I saw the 1971 Vincent Price movie The Abominable Dr. Phibes the other day, and it was a lot of fun -- there are truly campy elements in it, but I was struck by how much genuine creepiness there is to the movie as well. The way Phibes talks gives me the willies -- but the way he drinks champagne is jaw-droppingly odd. And the last scene is will gave me the type of grisly chuckle usually reserved for old EC Vault of Horror comics.
One thing that struck me is how much of a blueprint for Seven this movie was. Instead of the Seven Deadly Sins as a killing motif, Phibes uses the Plagues of Egypt. The film tantalizes the viewer with odd actions on Phibes' part, letting us wonder until the last minute how his task (say, boiling brussels sprouts) is going to lead to someone's death (it does). The two movies also share a plot twist, but I won't say any more than that.
Rob
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
There are two sides to Dr. Phibes.....both of them EVIL
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Speaking of Seven, check out its final scene, performed by stuffed animals. Still creepy. (Thanks to Clicked for this one)
P.S. Per IMDB, it's Se7en.
But per the video box they show, it's Seven. seven, actually. Fancy shmancy moviemakers, trying to make life hell for copy editors everywhere. Fuck em, I say.
But that stuffed animal thing? THAT is cool.
The choice of that blue thing as Kevin Spacey is just key.
That was cool.
Actually, it was the Morgan Freeman Dog that did it for me.
Waited until I had downtime at work to watch this link, 'cause it's SO big and my dial-up is so SLOW.
I also got a great laugh out of the EXTREME makeover parody of "Buzz Bunny"
http://gorillamask.net/extremebugs.shtml
--> Folks with kids, put on your headphones before you play this, 'cause it's f#@%ing EXTREME!!!
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