TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Mark Turner Vincent Price was the king of horror in the early 60s having just successfully bringing Edgar Alan Poe to the screen with director Roger Corman. To this day those films are treasured by horror fans and used in English classes to demonstrate the transfer of the written word to the screen. After those films Price starred in several other horror films but nothing that was as popular and for a time he did little more than TV appearances.That changed in 1971 when he came back to the forefront in a small film called THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES. It was followed in 1972 with a sequel, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN. So it only seemed natural that he would come out with another horror film the following year which is where this film comes into play.Using a theme that was found in the Phibes films we have another series of deaths at the hands of a madman. This time around the protagonist is Edward Lionheart (Price), a Shakespearean actor who supposedly committed suicide after being shamed by the critics circle. But death was not meant for him yet and he survives with the help of a group of vagrants who become his henchmen/women.The critics circle is still around and doing well. But suddenly they begin to be killed off one by one. And with each death is some cryptic message involving the plays of William Shakespeare. The initial suspect is Lionheart's daughter, Edwina (Diana Rigg). But top critic Peregrine Devlin (Ian Hendry) doesn't believe it. Of course the rest of us know she's involved in one way or another as we've witnessed her at each murder in disguise, a bit that tried to make the viewer unaware but which we can see through easily.Each of the deaths of the critics is played for both disgust and humor of the darkest sort. For example one critic, fond of his two tiny dogs, has them fed to him in meat pies. As with Phibes we have her examples of cleverly written murders that are involved in a countdown to the last one. The problem is it doesn't quite work as well this time around.The fault here doesn't lie in the performance of Price or of Rigg for that matter. Both do a great job here, Price especially. It's one thing to perform a role poorly but quite another to perform it as someone trying to do it justice but doing it over the top unintentionally. The movie just doesn't have the same feel that the Phibes films did even though you can see the obvious attempt to replicate those films.In the end the move remains a fun horror film to watch but moves along at a much slower pace than the aforementioned films. That does more damage than good here. Price fans will find this a must see if for no other reason than to see his performance. The same goes for fans of Rigg.The presentation lives up to the standards of all releases from Twilight Time with the best picture quality found. Extras include an isolated score track, an audio commentary track with film historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman and the original theatrical trailer. As with all Twilight Time releases they've limited it to just 3,000 copies so if you're interested in one order it today.

Stevieboy666 Vincent Price really hams it up here, playing actor Edward Lionheart, assumed drowned in the River Thames. He embarks on a gruesome & bloody killing spree, using the works of his hero William Shakespeare as inspiration. Great, even mix of dark humour & horror, excellent cast (many of whom will be especially familiar with British audiences) and some good use of using real locations on London. My only gripe is that the killings do start to wear slightly thin, perhaps a shorter running time may have prevented this. However this is a really enjoyable movie, essential viewing for Price fans.

Wuchak Released in 1973 and directed by Douglas Hickox, "Theater of Blood" stars Vincent Price as a bitter Shakespearean actor in modern London who is thought to be dead due to suicide. Actually, he's alive-and-not-well and murdering his unrelenting highbrow critics. Diana Rigg plays his understanding daughter while Milo O'Shea is on hand as the inspector. The score is excellent, even moving, and the first act is quite serious. But then Price's hammy approach and the increasingly unbelievable murder scenarios thrust the movie into black comedy territory. Still, it's just serious enough to (sort of) suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. It's another take on the basic plot of "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and its sequel (1972). It's also reminiscent of "House of Wax" (1953), although I give that one the edge. The jaw-dropping Madeline Smith is on hand on the babe front, but she's unfortunately underused as a decidedly peripheral character. There's Rigg, of course, if you find her attractive. I don't, but she's likable enough. The movie's colorful like Hammer flicks, albeit with a slightly bigger budget and the corresponding location shooting. Fans of Vincent Price horror and, especially, the three movies noted above should eat this up while others might find it too talky, one-dimensional and overlong. The movie runs 104 minutes and was shot in London, Brentford & Windsor, England. WRITER: Anthony Greville-Bell. GRADE: B-

Shawn Watson Shakespearean Ham actor Edward Lionheart is heartbroken when a critic's choice circle awards a bratty newcomer as Best Actor of the Year and plots bloody revenge on the stuffy journalists who denied him his cherished accolade with a series of gruesome, ironic deaths.Vincent Price is allowed to dial-up the drama here and goes OTT without being ridiculous. Lionheart is a sympathetic anti-hero with a diabolical mind. There's no doubt in my mind that this movie inspired future horror juggernauts such as Se7en and Saw, only with a very dark sense of humor and a glorious musical score.As a time capsule of lost London this film offers a priceless glimpse into locations long-gone. Not one scene of Theatre of Blood was shot in a studio with every single location being a once-tangible place, most notably the old Puntney Hippodrome which Lionheart makes into his secret lair (now a block of council flats...why?). But, man, am I glad I was not yet alive to witness those grisly fashions.There's a rugged urgency to Theatre of Blood that disconnects it from the more grand horror productions of Vincent Price's career, however it makes for a fitting bookend to a solid 20-year run.