THEATER OF BLOOD is an exercise in self-parody, accentuating the serio-comic persona that made Vincent Price famous in the later part of his career. That subtlety of his earlier work is here taken to an extreme, as Price plays Edward Lionheart, a disgruntled Shakespearian over-actor panned by the critics and seeking revenge. After faking his own death, Lionheart returns with a group of meth-riddled bums as his cronies, and in an old, derelict theater, murders each any every one of the critics. Specifically angered over losing the critics choice award of 1970 for best actor, Lionheart formulates his murders based after deaths in Shakespearian plays, and as he recites a passage from the play, plunges a knife in his victims' hearts. Lionheart is hammy but sort of endearing as he makes the case for himself, saying that the talentless critics panned him and ruined his life for little relief but for their careers. It's easy to take him seriously too considering how each and every one of the critics are complete buffoons in one way or another. But that adds to the fun. Who wants to see an inventive death not happen? Price is over-the-top but all the better for it too. This isn't the flaw of the film, but parades as it to purport itself as trash. The real flaw is in the pacing, which is sort of languorous. THEATER OF BLOOD is no great film, but an odd one, and a creepy one, which makes it worth seeing for its weird decisions alone.
Theater of Blood: ★★★
No comments:
Post a Comment