The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

After watching The Burning, I decided to watch a Vincent Price classic in the Abominable Dr. Phibes. This is such a classic, that it is hard to imagine that there could be a horror of Price fan out there that has not seen it. It is also a great week to start what I intend on being Vincent Price week here at The Ringmaster’s Realm.

Plot/ Doctors are being murdered in a bizarre manner: bats, bees, killer frog masks, etc., which represents the nine Biblical plagues. A demented organ player with the help of his mute assistant orchestrates the crimes. The detective is stumped until he finds that all of the doctors being killed assisted a Dr. Vesalius on an unsuccessful operation involving the wife of Dr. Phibes, but he could not be the culprit, could he? He was killed in a car crash upon learning of his wife's death...

The Abominable Dr. Phibes is one of the fist Vincent Price films I remember seeing as a child, it is such a fascinating and entertaining array of murder, revenge, and art. To me, this is what a movie should be. Price plays Phibes, and in one of his most memorable roles he takes, you on a journey into the depths of madness. He is perfect and everything around him from the minimal dialogue to creative kills just follows suit. If you have not seen this, you are truly missing out!