Blog Directory CineVerse: A plan to slay the critics

A plan to slay the critics

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Vincent Price turns in arguably his greatest performance as Edward Lionheart in "Theatre of Blood," which we put under the forensics microscope last evening. Here are the implications we found:

WHAT IS DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED ABOUT “THEATRE OF BLOOD” AS A HORROR FILM?
·       It’s not especially suspenseful; we’re provided a lot of information up front, and the tension/suspense mostly pertains to guessing how Lionheart will fiendishly and cleverly dispense with his next victim.
·       We don’t sympathize with the victims, except perhaps for Devlin (probably only because he’s the victim given the most onscreen time); instead, our allegiances and sympathies are with, ironically enough, the villain, Lionheart.
·       There is no female love interest; interestingly, the key female role is played by a woman who disguises herself as a man most of the picture and turns out to be Lionheart’s daughter.
·       The film is imbued with ample gallows humor and gory but amusing violence; tonally, this is a movie that balances horror and comedy quite effectively. Arguably, it’s more entertaining as a comedy than as a fright film.
·       It’s rare to see Price star in a picture this graphically violent; in fact, this is the only R-rated movie Price ever starred in.
·       Thanks to the film’s premise, which is revenge on the disparaging, snobby critics, this film “has the distinction of being perhaps the most critic-proof film ever created,” said reviewer Jeremy Heilman.
·       This movie is also hard to criticize because it integrates Shakespearean characters, lines and situations into its story; it exploits the surprisingly violent nature of many of Shakespeare’s plays, which often feature sadistic, shocking murders, including cannibalism, stabbings, beheadings and mutilations.
·       Many horror films are B pictures given shoestring budgets and cast lesser actors. This film features an embarrassment of riches when it comes to notable British actors cast in key roles, including Diana Rigg, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Lowe, Ian Hendry, Coral Browne (who after this movie became Price’s wife), Eric Sykes, Diane Dors, and Michael Hordern.

WHY IS VINCENT PRICE PERFECT FOR THIS ROLE?
·       Because, like the character he’s playing, he has a reputation for being hammy, over the top, and campy.
·       He’s also not afraid of self parody, which is on parade throughout this film.
·       The character of Lionheart demands an actor who has great oratory skills, diction, and vocal presence to deliver Shakespearean quotes; Price has an incredibly powerful voice seems tailor made to recite Shakespeare.
·       Additionally, Price had just played a similar character two years earlier in “The Abominable Dr. Phibes,” which also concerns a villain exacting terrible revenge in gruesomely inventive ways upon a group of professionals whom he believes has done him wrong. This film is regarded by some as a tribute to or lampooning of that movie.

FILMS SIMILAR TO OR LATER INFLUENCED BY “THEATRE OF BLOOD”:
·       Tower of London (1962)
·       Sleuth (1972)
·       The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1973)
·       Se7en (1995)
·       Saw (2004)

OTHER NOTABLE HORROR FILMS FEATURING KEY ROLES BY VINCENT PRICE:
·       House of Wax
·       House on Haunted Hill
·       Fall of the House of Usher
·       The Pit and the Pendulum
·       Masque of the Red Death
·       Witchfinder General
·       The Abominable Dr. Phibes

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