Theatre Of Blood (1972)
Starring: Vincent Price, Coral Browne, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Diana Dors, Robert Morley
Director: Douglas Hickox
Synopsis: Delightful Campy horror with Vincent Price in top form
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

"Superbly Vincent Price!" — Kim Newman, Empire

"Quite possibly the best horror film Vincent Price has ever made." — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

"A triumph of stylish, witty Grand Guignol." — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

"Arguably Price's finest single performance." — Philip French, The Observer

"Comedy horror that really does give Vincent Price a chance to do his stuff, with deliciously absurd results." — Time Out

"Gory, imaginative, wildly melodramatic—good fun." — Don Druker, Chicago Reader

"Black comedy played for chills and mood." — Variety

"Wholly entertaining and memorable... a lasting tribute to the career of one of the most important actors in the genre." — TV Guide

"Grand Guignol with nobs on." — Paul Howlett, The Guardian

"It's gory and funny." — Howard Thompson, The New York Times

"A frequently amusing exercise in camp horror..." — William B. Collins, Philadelphia Inquirer

It comes as little surprise to learn that, out of the countless films he made during his extraordinary career, Vincent Price regarded “Theatre of Blood” as his personal favourite and the finest performance of his life. Watching it today, one can hardly argue with him.

 This is outrageous camp horror elevated to the level of high art, with Price delivering one of the greatest performances ever seen in the genre.

 Tongue remains planted firmly in cheek throughout as Price's wonderfully deranged Edward Lionheart embarks upon a gleefully murderous campaign of revenge, dispatching his unfortunate victims in a succession of deliriously inventive Shakespearean deaths. Beheadings, disembowelments, garrottings and assorted acts of theatrical butchery follow one another with joyous abandon, while the supporting cast appear to be enjoying themselves every bit as much as the audience.

 His real-life wife, Carole Browne, is reserved for perhaps the film's most magnificent death of all, meeting her end by electrocution while having her hair done. Price, disguised as the flamboyant hairdresser Butch, is simply magnificent in this sequence—a performance of extraordinary comic brilliance. The man surely never had a finer opportunity to display the full range of his remarkable talents. It is vintage Vincent Price at his glorious best.

 The laughs arrive as frequently as the shocks, and every gloriously over-the-top murder demonstrates just how perfectly Douglas Hickox understood the delicate balance between horror and black comedy. Price revels in every moment, and his infectious delight is impossible to resist.

 “Theatre of Blood” is a masterful fusion of camp, the macabre, Shakespeare and blood-soaked horror—one of the great horror films of the modern era, satisfying on every conceivable level. It is wickedly funny, deliciously gruesome and endlessly entertaining.

 Quite simply, it represents Vincent Price at the absolute peak of his powers.

 No wonder he will forever be remembered as the undisputed king of camp horror.

 Long live the King.

**Postscript:** Such is my affection for "Theatre of Blood" that I have made several pilgrimages over the years to Robert Fielding's famous hairdressing salon in Knightsbridge, the location of the film's unforgettable hair salon sequence where Vincent Price, disguised as the flamboyant Butch, gloriously dispatches Carole Browne.

Legend has it that Price and Carole Browne fell in love during the making of the film and were later married, adding yet another delightful footnote to one of horror cinema's greatest camp classics.

Sadly, on my most recent pilgrimage, I discovered that Robert Fielding's salon had finally disappeared. Another little piece of horror history has quietly slipped away.

Thankfully, the magnificent memories of that glorious scene—and of Vincent Price at the absolute height of his powers—will endure forever.