Theater of Blood (1973) is it good?

[vampyr789]

i was reading the thread "What is some of the best killing in a movie?" and i came across Theater of Blood, some said the deaths are inventive, some said it is Vincient Price at his best. i have to ask...

would u say this is a slasher film?
how bloody are the deaths?
is it a good horror flick?

[Gua]

Don't hesitate on this one friend. This is perhaps Price at his finest during that time. He even said it was one of his all-time favorite if not THE favorite film he's ever acted in.

I even bought the DVD for my mom and she just loved it. If you love Price and want to complete your collection of his films, as much as possible that is, then get yourself a copy. As a matter of fact, you can buy it for $8.48 as double feature with Madhouse which also stars Vincent Price.

http://www.oldies.com/product-view/13129M.html

How can you lose?

[KamuiX]

The kills are wildly inventive, and it's definitely among Price's best work, although the film is very tongue-in-cheek. Think the Phibes films, and you'll have a good idea of what it's like. The film has a pretty decent amount of blood, and the final scene is top-notch. I'd highly recommend it myself.

Cheap-ass plug, if you want to know more of what I thought about it: http://infini-tropolis.com/reviews/t..._of_blood.html

[DVD-fanatic-9]

It's very shocking - I personally think. I've never seen the Phibes, so I've nothing to compare it to, but I've never seen anything like this movie in my entire life. It's beyond mean spirited. It's truly lovingly mean. It's beyond cruel. It's laughing at the victims as they're being brutally murdered. And not in a Monty Python / Peter Jackson kind of way, either. Those movies were silly, not mean.

As for bloody... There's definitely some splatter. Blood doesn't just drip, it spurts. But I can't remember it being all that gory. Just really shocking. As for good... I recommend people see it. It's definitely creepy. Like winter rain dripping underneath your skin - creepy.

A slasher film? Not really. The deaths are all slow. So it's much more like a torture film. And the killer doesn't wear a mask - just a lot of different costumes and makeup. And, he plays with the victims by talking to them, making them think he's someone else or that he's not angry at them, lulling them into a false sense of security.

[The Chaostar]

Price's having a ball in this one. I mean, you got Price, you got Shakespeare and a lot of blood. What could go wrong? Douglas Hickox was the director on this one (his son, Douglas, is the director of Waxwork!), and he did a wonderful job.

[17thJuggalo]

This in itself is enough to see Theater of Blood.

[delicreep]

Yes. Theatre of Blood is one of Price's best films, and a great film in general. One of my favorites.

[Workshed]

not trying to be a thread ballbuster, vampyr, but a thread already exists for this film, which may contain some of the info you're looking for. why not bump an old thread and see some of the fun discussion that's already been had.

The "search" button at the top is often what I use when I am thinking about seeking out an older film (search --> advanced search --> thread titles only).

anyway, yes, ToB is a fun film w/ Price doing some hysterical work.

[DVD-fanatic-9]

Originally Posted by 17thJuggalo

This in itself is enough to see Theater of Blood.

"Dishy, dishy hair!"

[Anaestheus]

Part of the reason why I love Vincent Price films, is that (in most) you can tell he is having fun and I find that very infectious. Even in his serious roles, I can tell that this is man who is doing what he loves and loves what he is doing. And, you can tell that he is having a great time in "Theatre of Blood" At this point in his career, it really is a sum total of all his skills. He gets to be fiendish, he gets to perform Shakespeare (which he was trained for and loved) and he gets to ham it up. DVD-Fanatic is right that it is a mean, gruesome film. The film style is ugly and (for the time period) makes no attempts to hide the brutality of the killings. But, Price's Lionheart is such a great character and hearing his delicious take on some pretty famous monologues is fantastic.

If you are a Price fan, this is a must. If you are looking for gore, this might not satisfy. If you want to see an extremely well done and original take on an old genre staple, this will probably be immensely enjoyable.

[Harry Warden]

This is an outstanding horror film. Several years back, Vincent was interviewed on Larry King about his legendary career. He stated in this interview that Theatre of Blood was his all time favorite horror role. I was blown away by how terrific this film is. I caught it on late night TV one weekend. It is quite bloody, but It's not a slasher. As others have mentioned, the deaths are creative and in some parts, hilarious. Vincent actually met his second wife on the set. He kills her character in the film, but in real life, it was a match made in heaven. This is my all time favorite Vincent Price film.

[vampyr789]

Originally Posted by Workshed

not trying to be a thread ballbuster, vampyr, but a thread already exists for this film, which may contain some of the info you're looking for. why not bump an old thread and see some of the fun discussion that's already been had.

The "search" button at the top is often what I use when I am thinking about seeking out an older film (search --> advanced search --> thread titles only).

anyway, yes, ToB is a fun film w/ Price doing some hysterical work.

i searched last night B4 i made the thread, and nothing was found.

[Workshed]

Originally Posted by vampyr789

i searched last night B4 i made the thread, and nothing was found.

Cool, let's blame Dave.

in the old thread, there was this nugget that I never knew:

Originally Posted by The Chaostar

The director's son made WAXWORK and HELLRAISER III.

[Paff]

Originally Posted by Workshed

Cool, let's blame Dave.

We can blame Dave for many things. But not this. I found the old Theater of Blood thread quite easily.

In addition to finding old threads, check out reviews too (although I don't believe a Theater of Blood review is on the site). We put a LOT of time and effort into those reviews, and they're a lot more in depth than any site I can think of. Hell, that's why I don't do reviews here anymore. I don't have the time to do reviews that are of the standards of HorrorDVDs.com (or now Horrordigital.com).

Anyway, don't put all the onus on us to find your movies. If you heard a few good things about something in another thread, just put it in your Netflix queue! Come back for detailed discussion later!

[Matt89]

I say we blame rhett. That guy's always fuckin' things up.

~Matt