It is ironic and perhaps appropriate that THEATER OF BLOOD was released the same year as THE EXORCIST for it is the latter that would forever do away with the old school type of horror film that Vincent Price specialized in and begat the mainstreaming of the gross out horror film that is still is with us today. While the murders in THEATER OF BLOOD are gory, they are not realistic and are not meant to be. They are deliberately in the style of Grand Guignol which is part of the tradition that this movie pays homage to.
It is no accident that the film opens with Shakespearean scenes from the silent era and their melodramatic performances. Some of those scenes can be found on a marvelous DVD called SILENT SHAKESPEARE while the OTHELLO clip features the great German actor Emil Jannings and is from his 1922 film version of the play. Vincent Price’s Edward Lionheart is clearly along the lines of Tod Slaughter and Donald Wolfit and the fact that an actor of that style would still be around in 1970 adds to the unreality of it all.
As has been mentioned by others, the film is really an opportunity for Price to indulge in, make fun of, and pay tribute to the type of performances he gave in the 1960s especially in the AIP/Roger Corman Poe films. It also takes swipes at contemporary performers (the actor who gets the award instead of Lionheart is named William Woodstock), critics in general (one is named Hector Snipe, another who is a notorious ladies man is Trevor Dickman), and Shakespeare himself (the rewriting of the ending of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE).
Adding to the fun are some of Britain’s greatest stage performers such as Michael Hordern, Harry Andrews, and Arthur Lowe along with movie and TV stars like Robert Morley, Jack Hawkins and Ian Hendry. Then there is Diana Rigg, fresh from THE AVENGERS and looking to return to the stage. She has said that this was one of the very few films that she enjoyed making and thought highly of. Throw in Diana Dors (the British Shelley Winters), Milo O’Shea (Duran Duran in BARBARELLA), and Coral Browne (THE RULING CLASS) who would ultimately become the third Mrs Vincent Price, and you have a once in a lifetime cast of British talent.
Director Douglas Hickox uses all London locations (there are no studio sets) giving us a time capsule of 1970s London much of which no longer exists. The photography is straight forward and the musical soundtrack adds to the film’s enjoyment. In fact the Twilight Time Blu-Ray I’m reviewing gives you the option of hearing just the soundtrack and not the dialogue which with the subtitles turns it into a silent film experience. The Shakespearean murders are clever and occasionally in bad taste but that’s what makes THEATER OF BLOOD so worthwhile for fans of Price and of theatrical productions. If you enjoy that type of entertainment than it doesn’t get better than this.
The Capsule Critic 