Color, 1972, 88 mins. Directed by Robert Fuest
Starring Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Fiona Lewis, Valli Kemp, Hugh Griffith, Milton Reid, Peter Cushing, Beryl Reid, Terry-Thomas / Written by Robert Fuest & Robert Blees / Music by John Gale / Cinematography by Alex Thomson
Format: DVD - MGM (MSRP $14.98) Letterboxed (1.85:1) (16x9 enhanced) / Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Like most sequels, Dr. Phibes Rises Again faced an uphill battle to outdo its already outlandish predecessor. Luckily AIP had the same director and lead actor handy, so they simply decided to provide more of the same, and while this second outing for
Months after the surreal embalming finale of The Abominable Dr. Phibes, our faceless antihero (Vincent Price) is returned to life in his underground lair when a special position of the moon sets into a motion a series of contraptions fill him back with blood. Summoning his lovely assistant Vulnavia (Valli Kemp) from the netherworld, he plans for a lavish expedition to Egypt in order to revive his wife, Victoria (Caroline Munro), in the mystical River of Life. Unfortunately
In comparison to the first film, this Phibes outing feels more rambling and hastily put together. The murders are still outrageously nasty fun, but the lack of a coherent pattern like the original's ten plagues removes some of the cheeky suspense. The return of Peter Jeffrey's Inspector Trout also feels more than a little contrived, though he does provide the film with a couple of its funniest moments. As for the completely successful elements, the sandy locales are a marked change of pace from the glossy surrealism of the first film, while John Gale
MGM's DVD of Dr. Phibes Rises Again isn't as dazzling as their transfer of the first film, but then this film's appearance has always been a bit softer and more muted. The bulk of the print looks excellent, better in fact than the previous Vestron and Orion editions, though some damage creeps through now and then. Don't panic when you see the mediocre quality of the clips at the beginning; they've always looked like that. As with the first Phibes, the letterboxing loses almost as much from the top and bottom as it gains on the sides, but the compositions looks nicely balanced. Of course, the "music edited for home video" disclaimer on the box notwithstanding, the big news here is the long awaited restoration of Price's victorious rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" during the final scene, which was substituted rather poorly in all previous home video and TV editions. It's about time! The disc also includes the original theatrical trailer ("He lives!"), which as usual is a lot of fun.
Color, 1971, 94 mins. Directed by Robert Fuest
Starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North, Terry-Thomas, Sean Bury, Peter Jeffrey, Susan Travers, Hugh Griffith / Written by James Whiton and William Goldstein / Music by Basil Kirchin and Jack Nathan / Cinematography by Norman Warwick
Format: DVD - MGM (MSRP $14.98) Letterboxed (1.85:1) (16x9 enhanced) / Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
While Vincent Price was no stranger to mixing horror and camp dating back to the days of William
A prominent London physician has passed away under the most peculiar of circumstances: death by bats. Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) of Scotland Yard is perplexed by the grotesque crime, which reminds his partner of a similar recent murder involving bees. Meanwhile the facially immobile Dr. Phibes and his beautiful mute assistant, Vulnavia (Virginia North), occasionally emerge from their elaborate underground hideout to wreak vengeance on a succession of other doctors and nurses
Obviously this kind of black humor isn't to everyone's taste, but Price fans have long held this film and its sequel close to their hearts. The potentially sick and morbid subject matter is kept in check by the script's dashes of silly humor, ranging from Trout's hilarious discussions with his superiors to Phibes' bizarre methods of communicating via gramophone and consuming champagne through... well, you'll just have to see for yourself. The same formula was later perfected by Price in the similar but classier Theater of Blood, but in visual terms at least, the first Phibes remains one of Price's most striking films. The clockwork ragtime band, the luminous organ, and the vibrant decors make this a unique chunk of eye candy, while the escalating tension of the plot is aided by the viewer's guilty rooting for Phibes to finish off his adversaries as quickly as possible. That said, the climax involving a particularly nasty surgical procedure is masterfully executed and suspenseful, with pros Cotten and Price playing off each other marvelously.
the murderous doctor falls slightly short of the mark, it makes a dandy companion piece to to the original all the same.
his art deco palace has been vandalized and his precious holy papyrus scrolls stolen by his archrival, Biederbeck (Robert Quarry), who intends to find the River himself. After creativley dealing with Biederbeck's bodyguard/manservant (exploitation vet Milton Reid), Phibes and Vulnavia are finally off to sea, along with Biederbeck, his seductive ladyfriend Diana (The Fury's Fiona Lewis), and even Peter Cushing in a throwaway bit as the captain. Of course, obtaining the scrolls also necessitates the removal of Biederbeck's assistants, so Phibes returns to his murderous ways thanks to some handy gadgets, the most memorable of which involves a load of scorpions.
provides an excellent score which perhaps surpasses the already wonderful original. The opportunity to watch newer horror blood like Quarry and Lewis act opposite Price (and Kemp, an exceptionally lovely new Vulnavia) is also tremendously appealing, particularly thanks to the nice conceit of having a villain going against Phibes instead of another sympathetic doctor.
Castle, he found the perfect vehicle to fuse the two together within one character: the unforgettable Dr. Anton Phibes, a renowned organist turned avenging antihero. The Abominable Dr. Phibes,, a slick art deco haunted house propelled by an outlandish presence and its magnetic star, became an unexpected hit for American International, who quickly rushed out a similar sequel from the same director, The Avengers helmer Robert Fuest.
with elaborate death schemes drawn from the ten Old Testament plagues visited upon Egypt. The curses of rats, blood, frogs, and hail are just a few of the creative challenges surmounted by the fiendish Phibes, who turns each murder into a work of art designed to confound the authorities. Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten) pieces together the mystery when he realizes that all of the victims worked together on the operating table attempting to save Phibes' wife Victoria (an uncredited Caroline Munro), who died just as her husband was involved in a fiery car accident while rushing to her side. As the police 
scramble to protect the surviving medical personnel, Phibes pushes on with his macabre mission destined to culminate in the most fearsome plague of all: darkness.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes has gone through several different video editions over the years, from a muted full frame Vestron edition on VHS and laserdisc to a more colorful widescreen Orion/Image laserdisc which lost as much on the top and bottom as it gained on the sides. Overall, MGM's DVD outdoes them all with a beautifully crisp, colorful presentation. In fact, the level of detail is so vivid you can clearly see the string holding up the bat which charges at the maid following the first murder. As with most of MGM's other AIP transfers, the black levels are a little pale and overly bright, but most players come equipped with black enhancement features which can remedy this problem. More difficult to assess is the 1.85:1 framing, which is about as tight as it could possibly be without destructively shearing off vital information. (It comes very close during the opening credits, however.) Less vertical information is visible compared to the laserdiscs, but the framing looks balanced and pleasing enough throughout the film. However, one can't help wondering whether a more British-friendly aspect ratio of 1.78:1 or even 1.66:1 would have been closer to what Fuest intended. However, the otherwise spectacular appearance makes this the best way to become acquainted with Dr. Phibes and company, and the disc also includes the original U.S. trailer (which only sports the shortened promotional title, Dr. Phibes), also anamorphically enhanced and unfortunately guaranteed to spoil many of the film's highlights.
