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The Abominable Dr. Phibes

1971, Movie, PG, 93 mins

The Abominable Dr. Phibes: Review

A delightfully goofy horror film set in England circa 1929, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES stars Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes, a horribly disfigured madman who enacts an insidious revenge on the team of physicians who failed to save the life of his dear, departed wife (Caroline Munro, seen mostly in photos). His face and voice destroyed in an auto accident, Phibes reconstructs his mutilated visage over the bones that remained, and recovers his lost voice by plugging a cord extended from his neck into a Victrola! The gruesome ends he devises for the doctors are patterned after the plagues brought down on Ramses in ancient Egypt (killer locusts, blood-sucking bats, rabid rats, etc.). Kept at a snappy pace by "Avengers" director Robert Fuest and given a bizarre art deco look by art director Bernard Reeves and set designer Brian Eatwell, this movie is a kitschy homage to the sillier horror pictures of the 1930s and well worth a look. An equally entertaining sequel, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN, was released in 1972. leave a comment