Maybe four stars is too much but I really liked this late entry Vincent Price AIP movie - it ranks with the best he ever did for the company and among the best movies he ever made. It's got so much going for it - a great central character (tormented doctor grieving the loss of his wife), with a clear goal (avenging the death of said wife on the operating table), and clever gimmick (he does it via ten Biblical plagues).
There's also lots of neat touches: it's set in the 1920s and so has some gorgeous decor; Price's Phibes is a constructed creature who can only talk through a speaker. The support cast is impressive (it includes Joe Cotten and Terry Thomas), the wit is sly, Virginia North is beautiful (though I wish she'd have more of a character to play). Robert Fuest directs with genuine visual flair - it's a treat for the eyes. It's also genuinely moving because at heart its a love story.
If I had a gripe it's there isn't anyone really for the audience to identify with - there's a middle aged detective, and I suppose Cotten... maybe I was hoping for someone younger. There's Cotten's son but he's a bad actor.
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