The Abominable Dr. Phibes [M]

A string of murders have occurred, each more gruesome and strange than the next. For Inspector Trout of Scotland Yard, it cannot be coincidence that the victims are all medical men who have worked together over the years. Trout soon discovers that there is one particular case that involved nine doctors, where the patient sadly died. Thus the case becomes one of serial killings in the name of revenge, but the only plausible suspect is the husband of the deceased patient, Dr. Anton Phibes. Unfortunately, the plot thickens for Trout as he discovers that Phibes was reported to have died years ago. 

Definitely a step up in the Vincent Price cult movie collection than bloody Witchfinder General, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a vibrant, weird, and twisted movie that features the grandeur of Kubrick’s The Shining and A Clockwork Orange and the creatively twisted murders of Se7en. I think the best way to discuss this movie is to look at in terms of how it reminds me of other, similar films. Aesthetically, it’s the got the cult vibe of The Rocky Horror Picture Show though nowhere near as musically entertaining or character rich. 

The simpleness of the story allows for creativity to flourish in areas such as set and costume design, which both deserve a round of applause. The sets were incredible, each more grandiose than the next with modern taste appearing in the homes of one of the victimised doctors and old world decadent grandeur done up to appear camply contemporary in the lair of Phibes himself. The costumes are just as vibrant and colourful, particularly those of Phibes’ female accomplice who never says a word, but glides about in these beautiful costumes. 

On top of this, special applause must go to the makeup team for their achievements in the deformity of Phibes and the make up job on Price that made his face believable, but at the same time fake. And then there is the work that went into all the corpses. Each murder is inspired by one of the ten plagues: boils, bats, frogs, blood, hail, rats, beasts, locusts, first born, and darkness and the effort of the makeup team, art department, and prop design team that was put into all these deaths was really striking and memorable. 

Then we have the music, which serves wonderfully to bring another level of weirdness into the mix. Indeed it was the music that made me feel a bit like I was watching The Shining in that we have these pleasant, jazzy tunes playing against this very twisted and strange tale of violence and revenge. Plus, they are recognisable tunes such as Dark Town Strutter’s Ball, All I Do Is Dream Of You, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which bring this uncanny edge to the film. Not to mention the constant organ music that makes one expect to see the Phantom of the Opera appear at any moment. 

Whilst the story is simple and executed in a very generic sort of way with relatively mild performances and a little bit of Hitchcockian humour that infused his British films such as Frenzy, ultimately The Abominable Dr. Phibes is quite an enjoyable cult classic in which a modern movie watcher can pick up hints of later films such as Soylent Green, The Shining, Se7en, and A Clockwork Orange. 

Starring Vincent Price, who does some impressive throat work, Joseph Cotten, Hugh Griffith, Terry-Thomas, Virginia North, Peter Jeffrey, Derek Godfrey, Norman Jones, Aubrey Woods, John Laurie, Maurice Kaufmann, Barbara Keogh, Sean Bury, and Susan Travers, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a delightfully weird movie that well deserves the status of cult. Filled with creative murders, drama, suspense, and a little bit of refreshing humour, it’s surprisingly quite enjoyable.