Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

Review #1741: Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

Cast: 

Vincent Price (Dr. Anton Phibes), Robert Quarry (Darius Biederbeck), Valli Kemp (Vulnavia), Peter Jeffrey (Inspecter Trout), Fiona Lewis (Diana Trowbridge), Hugh Griffith (Harry Ambrose), Peter Cushing (Captain), Beryl Reid (Miss Ambrose), Terry-Thomas (Lombardo), John Cater (Superintendent Waverley), and Gerald Sim (Hackett) Directed by Robert Fuest.

Review: 

Admittedly, watching Vincent Price in an American International Pictures production is like catnip to some folks. It sure is hard to resist seeing him in a worthy production, which if one remembers went pretty well with The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). The success of that film generated a hasty demand for a sequel, which would have Price return alongside supporting characters Jeffrey and Cater. The film was written by Robert Blees and Robert Fuest, with the latter also serving as director; the script however required a mediator in producer Louis M. Heyward, since the writers did not see eye-to-eye (as one might see from writers to directors). If you remember, the original film was quite interesting in its madcap ghoulishness, complete with Price in one of his most memorable roles (complete with a gramophone voice). Of course, how does one follow a movie involving revenge being done with murders inspired by the Plagues? Well, fiddling with the original is one step, which they do with a voiceover in the beginning that now has the title character aiming to bring his wife back from the dead...after he is restored from when he had replaced his blood with embalming fluid. Oh, and a specific alignment of the planets with the Moon apparently has brought him back. Well, yeah, I guess if this had been a movie in an earlier decade, one could have probably tried to pull a fast one on the audience by just pretending nothing happened (or something). Anyway, if you wanted to see Phibes, I guess focusing on him trying to bring life works...until you think as to why would that be the case if he already got revenge on the doctors who operated on his wife when she died (with him getting in a car wreck while getting home) - of course, I forgot to mention that the earlier film was set in 1925 (which means the sequel is set three years later in 1928). Well, I guess he could also have wanted revenge for the fact he had to come up with a whole new face and voice, and I guess at some point in time he really did just think to himself, "what if I had a hidden temple in Egypt?" Screw it, the important part is that Phibes has returned and is ready for interesting times with designs that maintain the art deco feel from before without too many deviations (of course Kemp is replacing Virginia North as the silent Vulnavia, who had been harmed in the first-forget it), complete with filming done in Spain for the desert scenes.

Of course the simple plan of bringing back his wife from the dead AND finding a river that will give them both eternal life is not so easy, mostly because of the other lead actor in Quarry, playing someone just as interested in the secrets of life. This naturally leads to why Phibes goes around and enacts a new series of inventive ways to curtail the expedition with death, whether involving getting killed by hawks or killed with sandblasting. Honestly, the way that the deaths happen probably reflect the quality of the movie: not exactly as good as before, but still curious enough to work interest well; it may not be very scary, but I guess it will work out for those already comfortable with the usual AIP aims. Price lingers a bit less than before with this film, and while it may not exactly hone all of his tendancies of memorable acting, he still makes it work with sly engagement that keeps us on his side despite everything just as before (accompanied by a silent Kemp, who does fine). Quarry was evidently groomed by AIP to be a replacement for Price (as mentioned by Heyward in an interview, who also felt his career was being mangled), as evidenced by his star roles in both Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1971), with AIP having served as distributor for each. While Quarry never quite got the star turn he might have merited from more work (as AIP turned away from straight horror in the decade), he at least gives his all in obsessive determination, one whose morality has slipped away faster than his life for intriguing curiosity, playing a fair straight man to all the campy stuff that goes around; besides, he gets to share a scene with Cushing and play ruthless - imagine that; Lewis plays the assuring lead lady that gets the last line (at least if you don't count a singing Price) for a fair chuckle. At any rate, it is also fair to see Jeffrey and Cater again, as they bumble around a bit in trying to step on to the case that results in a few useful cracks, such as one scene involving them coming onto the peculiarity of an organ being brought onto a ship (one that saw a man get killed and put into a giant bottle in the water), which also involves Terry-Thomas being brought in for a chuckle. The conclusion probably saves the movie, in that it is worth it just for the amusement of seeing just who gets what they deserve from their actions (and of course, a song); while the film was fairly successful, the idea to do another film ran into problems in coming up with a suitable script that never materialized.. As a whole, it is a bit more campy the second time around that results in a decent engagement of time (88 minutes) with useful enough imagery to make it worth it in my mind. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

Also, let me get a note out of the way. In case you didn't know, the Houston Astros are set to compete in the American League Championship Series for the fifth time in five years. As such, I am hoping for a great series that leads to further play in October (and November...?) for the team that starts tonight. 

Go Astros!