Vincent Price's 8 Most Entertaining Horror Films

“Nine killed her! Nine shall die!”

Honestly, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is more or less the same film as Theatre of Blood: both films follow an overly theatrical Vincent Price character, presumed dead, ‘returning’ to take revenge on a list of people whom he believes have wronged him. While the delightfully inventive murders of the ‘wrongdoers’ in Theatre of Blood replicate death scenes from Shakespeare plays, here Phibes draws inspiration from the nine plagues of Egypt. Still, it’s more or less exactly the same set-up that would be recycled two years later. This premise is one that would eventually become very popular with the likes of Seven, and perhaps even the Saw series.

It’s the surreal aesthetics of this film, however, that make it stand out slightly above Theatre of Blood. They’re exemplified perfectly in the opening scene: from the pipe organ and the creepy clockwork orchestra to Virginia North’s grand entrance and elaborate costume.

Vincent Price had one of horror’s most distinctive and iconic voices, and in no film is it put to better use than in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. In fact, it has a similar effect to Claude Raines’ commanding vocal performance in The Invisible Man. Price's untouched voice is naturally effective enough, but in the role of Dr. Phibes it is distorted and amplified. It's safe to say that nobody could've pulled off the role quite like Price.