17. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
October 17, 2009
Filed under: Uncategorized |
Comments (104)
Home Page
Cinemassacre Productions
Sidebar
-
Follow Cinemassacre
Partners
Login
Interesting.
Wonder if anyone ever brought up to the creator of the Saw movies the similarities.
Any specific reason for not doing any more 70s movies…or are there just a lot from the 80s, 90s and 2000s that you wanna do and there wasn’t enough time to cover them all if you spent more than 1 movie on the 70s?
good stuff James. That had to of been where Saw got its idea. Today is my b day and no better a way to start it out then watching one of your videos ! thanks much.
Sweet! Going to the 80s!!!
I MUST SLEEP FOR 24 HOURS!!!
No Dawn of the Dead? What’s going on here? Who are you? Hooah! Those two films do seem like the inspiration for Saw, and probably do not suck like SAW. Nevertheless, thanks for this again, and here’s to some DAY OF THE FREAKIN DEAD GETTING SOME ROLFIAN LOVE! GIVE BUB SOME MONEY! DON’T LET HIM GO DOWN SOUTH WITHOUT ANY MONEY!
The idea of the surgical key and acid trap makes me want to see this movie. Less because of the Saw series, but more of the fact that there’s a time limit and impending disaster if someone can’t work under pressure.
Remember the Double Vision video with Bomb Squad?
“They’ll never do it in time.
The code, the code, figure out the code!”
*30 minute timer on screen*
AVGN: Oh shit, oh shit!!
..Same idea, and it’s really fun to watch those scenario’s in movies.
JS Partisan -
Dawn of the Dead (and Night of the Living Dead) were covered in the original Monster Madness two years ago, so no need to repeat them.
Can’t wait to see what ’80’s movies are in store for us.
This movie looks incredibly interesting, I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it. Though it might be inspiration for Saw movies, I can’t say I’m a fan of the Saw series myself. What are they at now, 6?
Anyway, these reviews are awesome, and I very much look forward to seeing what the rest of October holds for Monster Madness and AVGN. Keep up the great work!
The 80’s are not for the faint of heart. >:)
Anyways, I’m not into horror films. In fact, I find it hard to believe someone actually likes it, let alone a large group of people. But seeing your videos…err…well that doesn’t exactly change my mind. Regardless, I love seeing people catalog stuff. Love Monster Madness.
since you’ve been bringing Saw up lately, how about you let us know what do you think of the whole franchise, or just the upcoming movie. I remember in last year’s cinemassacre you said the first two movies were “actually pretty good”
since you are a great movie critic, i would like it if you could convince some people that is not all torture porn!
As angry as I am that the 70’s are being shafted in a major way (It being my favorite decade), considering the 30’s got so much attention (My 3rd favorite Decade, mind you), I am glad we have finally gotten to the 80’s, as it is my 2nd favorite. I’m also glad you reviewed This one, though I would prefer “Twitch of a Death Nerve” or “Last House on the Left”
*Crosses fingers for Cannibal Holocaust*
Creepy. I love the idea of Phibes speaking through the device. That’s a great, weird idea.
The colors of this film look great, too. Very vivid yet sparse, like a lot of films from the 70’s. I just heard of a film called Danger Diabolik, and while it looked more like a spy/caper film, it had a similar feel. I need to find it asap.
Been loving these so far. I hope you do The Fog next.. it’s one of my favorites.
James you are the man, thank for informing me on these great films…
PoGo…
The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)
“…well, thats all the time we have for the 70’s”
HA HA HA i love it, pretty much covered anything good from the seventies the first year, so he’s jumping right back into the best dacade of all time, im betting re-animator, return of the living dead, and the thing.
I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE 80′S. I WONDER WHAT YOUR GOING TO REVIEW?
Well I notice your not going to talk about Dawn of the Dead since you missed out Night of the Living Dead already. One movie I remember you not doing last time was An American Werewolf in London and it be great if you reviewed that this year. =)
I missed out on so many movies, it’s ridiculous.
aint he talked about Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead last time already? Com’ on, give way to some different movies
80’s tomorrow. Very nice to know. But I am hoping the reviews aren’t sole villains like the majority of the reviews…but its the 80’s.
There is a movie or two that would fit in this quite well…but I’ll leave that for Cinemassacre.
Cheers
I was always a fan of these bizarre Dr. Phibes flicks, they were just so odd. Vincent Price is the man!
cant wait for tomorrow
love horror movies from the 80s 
Awesome! This is one of my favourite movies.. I was sad you skipped it the first year, thanks for doing it this year
Yet another movie ill have to netflix lol. Great review James cant wait to see the next one.
If you wanted another sequel to Phibes, there’s always Theatre of Blood. It’s got Vincent Price performing the exaxt same plot, except this time he’s a hammy Shakespearian actor dispatching the critics who savaged his career with punishments from the Bard’s plays; drowning people in wine, cutting off pounds of flesh, an elecric hairdryer with Vincent as a camp stylist. Great stuff.
your show is so educational that’s great you should really do this on all movie genres (in the future when you have time:) )……my movie horizon is expenting day by day.
all the best
Hey James…what about “The Exorcist”??
Reiko –
He already did “The Exorcist”
Check the main Monster Madness tab.
There’s also James’ reviews of other 70’s films there.
The Exorcist (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Jaws (1975)
Halloween (1978)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Alien (1979)
Go check em out and get your 70’s fill before moving to the 80’s tomorrow!
Hm.. I wonder why everybody is so pumped about the 80’s. The 70’s had many awesome flicks to, and even though he has covered some in the first monster-madness, he could have covered a couple more this time.
But then again, no matter what movie he’ll review I know it’ll be awesome. Thank you James!
Oh, and don’t misunderstand me, I love the 80’s too. After all, it was the golden age of special effects IMO.
No more 70s? That’s sad, because it was an awesome decade! But well, at least the 80s had the greatest special effects
Wow, I gotta check that one out, it looks great!
Thanks for bringing these two up, looking forward to the 80’s!
@Treg
Thanks for reminding me of this great movie, I got it on DVD somewhere, gotta rewatch it.
Wait, no Argento Classic? I would have loved to hear your opinion about Deep Red or Suspiria, but since they were made in the 70s I can forget that.
Good video, James. The Dr. Phibes movies look cool. I’m glad we’re finally moving on to the 80s. The 80s was a classic decade for horror films. When I saw the key inside the guy’s chest, I totally thought of “SAW.”
“He has a bunch of mannequins playing music. Why? Well, because he’s Dr. Phibes.”
Watching these old movie reviews makes me want to actually watch them. Before if I saw a black and white movie on tv i would be grossed out and change the channel… but my eyes have been opened!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mike, Hugo Pereira. Hugo Pereira said: 17. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971): http://bit.ly/BdIyH [...]
Monster madness is rocking, as usual!
Disappointed to see that Eraserhead won’t be mentioned this year. Oh well, interesting review, as usual.
Wow I was gonna say it must have been the inspiration for SAW. That movie is sick man. Great review. Cant wait for the 80’s
Hmmm, I’m smelling a werewolf review brewing up… grrrreat!!!
The Doctors traps reminded me of Batman and Adam West.
Hmm. I haven’t seen any SAW movies.
I actually like the first couple of Saw movies, myself. How can you not feel a little something for a man who has cancer and decides to test other people’s mettle to force them to realize how precious life is because he feels cheated out of his own? Not that I would replicate his methods.
One movie you didn’t go over last time, but I would love to see, is The Silence of the Lambs.
I’m a David Lynch fan, but Eraserhead sucked.
nice to see here some less known movies!
Wow! I very like this kind of reviews. Very informative! I’ll necessarily watch this movie. Very funny, when I saw that x-ray photo, I thought about “Saw”, and you read my mind.
My favourite periods of horror movies are 20th-30th and 80th. First of it you described very well, and I know that second will be described even better! Thanx for interesting and instructive program!
This is one of my favorite horror movies, one reason being the fact this was one of the first I was exposed to by my grandparents, who have both movies on tape. Another reason, as you said, being the sheer weirdness of it all, it seemed so random.
I didn’t like the second one as much as the first, it didn’t have the same feel. But Dr. Phibes the original is a very very good horror flick, maybe Vincent Prices best.
Eighties are good, but I don’t like the eighties for the good horror flicks as much as for the shitty ones like all the sequels to Friday the Thirteenth. It’s so fun to watch the decline of a series and laugh at how bad each movie continually gets.
Watch Friday The Thirteenth Six where Jason gets killed by a thirteen year old psychic girl and tell me that’s not the stupidest thing ever. But it’s entertaining, while being really retarded.
You couldn’t say it better James, this must be the father of jigsaw. Good review
Definantly sounds like a film I should watch.
80’s huh? Perfect. Watching an 80’s horror tonight that I saw a clip of when advertised for monster madness 3. An American Werewolf in London. Very awesome werewolf flick.
these were my father’s favorite horror films. he would go on and on for hours about how much he loved em.
Are you gonna review the first Chucky movie? Cause I have been waiting for that. Any of the Saw’s? An American Werewolf In London? The Howling?
Actually the inspiration for Saw came from Seven I think.
“That’s it for the 70s..”
I too feel we got a little shafted. Wish you could do some more cheese stuff like Killer Tomatoes or something.
Also hope you mention Student Bodies (1981) in this or a future Monster Madness. It was the first slasher movie spoof. It has some faults to it, but it still has some great jokes.
All that trap scenario on Saw movies it’s what makes me want to watch then, I always liked those kind of plot. “The Cube” movie is probably the reason why I like those movies.
Well guess everyone can’t be pleased. I do wish you reviewed Suspiria, since you did pick alot of titles this time around that are highly under rated. Anyone reading this, I highly urge you to watch Suspiria, it’s 1970s horror at it’s best, freaky soundtrack too
My bad, I didn’t even seen first “Cinemassacre’s MonsterMadness”. Sorry.
Keep up the good work!
Theatre of Blood is also a very Good Flick with Dr. Phibes(Vincent Price) in it.It also has the one and Only “Bond”-Wife in it,Diana Rigg.
I Wounder what James is Thinking of that movie.
Anyway great Review James,thank you very much.
I’m a little sad that’s it for the 70’s, but if you had to pick just one, this was a fantastic choice. Ah well, I guess you’ve got plenty left for Monster Madness 4 this way.
With a couple exceptions, this year’s Monster Madness has been absolutely phenomenal. So many off-beat classics, some of which i never thought interesting enough to watch prior to your reviews.
But skipping the 70’s? I feel that the 70’s is just behind the 40’s as a decade with a lot of hidden in plain sight gems. I feel like getting into the 80’s is just bad news and it only gets worse as you move onward.
The biggest contribution to the horror genre from the 80’s is campy hedonistic slasher films, but even those are arguably done better in the 70’s (just not at the same production values).
But here’s hoping I’m proved wrong.
Awesome stuff James; I can’t wait for the 80s =]
Schwarzott – Not all these movies are necessarily good. Leprechaun is one coming up (as shown in the promo) and that’s a crappy movie. This isn’t just about reviewing good horror films. The last video talked about “Monster Crash The Pajama Party” is god awful. A lot of these are “so bad it’s good” films.
i was wondering if you were going to do this movie!!
that’s weird, i just watched it last night.
really loving the monster madness james!!!!
“I Spit on Your Grave” and “Cannibal Holocaust” better be coming soon!
Wishing for Hellraiser!
Are you planning on doing a video on An American Werewolf in London? It’s one of my favorite horror movies of all time, and my #1 favorite werewolf movie. I think the special effects for the wolf transformation are incredible, especially for the 80’s.
i know. as soon as you stated describing the traps the first thing i thought about was the saw movies. i really want to see this movie because saw was great and this is the original, it must be even better!!!
Horror films are the best. I just love this shit!!!!! Can’t wait for more Motherfucken Monster Madness!!!!!!
Can’t wait for Re-animator and maybe From Beyond those are some bizarre movies xD
what about dawn of the dead
Seirya: I completely forgot about them being covered in the original one. Seriously, it completely escape me. So thanks for the filling in, but hopefully Bub will get some MONSTER MADNESS love. That would be swell.
what about “Twitch of the Death Nerve” aka “Reazione a catena” the first slasher movie in the cinema history?
Vincent Price had the ability to make movies better just by being there. Sorta like Edward Norton and Ian McKellen, to name a couple.
Nobody delivers lines like the great VP.
(oo)
>o<
" "
less horror, more nerd
Yeeah, can’t wait for Leprechaun! Even in back in the days, when horror movies seriously scared me, I just laughed tears when I saw it. it’s soo over the top dumb, that its just funny
FINALLY!!!!! Thank you for this one! Personally speaking, I love the opening to this one. I hope you do ‘Theater of Blood’ which is amazingly similar to this.
*edit to above post*
Oh your going to the 80s….damn. Oh well always next year.
i can’t waiy for Cannibal Holocaust XD great!
Awesome. Can’t wait for the 80’s. Hopefully movies like Demons and Basket Case are on your list.
Wow James, once again you have left out Phantasm from monster madness. get it together.
This is something I never understood and that is why do people always BITCH about Jame’s list? It’s his list and the movie’s he likes not your the view’s list, it’s like watching T.V. and bitching about the plot saying your way would be better. Anyways I love both the 70’s and the 80’s and the 70’s made the list a few years back with some classics like Jaws,Halloween,Dawn and a few others but this year James is fellin a little 80’s horror like so then so be it, find something else to bitch about because James is putting out some good movies, some of I haven’t even heard of…GREAT JOB JAMES! keep em’ commin!
OH MAN!! if this is the inspiration for Saw then should I expect a total of 10 Saw films? One for every plague of the Bible? I don’t think i could stand that. Those films and others like it just aren’t my kind of movie.
Yes! Thanks for doing one of my favorite movies of all time! It was not only a great horror movie, but very creative as well, with spectacular art direction. (And the ending is probably one of the creepiest ever–that final laugh always gives me chills!)
If you were still doing ’70’s films, I would have suggested you do Horror Express, a movie based on the “Who Goes There?” short story, only it takes place on board a Siberian Train in the early 20th Century. It stars Cushing and Lee as well, so it’s like a Hammer Film Meets The Thing. I’m surprised more people haven’t heard of it. It’s awesome!
Phibes looks way better than that Saw crap. I wish they would cancel Saw. Each new movie is like beating a dead horse into the ground.
@SteveBatz: James already has it together. This years has been great. Maybe he’ll do Phantasm next year. It’s just that there’s only so much he can do every year.
@James: Thank you once again for a great MM review. I have to agree that this was an inspiration to SAW.
The 80’s starts tomorrow, this should be good. I can’t wait for your Basket Case review
Um, James, one problem, “Well, that’s all the time we have for the 70’s, tomorrow, we’re jumping right into the 80’s”? That’s not right! There are more movies from the 70’s, James! More than meets the eye! Movies like:
Carrie (1976)
It’s Alive (1974)
It Lives Again (1978)
It’s Alive 3: Island of The Alive (1987)
It’s Alive (2008)
Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 3-D (1983)
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
@JAM Over half of the movies you just mentioned are’nt even from the 70’s and like I said earlier there’s only so much James can do every year
Hmmm… that’s it for the 70s, huh? No “Carrie” or “The Omen”… oh well, you can’t win’ em all. Still, love most of your choices. Like that you are picking some obscure ones (Phibes is a great choice).
Very good review, I wonder if American Physco will be on here soon.
This is all well and good, but nothings going to top The Giant Claw. I can’t stop watching that damn bird. Theres something about it that makes me unable to stop wanting to see its ridiculous design and high pitched sqwauking. They need to release it on DVD!
In regards to this film, I doubt it inspired Saw as a whole – although I’d imagine one of the creators thought “oh hey I’ve got a bit for us, it was from this movie I saw in the 70’s…” Anyway good stuff.
Hey James just wanted to say my bro and I enjoy your vids and i like your picks for this years monster madness; some of them are very interesting. I’m anxious to see if you’ll be reviewing Stephen King’s “Silver Bullet.” It was one of the first horror movies I ever saw and it’s a favorite of mine. It’s a classic B movie that seems up your alley. Anyway, thanks for the vids keep it up!
Hate to be a nit-pick, but the 9th plague was Darkness. The death of the firstborn son was the 10th and final plague.
Just sayin’
I really hope you do ;
CARPENTERS THE THING!!
by far the most lovecraftian film ever made, and it craps all over the Alien films. By far the finest 80’s sci-fi horror !
I grew up in the 80’s so i cant wait for the next few films.
Only one from the 70s? C’mon, there were plenty of better 70s movies than 80s…nevertheless. Interesting fact, Dr. Anton Phibes was creativley based off the founder of the church of Satan, Dr. Anton LaVey. The androids (Artificial Human Companions), the organ music and playful and demonic pagentry were inspired by the good doctor who passed the day before halloween in 1997.
That sucks, I was hoping to hear your thoughts on Black Christmas, Suspiria, Phantasm, and a few others.
Redbob86 – You’re right about the order of the plagues being wrong, but it’s not James’ fault–the filmmakers took quite a few liberties with the original Bible story, making the Death of the Firstborn the second to the last plague and Darkness the tenth and final plague. (They did it for a special reason though. Just look at it as artistic license.)
Dr Phibes is an ugly bastard:)
Amethyst, I just want to be clear that I wasn’t blaming James. I was just pointing that out. I have not seen the film, so I didn’t cast blame on anyone.
I’m just a guy who pays attention to accuracy. It’s why I can’t enjoy movies like Braveheart and Amadeus because of the historical innacuracies. But that’s just me.
Vincent Price, many people don’t know that he is the voice in thriller… (the one that is laughing) there is a sound sample on his wikipedia page.
A favourite of mine too! If you didn’t it was possible for someone to overact without opening their mouth once, you haven’t seen what Vincent Price does in this one! My personal highlight of the film is when we get an inkling of just how messed up Phibes was from his car crash when he drinks champagne through the back of his neck!
Oh, and given that his wife was played by Caroline Munro, I think Phibe’s anger at the doctors was entirely justified!
Honestly I’m a little disappointed, you leave the 70’s without looking at the Phantasm series. I at least hope that you talk about Puppet Master before leaving the 80’s. Well at least someone finally gave Vince some props for his role as the super-villain Dr. Phibes.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is also the inspiration for The Misfits (the most kick ass punk rock band in case you don’t know) skull logo, and the intro of the american psycho album
After watching this video, I decided to check out the movie.
Overall I enjoyed it, the banter of the english police was amusing, the plot interesting, and you cant go wrong with Vincent Price, even if he is just talking through his neck.
Good pick, Cinemassacre.
Now if only I could find the Monsters Invade the Pajama Party, heheh.
How come you didn’t cover Phantasm?!
I just don’t get it, Why skip the 70s? There so many movies you left out like suspira, rosemary’s baby, last house on the left, the hills have eyes and carrie. Or parodys like attack of the killer tomatoes and the roky horror picture show!
I saw this movie on TCM the week of Halloween and if it wasn’t for me seeing this, I may not have watched it. It wasn’t the greatest movie I have ever seen, but it was still enjoyable. For me it was more sad than scary. I really felt for the guy though he was killing all those people. You gotta love VP.