17. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) Monster Madness 2009 Review

[nivlekreklaw]

Reminds me of Sander Cohen from Bioshock.

[schizoidboy]

This is a freaky movie when I first saw it I only saw a poriton of it and I got to say it freaked me out, particularly the plague of locusts which was done to slow music. This movie has style and should be better known then it is, I am always shocked it is never mentioned in those scariest moment shows.

[giantgfan]

question why no andromeda strain

[bononcrusher2]

Dr. Phibes...Isn't he from that one Scooby Doo cartoon?

[supersentai1975]

@bononcrusher2 Yes, Vincent Price was in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.

[bononcrusher2]

@supersentai1975 That's not what I...*facepalm*...you know what, nevermind.

[schizoidboy]

Phibes had class compared to most horror films then and now. I remember the plague of locusts scene and that was a freaky scene from start to finish.

[julzzville21]

Jigsaw: Hello, Dr. Phibes... I want to play a game...

Dr. Phibes: Sure, noob...

[ProAtEverything123]

I am such a nerd over the SAW movies... Just like my sister knows everything about Half Life, I know everything about SAW.

[Brittonbubba137]

@ProAtEverything123 I think I like your sister. She's a gamer gal, and I LOVE video games. :3

[bononcrusher2]

@ProAtEverything123 Oh she like Half-Life now, does she? *target list updated*

[aceholeas]

If there were more sequels it would be saw

[Evilmonkey66699]

@aceholeas actually there was over 30 or scripts for sequels to Dr Phibes and Dr Phibes rises again and about 5 of them made it to the early stages of pre-production but never gotten further then that.

[ultimatesharpzilla]

WHAT CRASH DOES THAT TO FACE?

[Rawr5649]

damn, now I know that SAW is a total ripoff

[VanTX89]

@Rawr5649 I wouldn't say ripoff but more of an homage or a tribute.

[Islayedthebat]

talk about true creeping death lol

[ZACKnirvana]

hmmm sounds like a certain movie dealing with a puppet and a cancer patient.

[SirGrodusFTW]

Dr. Phibes as like a murder old day hipster

Guns? Knifes? Too Mainstream

[MaverickXIII]

Dr Phibes Rises Again; awesome Misfits song

[ken01ization]

phibes taught jigsaw in the university of phsico killing

[tylercmorgan]

the 9th plague was the plague of darkness, the death of the first born was the 10th plague

[K66guns0]

2:24 Ive heard of trouser snakes but never trouser scorpions

[RandomGamerNumber01]

@K66guns0 i've never heard of trouser snakes OR trouser scorpions.

[BluTrilobite]

Creepy, weird movie....friggin' great late night viewing!

[WatchVenusSpa]

In the realm of horror's finest actors, NOBODY can touch Vincent Price!

[Dontmakemecomeover5]

Just one film in the 70s?WTF james?

[tsalikaki]

yeah he needs to mention Theatre of Blood it's my favorite horror movie of all time! aww the class!

[Senseman]

The Abominable Dr. Phibes is one of my brother's favorite movies of all time. In fact, he even used the organ piece (which you can hear in the background for the first 30 seconds or so) in his wedding. It's called "War March of the Priests" by Felix Mendelssohn.

[mjlambert1]

I hope James puts Theatre of Blood in the 2011 edition of Monster Madness.

[gerudomein]

2:22 dildo implalement?

[siralucard19]

1:19 Saw inspiration

[extremeeXrement1]

1:08 you mean 10th plauge

[extremeeXrement1]

1:08 you mean 10th plauge

[MrJoint187]

70's Jigsaw...

[stinkblue12345]

saw vs phibes now that would be awsome

[castlevania3151]

its 2011 THIS MOVIES 30th ANNIVERSERY

[gentlemann]

@castlevania3151

you mean it's 40th anniversary. i almost miscaluclated too...

[pepito1269]

the frog mask reminds me of the bear trap

[richwicz]

I've just ordered the MGM Midnite Movies double sided DVD of The Abominable Dr.Phibes and Dr.Phibes Rises Again.I haven't seen either film for years, looking forward to watching these classics again.

[tabbygail7]

If you haven't seen this movie, you must. It's a great blend of horror and black humor that is done with a perfect balance. One of my all time favorites.

[voltaman33]

Aha! I saw this movie last year at like 5 am on a regular non-cable channel. I couldn't think of the name for anything but I remember the acid scence with the doctor's son.

[MrHEC381991]

i want this movie :|

[MrBonesaw1000]

the inspiration for saw was actually the movie se7en

[Be4TinGyoU]

@MrBonesaw1000 I highly doubt that, they are in now way similar.

[MrBonesaw1000]

@Be4TinGyoU thats what I heard Leigh Whanell say. The first one was an inspiration for it, but then they started to go in their own direction...

[Randomvillain1]

@MrBonesaw1000 Oh come on,you have to admit saw STRONGLY was inspired from Dr. Phibes-the killer from the 1st movie suffers from something troubling in his life,the clever death traps,hidden keys in peoples bodies,and the female assistant...thats almost like a shot for shot of this movie.

[MrBonesaw1000]

@Randomvillain1 Im not denying that, Im just sayin the writers and directors and everything from what I know, were for the most part heavily inspired by david finchers se7en

[thetan63]

No, actually, he was the only one in the car crash. His wife had some kind of disease I can't remember.

[RabidDingoPro]

@thetan63 His wife needed surgery around her heart or something. That's why he makes the doctor get the key out of his sons chest. Kind of a way to teach him what he felt.

[RuinsAndViolins]

Vincent Price... an ICON of the classic horror movies... His imposing stature and unique voice made history. Definitely my favorite actor of all-times.

[Drummer58TV]

Anyone else catch the laugh from MJ's Thriller at the end???

[vo0sto0]

This Is A Materpiece!

[dutchbb1979]

Wow so this is where they got the ideas for Saw, what a rip off!!

[MsBlackdeath13]

This is such a beautiful movie... One of Vincent Price's finest roles in my opinion

[knoxvilleguy2]

@MsBlackdeath13 - Vincent Price's characters & the horror characters of the last 20 years, no comparison.

[TheToadRacer]

Can someone tell me the real plot for all of the saw movies? I never really understand it

[TrapnestShinigami]

@TheToadRacer

Jigsaw has cancer. He wants people to learn to apreciate their lives, so he gets people with wasted lifes and puts them through a game of pain to test their will to live, and to see if they deserve live... but the latests movies also kinda feel like TV detective shows as well... they are the kind of unrealistic crap that is so bad, is kinda amusing and fun to see.

[sfighter991]

These are some of the best films that Vincent Price did, strange, but good movies.

Thank you Dr.Savard.

[commando2224]

WOW.lol some creepy as movies.

[Double17L]

i will never wear a frog mask again..

[TheBubbypower]

@Double17L LOL XD XD

[aidwin85]

@Double17L again?

[MrPyre]

I understand that there was suppose to be a 3rd movie in which he brings his wife back to life, but it was never made. A tragic thing in my opinion.

There will be a big celebration for Vincent Price's 100th birthday in St. Louis, MO (his hometown) this year. Check out the Vincentenial.

[kutvn]

dude the plages you told wasnt in the correct order

[iNvictaStudios]

Dr. Phibes Reminds me of Darkman, in a way.

[ladiesman146]

@iNvictaStudios i think he reminds me of sander cohen for some reason

[HailChaos]

Gotta love The Misfits.

[PorkFrog]

'inspiration'? 'Sampling'?

let's call it what it is: artistic theft

some is unconscious, some very conscious and deliberate

Hollywood so out of ideas it ain't funny

Loved Dr Phibes sticking a fork in his ear to eat--that right there is better than all the Saw movies combined

[AnAddictedGamer]

Saw didn't copy Dr Phibes. Fact.

[zergrushftw]

@AnAddictedGamer

He said the Dr Phibes most likely was a source of inspiration for Saw, not that Saw blatantly copied Dr Phibes

[AnAddictedGamer]

Yeah, but it wasn't. -_-

[TiniNormi]

@AnAddictedGamer Proof?

[AnAddictedGamer]

The idea of Saw evolved from the idea of two people awakening in a room chained up with no knowledge of how they got there, etc Then Leigh and James realized they needed a reason for these guys to be in there. Then they decided to create the Jigsaw Killer who would be this "reason". So this idea of Doctor G being forced to kill Adam was where the "do this or die" concept came from. Wanting the audience to realize what Jigsaw is capable of they came up with a few more scenarios.

[TiniNormi]

@AnAddictedGamer

"people awakening in a room chained up with no knowledge of how they got there" ... Cube.

"the 'do this or die' concept" ... Se7en.

[AnAddictedGamer]

Did you just imply Cube was the first film to have the characters awake in a room with no knowledge of how they got there? You're just stating similarities between films. If you're trying to indicate Saw isn't original, then by your logic Cube and Se7en aren't original. Besides, we're not talking about originality, we're talking about whether or not James and Leigh copied Dr Phibes, which they didn't.

[TiniNormi]

@AnAddictedGamer

I just gave the first example that came to mind. If we're talking about whether A copied B, that DOES concern originality. You said it's a "fact" that Saw didn't lift any ideas from Dr. Phibes but didn't back up that claim with evidence.

[AnAddictedGamer]

Yes, and I already showed you that James and Leigh hadn't copied Dr Phibes, so what was the point of the examples?

[TiniNormi]

@AnAddictedGamer No you didn't.

[AnAddictedGamer]

Yes I did. -_-

[AnAddictedGamer]

And also they had no shame in speaking about other similar movies like Mad Max so if they had copied Dr Phibes I'm sure they'd have no problem admitting it.

[DamienColletti]

This film is pure genius and was way ahead of it's time! Vincent Price is a horror icon and more people today need to know about him!

[balrog13571]

Yeah as random as the movie is, I daresay it's one of the most beautiful looking horror films I've ever seen. The scenes with the clockwork orchestra are amazing and Phibes is a much better villain than Jigsaw. No I can enjoy Saw's story, but they really did milk it. The last one and the 5th were the least effective in my opinion. Price was a master of camp and horror. Even when he was on Muppets and voiced Ratigan in Great Mouse Detective he stole the show frightening and amusing us.

[thereisonlyzule]

The plot kind of sounds similar to my favourite Vincent Price movie Theatre of Blood.

[danerogil]

Jigsaw dresses up just like Dr. Phibes and Billy dresses up almost exactly like the mannequins xD

[chepera]

Yeah! Saw's harbinger!

[BrainyBoy1200]

The Puppet aint callled jigsaw he created billy the fuckin creepy puppet *shudder*

[Leatherbubba]

This movie was entertaining as shit.

[mangoshakess]

hm. The mannequins in Phibes band are dressed exactly like Jigsaw. how bout that.

[danerogil]

@mangoshakess You mean Billy.

[lunatiksAlterEgo]

this sounds pretty cool

[PSnakeProductions]

I bought this movie solely on this review, it's an amazing movie

[phaeton10]

phibes relly knows how to use the traps good job but i still like saw more

[SuccubusBegierde]

I liked this movie. Haha. It reminds me of another movie I want to see. Seven (the seven deadly sin murders bwahahahaha!)

[recon500]

vincent price looks like alan rickman in this movie

[Freebleeper]

Man, that frog mask death scene freak me out when I first saw it.

[MsBlackdeath13]

I wonder if Tobin Bell have ever watched this one

[The10thFist]

@Chaosscouter137: exactly the first thing came up in my mind when i saw it

[armchairmaster]

0:40

WTF IS THAT ANTHONY HOPKINS?!

[Leatherbubba]

@armchairmaster That's the dude that played the englishman in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

[lordwisehammer]

@Leatherbubba His name's Terry Thomas and he was English.

[MrKiikunkaakun]

1:30 WTF is walking in that black room?

[DjHamHam411]

@MrKiikunkaakun OMG I SEE IT TOO! It looks like it had colorful spikes on its head because at 1:27 you get a clear view that it is a head. OMG I KNEED TO SEE THIS FILM!

[TheSlowBro]

Vincent would have had a hard time remembering his lines.

[themetalsonic94]

I swear to god,yesterday,I saw someone who looks like Dr.Phibes!

[frballz]

Holy shit. They should totally do that in Saw!!

[Wykletypl]

Death of the first born was the 10th plague, the 9th one was darkness. But in this movie they are reserved- first is the death of the first born, and then, as darkness, Phibes locks himself in a sarcophagus with his wife, replacing his blood with an embalming fluid.

[EmoNekoChan]

I'm not a horror person, but for some reason, I love watching James review movies. :D

[VenomBlade95]

@EmoNekoChan lol, same here

[rvdrocksalot]

the Mannequins remind me of dead Silence for some reason

[halobro123]

My Brother has both these movies, and he likes them.

[heavymetaldude100]

I love you work James!

[Harlequin19]

Another film I want to see you review is Theatre of Blood starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, their methods of revenge based on death scenes from Shakespeare plays that Price's character stars in xo

[sgtcrabfat]

hang on, Phibes"s wife, Victoria was not in the car crash,Phibes was traveling back to England from Switzerland afteer the surgeon had cabled him about his wifes serious medical condition, she died on the table, Phibes believes it was medical negliegence, hence the revenge on the medical team.

[MrLightMatter]

how dose the acid kill the boy

[Meisgeniusidiot]

yep, in a saw movie a guy has to remove a key from his eye, he didn't do it so he died

[XXDarkShadow79XX]

Wow. 1:10 is like Saw.

[burf12345]

actualy the ninth plague is darkness, the tenth plegue is death of the first born. take some bible lessons

[grendelee]

@burf12345 yeah, everyone listen to BURF

[Horrorlord1]

@burf12345 Yes, but those weren't in there or were they? Take some listening lessons. And why would all people need to know about untrue, evil, brainwashing, bullshit...

[abtazz12]

dr phibes = Jigsaw

[eswyatt]

His wife was not in the crash, she died of cancer of the uterus. The frog mask crushed the victim's skull; it didn't choke him. The key unlocked the operating table; it didn't shut off the acid.

[RaynorX]

You think there may have been some inspiration for Se7en from this movie as well? They both have murders with biblical themes.

[theamericanbrick]

murdered her ,murdered her

[strikerk]

@theamericanbrick

No~!

[randomboostsuperguy]

i love monster madness <3

[marioyoshi23]

@randomboostsuperguy Who dosnet love this except 4 the 11 peeps who disliked it

[porqtevasjuan]

didnt he already say this other guy was also an insperation for saw in an earliewr review

[Imnoatube]

He said one of the villians in a previous review reminded him of Jigsaw from SAW

[Billcasey]

"The Man They Could Not Hang". He said the guy reminded him of Jigsaw...

Interestingly enough, the spike through the ear phone trap that was in "The Man They Could Not Hang" was also in "The Return of Dr. Phibes"...

[MrSweJohn]

I didn't know that Saw had inspirations from both the 70's and 50's.

Movies got style.

[RaynorX]

The key in the guy's chest is just like the key in the guy's eye in the Saw film (Can't remember which number it was)

[smurfman95]

@RaynorX 2

[luigirules9]

yeah he is saw the old man and the young girl assistant lol

[Chaosscouter137]

OMG Jigsaw in the 1970's lol

[robertik31]

@Chaosscouter137 i no right

[tywhite3]

@Chaosscouter137 I know! EVEN THE KEY IN THE CHEST!!!!!! THIS IS CRAZY! SO WANNA SEE THESE!

[kaptinkarr]

@Chaosscouter137 its more like willard and jigsaw put together

[basketballjocks]

@Chaosscouter137 i was sure he would have an afro...

[ilikethecoke]

I assume this helped inspire Saw.

[legonerfkid99]

like saw

[0blistick]

Odd movie

[thedarknight307]

someone told me a rumor that saw sorta like a remake od Dr.Phibes

[edward18517]

oh lord how I loved these movies when I saw it a few years ago XD Thought the first one was better though.

[treetheoak]

lol so unlike the Saw movies dr phibes called it quites after #2?

[rockPanties69]

the 10th plague was death of the first born son, the 9TH was darkness

[c4662]

I saw this movie on TV last weekend

and it was great

[DrSnoozthe1st]

It's like saw but older

[mamuscas]

all most like saw

[DNchap1417]

Saw may be considered a loose remake of Dr. Phibes.

[TheJudgesyrus]

the manacins look like jigsaw jon so there could be some other inspiration

[samtrap99]

I wonder how that frog mask is supposed to choke u

[TheSoopahMarioBros]

its like saw like you said!

[cooliovasquez]

no they suck

[XXthekylemXX]

dude saw suzx I only like it for Tobin Bell

[ThrowntoReality]

@TheAdam1995:

Why all of them? Only the first one is watchable!

[Onerom4728]

looks like a cool villain

[ShootStyleZombie]

honestly, its probably a good thing this movie only had 2 movies, it wouldn't be as whored out as the Saw movies

[asdu68]

I wanna ask him to make a rewiew about Dr Phibes, and now here it is (thanks a lot)

Saw the movie, and I like it : no wonder why the tagline is "Love don't mean to say you're ugly"

[PipeCleanerVideos787]

i wonder what he did for the 10th plauge

[Rubberman202]

Dr. Phibes... You know, just hearing about the Saw references made me want to tell my sister about it. She's not really "into" horror films but she watches them with friends and they scream a lot. She was thinking about seeing Saw VI, but I don't think she should.

[MrJigglypuff1]

Hello Doctor Gordon, I want to play a game!

[HerbertHoover]

This is much like another brilliant Vincent Price film: Theater of Blood, where Price (playing eccentric actor Edward Lionheart) kills his critics to the theme of William Shakespeare plays.

I hope that the Nerd reviews Theater of Blood one day.

[elitezombieslayer129]

didnt that happen in a dirty harry movie?

[Chebangchebang]

weirdest movie ive ever seen.

[shadowclaw46]

Really? Have you ever seen "Beatlegeuse?"

[wolfkniteX]

bats were not part of the 10 pleages. they were : water into blood, gnats, locosts, frogs, lifestock dieing, hail and fire, death of the first born son, darkness, boils, and flies. Also death of the first born was the last pleage.