Twilight Time is diving into what some people might think is an obscure Vincent Price flick, but Theatre of Blood is a dark comedy horror film that allows Vincent Price to shine in a multitude of different roles, whilst he systematically murders the critics that snubbed him years ago. Theatre of Blood will win over fans who want to see Mr. Price ham it up and steal every scene he is in.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 104 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.66:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: English SDH
REGION: Region Free
RATING: R
PRODUCTION DATE: 1973
RELEASE DATE: Aug 16, 2016
PLOT SUMMARY
Theatre of Blood (1973), directed by Douglas Hickox, offers the one and only Vincent Price in a role both madcap and touching. He plays a Shakespearean actor determined to wreak vengeance on the critics who fail to appreciate his genius, killing them in a series of set-piece murders based on scenes from Shakespeare. Diana Rigg plays Price’s Cordelia-like daughter, and a lineup of British thespian legends incarnate the critics, including Robert Morley, Jack Hawkins, Harry Andrews, Arthur Lowe, Robert Coote, Michael Hordern, Dennis Price, Ian Hendry, and Coral Browne.
MOVIE REVIEW
Theatre of Blood has a straight forward classic tale of revenge served up to us on a bloody platter, as Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart. Before his supposed death, he was a theatre actor who specialised in Shakespeare plays. A certain group of critics known as the Critics’ Circle, would tear his performances apart in their published reviews and the straw that broke the camels back was when they didn’t award him the critics actor award. He decided to end his life right there, but of course, he survived and he is now taking his revenge on the critics with the help of his daughter (Diana Rigg – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and a band of hobos.
Theatre of Blood has several things going for it that make it a wonderful flick to watch and own thanks to Twilight Time. It has plenty of dark comedy running through its veins and the film isn’t shy with its violence. Of course, Vincent Price is the main treat, as we get to see him play several different roles in order to trick the critics into falling into his deadly traps.
Honestly, I have nothing really negative to say about the movie. I enjoyed the straightforward story, the humour, and it’s a film I would highly recommend checking out, especially for Vincent Price fans.
BLU-RAY OPINION
Twilight Time Blu-rays are hard to critique, as on one end they do a serviceable job with the audio and video side of things. However, when it comes to special features and the price tag, which is high due to the limited nature of their discs, it’s hard to rate the disc highly when you factor it all together. It really comes down to whether you enjoy the movie over features. Thankfully, the disc has solid audio and video, but it does lack on the features. It sports an isolated score track, Audio commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman, which is rather enjoyable to listen to, and finally a trailer. That’s it, that’s all.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Isolated Score Track
- Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman
- Original Theatrical Trailer
VERDICT
If you can justify forking out the cash for the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Theatre of Blood, I don’t think you’ll regret doing so. It’s a funny murderous flick, but the disc is lacking a substantial amount of features. However, the audio and video are solid. In the end, I give it a recommend.