"The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten & Hugh Griffith is about a disfigured doctor / scientist that is out for deadly revenge on the 7 doctors that failed to save his wife.
Dr. Phibes (Price) is a doctor and mad scientist that is terribly disfigured after an automobile accident which caused his beloved wife to die. He lives in an art deco styled house and keeps himself entertained by playing his organ along with his strange looking orchestra and his beautiful and silent assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North) and performs lavish musical dance routines much like a weird Broadway musical! When not applying his fake face and entertaining himself in his visually stunning home in over the top outfits, he is planning and carrying out the tragic deaths of the team of incompetent doctors that failed to save his wife's life.
Dr. Phibes is very creative in making the deaths follow the Ten Plagues of Egypt from the Old Testament, including death by bees, bats, locusts and much more. The Scotland Yard inspector who is investigating all the murders adds a comic touch to the horror of this film.
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! It is visually stunning and a feast for the eyes! The story is inventive and the characters are engaging. This is now probably my favorite Vincent Price horror film!
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