The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)

The story of Doctor Phibes is quite a different beat than what you most often get. At its core, it is a revenge tale, where a lovestricken husband takes revenge on the doctors that caused his beloved wife to pass away on the operating table after an accident. At the outside, it's a black comedy that excels at both being gruesome and at times hilariously funny, with some bizarre twists thrown in just for good measure.

Don't believe me? Well, you should. And after a first viewing of this, you will also scratch your head, because this is one of those films that get better the more you see it.

In the titular (and mostly silent) role of Phibes, we find horror icon and legend Vincent Price. That the man had an enormous amount of on screen presence can never be denied and here he is obviously once again having a blast with the role. Just observe the way he overacts whilst playing his organ.

No, a real musical instrument. Not that kind of an organ. What are you, twelve?

He also tends to do a little dance when one of his schemes comes to fruition, which is both weird and entertaining at the same time. Phibes plots to kill the doctors, but he does so in a pre-ordained fashion, according to the ten plagues of Egypt. The way they are executed is often far more clever than you would think at first . Bats is obvious, and so is rats, but how he goes about with the frogs, hail, blood and especially the locusts is baffling. But what takes the cake as probably the most bizarre, out of nowhere and hilarious death is the one about the beasts, in which a unicorn head is used. I will not spoil it, but it comes literally from left field and will leave you in stitches.

The police officers tasked with solving the crime are loveable scamps and the misunderstanding about detective sergeant Trout's name is a funny running gag throughout the film.

And this is why Phibes works as both a comedy and a horror film: the humour is often unexpected but well executed and when things go dark and ghastly, they do so in a convincing tone. Especially the plagues concerning frogs, blood, locusts and the death of the firstborn are rather gruesome. So this one has the massive balls to effortlessly combine horror and laughs without seeming too forced, something that is often lacking nowadays.

It might not be the best Vincent Price performance ever, I feel that right is probably more reserved for one of the Poe-adaptations, but in all its quirkiness, it is a fun watch.

Also, I want a clockwork orchestra now.