Dr. Phibes Rises Again

Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Fuest
Produced by Louis M. Heyward
Written by
Starring
Music by John Gale
Cinematography Alex Thomson
Edited by Tristam V. Cones
Production
company
Distributed by Anglo-EMI Film Distributors Ltd./MGM-EMI (UK)
Release date
  • July 1972 (1972-07)
Running time
 88 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Dr. Phibes Rises Again is a 1972 British horror film, produced by Louis M. Heyward, directed by Robert Fuest, that stars Vincent Price and Robert Quarry. The film is the sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). After seeking vengeance on the men whom he blamed for his wife's death in the first film, Phibes returns to seek eternal life in Egypt while he pursues a centuries-old man who holds the ancient secrets that Phibes needs.

Plot

Following Dr. Anton Phibes' murderous quest for vengeance against the doctors he blamed for the death of his wife, Victoria, Phibes eludes capture by placing himself in suspended animation in a sarcophagus he shares with the body of his wife. There he remains until the Moon enters into a specific alignment with the planets. Three years later, the conjunction occurs, and Phibes rises from his sarcophagus. Summoning his silent assistant Vulnavia (Valli Kemp, replacing Virginia North), Phibes prepares to take Victoria to Egypt; there, in a hidden temple, flows the River of Life, promising resurrection for Victoria and eternal life for them both. Emerging from his basement, Phibes discovers that his mansion has been demolished, and a safe containing a papyrus scroll, showing the way to that river, is now empty.

Phibes knows of only one person who could be seeking the same goal: Darius Biederbeck (Robert Quarry), a man who has lived for centuries through the regular use of a special elixir. After translating the papyrus, Biederbeck prepares to travel to Egypt to find the River of Life for himself and his lover Diana (Fiona Lewis). Phibes and Vulnavia enter Biederbeck's house, kill his manservant, and reclaim the papyrus; they leave for Southampton to take a ship to Egypt. Biederbeck follows and travels on the same ship with Diana and his assistant Ambrose (Hugh Griffith). Ambrose is killed by Phibes when he discovers Victoria's body stored in the hold. His body is stuffed in a giant bottle and thrown overboard. Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) discovers the corpse when the bottle washes ashore near Southampton. He and Superintendent Waverley (John Cater) question shipping agent Lombardo (Terry-Thomas); upon hearing the descriptions of the tall woman (Vulnavia) and a clockwork band being shipped aboard, they realize that Dr. Phibes has somehow returned.

Trout and Waverley pursue Phibes to Egypt, catching up to Biederbeck's archaeological party near a mountain with the hidden temple. Phibes, having now set up residence inside the temple, hides Victoria's body in a secret compartment of an empty sarcophagus. He also finds the silver key that opens the gates to the River of Life. Phibes kills each of Biederbeck's men using methods inspired by Egyptian mythology: one man is killed by a hawk, another is stung to death by scorpions. Biederbeck's team eventually breaks into the temple and takes the sarcophagus, and Biederbeck discovers the key. Phibes uses a giant fan to simulate a windstorm, while Vulnavia enters the tent with the sarcophagus and crushes the man watching over it using a giant screw press. Though the sarcophagus is retrieved and Victoria's body is safe, Phibes discovers that the key is missing.

Biederbeck is unmoved by the murders and insists on finding the River of Life. He sends Diana with the last remaining team member, Hackett (Gerald Sim), back to England. Hackett leaves his truck to investigate a battalion of British troops, but finds they are really more of Phibes' clockwork men. When he returns to the truck, Diana is gone and he is sand-blasted to death, his truck crashing into Biederbeck's tent. Realizing Phibes must have taken Diana, Biederbeck confronts him. Phibes demands the key in exchange for Diana's life. Unable to break her free of Phibes' trap, Biederbeck surrenders the key and gives up his quest. Phibes unlocks the gates to the underground river, taking Victoria's coffin through an apparent secret passageway; he summons Vulnavia to join them.

Biederbeck begs Phibes to take him along; his pleas are ignored. Diana attempts to comfort Biederback, who begins to age rapidly. As his boat fades from sight down the passageway″, Phibes sings "Over the Rainbow," as Biederbeck succumbs to extreme old age.

Cast

Production

Producer Heyward brought in Blees, as he felt Blees' sense of humour would work well with a Phibes film. Heyward said that writers Blees and Fuest did not agree on how to write the film, which forced Heyward to mediate. The ensuing debates between Blees and Fuest resulted in what Heyward said was "a very good script" that could be used for teaching purposes. AIP was grooming Quarry as Price's replacement,[1] and the two were rumoured to not get along well;[2] however, Heyward said he was aware of no tension between the actors on-set.[1] Vulnavia was not initially intended to return, but AIP insisted on it. Since Virginia North was pregnant at the time, Valli Kemp was cast instead.[2] The desert scenes were shot in Ibiza, Spain.[1] In addition to Price, five actors returned from the previous film: Peter Jeffrey, John Cater and Caroline Munro in the same roles, and Hugh Griffith and Terry-Thomas in new ones.

Release

AIP solicited scripts for a third film, but Heyward said they never found a suitable one.[1] Proposed titles include Phibes Resurrectus, The Bride of Dr. Phibes, and The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes.[2]

Reception

Variety wrote that Vincent Price "delivers one of his priceless theatric performances" and that producer Louis M. Heyward had "lined up a first-rate crew of technical assistants."[3] Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune gave the film one star, criticizing the "cheapness of the production" and the "unmotivated, mostly unimaginative" violence.[4] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Those who enjoyed the campy horror of last year's Dr. Phibes are in for a keen disappointment" and called the script "astonishingly slapdash".[5] Philip Strick of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "It's refreshing to find a sequel that's better than its prototype. The return of the abominable Phibes, his pallor flushed with the success of his initial screen appearance, is accompanied both by a larger budget and, more to the point, by a greater display of confidence at all levels of the production."[6]

At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 15 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review. The film's rating average is 5.7/10.[7] In Horror Movies of the 1970s, writer John Kenneth Muir described the film as "no better or worse than its predecessor".[8] In The Penguin Encylopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural Kim Newman wrote: "Dr Phibes Rises Again lacks the gleeful insanity of the first film, but is far more achieved". [9]

Soundtrack

The film score by John Gale was released on Perseverance Records 20 March 2003.

The final song in the movie, "Over the Rainbow," was written nearly a decade after the story's time frame.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Weaver, Tom (2000). Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes. McFarland & Company. p. 182–183. ISBN 9780786407552.
  2. 1 2 3 Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008. McFarland & Company. p. 96–98. ISBN 9780786453788.
  3. ↑ "Doctor Phibes Rises Again". Variety: 14. July 19, 1972.
  4. ↑ Siskel, Gene (July 18, 1972). "Dr. Phibes..." The Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 5.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (August 11, 1972). "'Dr. Phibes' Rides Again". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 22.
  6. ↑ Strick, Philip (November 1972). "Dr. Phibes Rises Again". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 39 (466): 230.
  7. ↑ "Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  8. ↑ Muir, John Kenneth (2002). Horror Films of the 1970s. McFarland & Company. p. 191. ISBN 9780786491568.
  9. ↑ Sullivan, Jack (ed.) (1986). Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural. Viking Penguin. p. 1. ISBN 0670809020.
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