sources on a group of individuals who had wronged him in his earlier life. These films also shared a colourful, stylish and campy nature, which was quite unusual for British horror films; while they also shared a large ensemble cast of quality British actors with the unique American horror legend Vincent Price at the helm in over-the-top splendour. The 'Phibes' films are certainly classics but with Theatre of Blood the level is upped even further. The central idea of the film is fantastic. A stage actor returns from a presumed watery grave to carry out a series of theatrical and over-the-top murders on a series of theatre critics who refused to reward him with the best actor of the year award at the annual critics award ceremony. Given he had been mocked for never acting in anything other than William Shakespeare productions, he kills them all in the style of the Bard's famous plays. It is a brilliant, relatively simple idea which is executed to perfection, with Price on top form - in fact he was never better.It is unique among the vast majority of horror comedies in that both the horror and the humour work alongside each other perfectly without one compromising the other. It is a hard trick to pull off and it rarely works but in this one the comedy is genuinely hilarious and the horror not shy in being properly grotesque. It is a huge testament to the skills of Price in particular that this fine balancing act is navigated to perfection as he was an actor who uniquely understood the comedy in horror, and how to deliver it on screen. It has to also be said that the ensemble cast around him is really quite stellar, with a succession of quality British actors pitching up to be high calibre cannon fodder for the homicidal Price. We also have the great Diana Rigg appear as his embittered daughter, in a film which she still has extremely good memories and opinions of. I guess one of the problems with a film like this is that it feels like a bit of a shame that Price's character has to be defeated in the end, we sort of definitely want him to take out Ian Hendry as well to be perfectly honest! But really, the pacing and set-pieces in this one are truly of a fantastic standard. All of the murders an absolute riot with Price adorning all manner of ludicrous disguises on the way - a particular hilarious highlight being his afro sporting hairdresser Butch.I may even have to go as far as to suggest that this may well be the greatest British horror film ever made. Its uniquely successful combination of horror, wit, style, imagination, high-calibre acting, camp costuming and Grand Guignol excess, makes it a particularly satisfying movie which is endlessly re-watchable. A true cult classic and one of the high points of the horror genre in general. And to think I used to always think the theatre was pointless and boring!
GL84
After several top movie critics are viciously killed, the police discover it is the followers of a celebrated Shakespearean actor thought dead and ordering them to assist in his revenge on critics who savaged his work and race to stop him before his revenge is complete.This is one of the finest and most enjoyable efforts in his career. First and foremost, it must be said that this is Vincent Price's movie. Here, he delivers one of his finest performances to date, and it's simply a joy to see Price perform so splendidly in what was obviously a role written specifically for him. That makes his performance all the more watchable, as he's supposed to be acting ham which is due to the way the film carries itself out. The way the plot dictates matters makes it all the more watchable as it's quite fun to see how ham Price can be this involving a Shakespearean actor seeking revenge on movie critics for harmful reviews is a role Price was born to play, and in here it really works for the film. Besides the greatness of Price's role, the film is memorable for the method of murder as being one of the most creative and imaginative in horror cinema. Because of the way Price's character is written, basing the deaths on the movie the critic bashed, this is further proof of Price's genius in the role as the deaths are so much fun to watch, yet require a large amount of intelligence on the viewer to deduce what is going on with the deaths. That is quite a change and one that is quite welcomed in the film by giving this the kind of atmosphere to allow for quite an impressive time here. There are a couple of great action pieces in here that are quite entertaining going off of that, featuring a duel at a fencing school which is inventive and exhilarating going back and forth between the fighters, a stellar series of gruesome deaths as well as the opening attack in the theater which is an effective way to get the movie rolling and delivers lots of chills. The other big plus here comes from one of the best finales in a long while which includes a spectacular gathering and the overall burning-down-the-building finish that offers a rather touching finish. These make this one a blast to watch while not really offering up too many flaws. It's biggest problem is that this is a little bit more intelligent than what most of the usual horror fans are used to since the viewer is required to know Shakespeare and his works, for that drives most of the horror in here. Knowing that will increase the level of involvement in the script as well since the large amount of detail in here is not something for those that have very little experience with the works of Shakespeare to just get into. Otherwise, this is a great film.Today's Rating/R: Graphic Violence and Language.
Shawn Watson
Shakespearean Ham actor Edward Lionheart is heartbroken when a critic's choice circle awards a bratty newcomer as Best Actor of the Year and plots bloody revenge on the stuffy journalists who denied him his cherished accolade with a series of gruesome, ironic deaths.Vincent Price is allowed to dial-up the drama here and goes OTT without being ridiculous. Lionheart is a sympathetic anti-hero with a diabolical mind. There's no doubt in my mind that this movie inspired future horror juggernauts such as Se7en and Saw, only with a very dark sense of humor and a glorious musical score.As a time capsule of lost London this film offers a priceless glimpse into locations long-gone. Not one scene of Theatre of Blood was shot in a studio with every single location being a once-tangible place, most notably the old Puntney Hippodrome which Lionheart makes into his secret lair (now a block of council flats...why?). But, man, am I glad I was not yet alive to witness those grisly fashions.There's a rugged urgency to Theatre of Blood that disconnects it from the more grand horror productions of Vincent Price's career, however it makes for a fitting bookend to a solid 20-year run.
tomgillespie2002
Ranked as his personal favourite amongst Vincent Price's vast acting catalogue, Theatre of Blood seems to have stood the test of time thanks to a macabre mixture of tongue-in-cheek blood-letting and genuinely gruesome horror, a stellar ensemble of memorable cult British thespians, and some interesting observations about the death of theatre. Perhaps the latter is looking a little too much into it, but it gives the film an interesting angle, especially with Price delivering one of his greatest performances as a strictly Shakespeare performer, roles the actor himself expressed a desire to play, only to be repeatedly type- cast in the horror genre that was admittedly very good to him.Price plays Edward Lionheart, a forgotten thesp who spends his time performing in full make-up in an abandoned theatre to a gang of meth- drinking vagrants. Only a few years ago, he believed he was on the cusp of winning the elusive Critic's Circle Award, only for it to be awarded to a younger actor who embraced the 'new'. Distraught, Lionheart was thought to have committed suicide in front of the critics who voted against him, but actually survived the attack and was nursed to health by the gang of drug addicts who found him. Lionheart was simply preparing for his greatest performance yet, and is hell-bent on murdering or destroying the people he thinks wronged him, all in the style of his greatest idol, William Shakespeare.Above all else, Theatre of Blood is just bloody good fun. Narratively, it isn't much more than one murder after another, each one as gory and rather clever as the last. My personal favourite is Lionheart disguising himself as a camp hairdresser, dressing in outrageous clothes and a huge blonde wig in order to lure critic Chloe Moon (Coral Browne - Price's future wife) into a false sense of security so he can fry her with hair curlers. This is crazy stuff, and I don't care how many horror films you've seen, you've never seen one with a Tybalt/Mercutio-inspired sword-fight. On trampolines. But I'm selling the film short. The script, by Anthony Greville-Bell, is really quite clever, and with an ensemble this good (Diana Rigg plays Lionheart's daughter, and supporting roles go to Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Robert Morley, Michael Hordley and Arthur Lowe), Theatre of Blood doesn't disappoint.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
