A cloaked figure plays the organ surrounded by a band comprising of robot musicians who are collectively known as Dr Phibes’ Clockwork Wizards.

The organist is Anton Phibes and he has quite a backstory. He was thought to have been killed in a car crash in 1921 when he was rushing home after hearing of his wife’s death at the hands of surgeons. Whilst he was horribly disfigured in the crash, he actually lived and now vows to exact vengeance on the surgeons and indeed anyone who was involved in his wife’s death. The method for each death mirrors The Ten Plagues of Egypt but with a few changes/substitutions here and there.

I love this movie. The Abominable Dr Phibes is one of Vincent Price’s best films- fantastically paced, heavy on horror but with a brilliant sense of humour and, since this is a Price movie, a healthy dose of camp but not to an extent that dilutes the horror. The Abominable Dr Phibes is also as brilliantly perverse and enigmatic as its leading character. In this era of annoying modern-day prequels to horror classics that provide some stupid backstory, The Abominable Dr Phobes has a quality that is all too rare in modern horror- mystery. Not everything has to be explained. Not everything has to be pinpointed. Let the audience fill in any unexplained gaps and warrant them with a modicum of intelligence. This is what Dr Phibes does in spades and it’s such a fun ride because of it. The first time I watched the movie, I was hooked from the very first scene of Phibes playing the organ with his sinister clockwork band. I didn’t know what it all meant but I knew one thing- I loved it!

I also love each murder sequence. Again, the exact measure of horror, humour and camp. I was half expecting Price to wink into the camera during each sequence but unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Instead, we get the genius of his gorgeous female partner in crime, Vulnavia playing a violin to mark each death.

The Abominable Dr Phibes was a favourite of John Carpenter. He named Darwin ‘Napoleon Wilson’ Joston’s character in The Fog after Price’s character. Also, Phibes extols that ‘Nine were responsible, nine shall die!’ whilst in The Fog, the mysterious piece of wood that Stevie Wayne finds states ‘6 must die’. This is surely a Phibes reference.

The Abominable Dr Phibes is fantastic fun from start to finish and was so popular that a sequel was made soon after. This will also be reviewed soon.

4.5 out of 5 stars.