Saturday, October 23, 2021

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 23: Theatre of Blood (1973)

You can't expect a Halloween horror movie countdown to not include at least one Vincent Price movie, can you? This year's is Theater of Blood, one of Price's favorite films, as it gave him the chance to perform some Shakespeare amongst the usual frightful mayhem.

And I'd say getting to see him recite soliloquies from plays like Richard the III, Titus Andronicus, and Othello is definitely fun, along with seeing just how the murders of the theater critics who wronged him will fit into those moments. (I think David Fincher must have seen this film before he wrote Seven. Prove me wrong.)  

Theater of Blood is a horror comedy, for sure, although it's a pretty dry one. Diana Rigg as Price's daughter, along for the revenge ride, is clearly having a ball in her various disguises, including a few moments of male drag. In all I'd say it's not quite as fun as some of Price's other films, and drags on a bit at almost two hours, but it's a definite must see for any Vincent Price fan. 

Theater of Blood is currently streaming on Hulu.

2 comments:

Caffeinated Joe said...

Thanks for the heads up, didn't know this was on Hulu!

Richard said...

One could *ALMOST* say the movie is a summation of Price's career.

A very good actor who hammed it up because that's what the audiences expected, but never getting the proper credit for his talent. Even though he had an amazing range (as seen in the many roles he took to get to his victims).