Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

As I move into day two of my attempt at Vincent Price week, I wanted to finish off the Dr. Phibes series with Dr. Phibes Rises Again. The sequel to the Price classic The Abominable Dr. Phibes, has always been an enjoyable film to watch and definitely part of any Price Collection.

Plot/ The moon rises at a predestined angle and awakens the sleeping Dr. Phibes three years later. To his dismay, he finds his house has been demolished and his papyrus scrolls stolen, the scrolls he needs to find the Pharaoh’s Tomb in Egypt, where the River of Life flows. After identifying the source of the papyrus theft, he packs and leaves for Egypt with his assistant Vulnavia, still intent upon awakening his dead wife Victoria. The parties responsible for the theft of Phibes' scrolls suffer an attrition problem as Inspector Trout chases him across the world.

In a clear attempt to rake in some cash on the heals of one of Price’s best performances, AIP (American International Pictures seemed to rush into this flick. As with the first, Price definitely seems to be at home as Dr. Phibes, although this performance lacks the depth of the original. The same can be said for the murders, as they lack the creativity of the ones in the first movie, with no obvious planning behind them. Like the first the script features some bizarre moments, and there is some very interesting scenery and art. In all, this is a decent sequel, one that was really doomed from the start trying to live up to the first film. By itself, this movie really makes for an entertaining afternoon of movie watching, even better if you pair it with the classic,

The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

Stay Tuned, tomorrow, Theatre of Blood…

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!

The Burning (1981)

I was going to spend Father's Day watching a marathon of George Romero classics, especially after my daughters picked me up a copy of Day of the Dead to complete my collection. Instead, I decided to watch the 1981 slasher the Burning, to help pass time during my quiet afternoon!

Plot/ A caretaker at a summer camp is burned when a prank goes tragically wrong. After several years of intensive treatment at hospital, he is released back into society, albeit missing some social skills. What follows is a bloody killing spree with the caretaker making his way back to his old stomping ground to confront one of the youths that accidentally burned him.

Its funny, I had almost forgotten about The Burning, until recently reading a copy of Horrorhound Magazine. Made in 1981, this entry was one of the original slasher flicks that became my introduction into the genre during my teenage years. Watching it today took me back, and reinforced the notion that this is one of the best films of the age. Yes, it did follow closely to the idea made popular by the Friday the 13th franchise, but what it lacks in originality, it more than makes up for it with some of the best gore scenes of the era. Tom Savini did a masterful job on the effects and created some of the most realistic death scenes in any slasher flick. Combine those with a decent amount of tension and an awesome soundtrack and you definitely have a winner. If blood, guts and gore are what you are looking for, grab this and you will not be disappointed.

Red Water (2003)

It was funny, I was looking for something tame to watch this morning on FearNet and stumbled upon Red Water, the 2003 fresh water shark film starring Lou Diamond Phillips. After watching it, I was reading some posts on facebook, where I saw that the guys over at Radiation-Scarred Reviews was in the midst of their week long Sharkathalon and decided to throw this together.

Plot/ In the quiet waters of the Mississippi, body parts are being discovered. No one knows what is behind it all, until a huge man-eating bull shark turns up. This bull shark is different, as it can breath in fresh water, making a deadly encounter between anyone who comes before it. John Sanders must now try to reach the surface, with his ex-wife and whilst being held hostage.

Luckily, this was at leaset a decent film to watch with my daughters because there wasn’t much to shield them from. Unfortunately for me, as a horror fan (or just a movie fan), there is not much here to make the movie memorable. The pacing is slow (really the first hour just seems to drag), it lacked any type of tension (even with the shark attacks), the characters were poorly developed and the special effects we only adequate. This made for TV, maneater themed movie could have definitely been better (although the last 20 or so minutes were not bad), but that seems to be a reoccurring theme within this genre that has become all the rage on the Sci Fi Channel over the past couple of years. That being said, it was definitely better than some of their more recent shark related efforts and is at least tolerable.

Walking Before Dawn

Pick-up a copy of Walking Before Dawn on ebook. It is available from Amazon for kindle or you can pick-up a copy from me for $2.95 in pdf format or signed copies available for $15.00 (shipping included). Just email me for all of the details and grab yours today!

Roswell (1994)

After suffering through the movie Rottweiler (which although it sport Paul Naschy, it does not even warrant a review), I wanted to watch something different from my usual stuff. That is when I decided to head for one of my favorite subjects, UFOs. Oh, and what did I find on Showtime? Roswell, a perfect movie about one of the greatest conspiracies in history and one of the biggest cover-ups the world has ever seen.

Plot/ Beginning at a 30-year reunion for members of a military nuclear bomb unit, flashbacks are presented that follow the attempts of Major Jesse Marcel to discover the truth about strange debris found on a local rancher's field in July of 1947. Told by his superiors that what he has found is nothing more than a downed weather balloon, Marcel maintains his military duty until the weight of the truth, however out of this world it may be, forces him to piece together what really occurred. Adapted from real-life events portrayed in the book The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell by Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt.

There have been so many stories about Roswell and the mysterious debris that was discovered on the ranch. Being from SW Pennsylvania where we have our own UFO mystery in Kecksburg, it would be nice if someday the truth would come out. For me as a researcher in things of the unexplained nature, this movie is accurate with what eyewitnesses have been saying for years. With that in mind, believers in this phenomenon will love the movie. However, if you are an skeptic who really doesn't care about the subject at all, then you will find little, or no entertainment value here. As a docudrama, the film is slowly paced, but that is to portray the story in a specific manner. The acting, script and directing is top notch all the way around and it definitely keeps your attention. Overall, this movie is informative, and enjoyable, a perfect afternoon flick for the UFO and Conspiracy Buffs out there!