Today on Macabre Mystery Week we have a clip from the stylish Vincent Price cult classic, The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). Taking the convention of a masked phantom obsessed with revenge to new heights, the film follows Price through a series of ingenious assassinations that would make Rube Goldberg proud. Phibes is a mad genius, like Dr. Loveless from The Wild Wild West, and each of his deadly schemes involves an elaborate invention, a trap, and self-congratulatory sips of champagne. It's a perfect vehicle for the Gothic Vincent Price! Spy Vibers would especially enjoy the bold colors and stylized set designs, as well as the film's focus on Phibes's gadgetry. There's a great scene in the film that takes place during a masked ball, much like the Judex and Invisible Hands scenes we saw earlier in the week. Phibes arrives at the ball wearing a mask (indeed, his very face is a mask!) and he presents his victim with a stylish frog head- complete with a deadly gear mechanism that squeezes him to his doom. Not as subtle as the poison-tipped umbrellas of the spy world, but a crafty bit of thriller fantasy for October 31st. For Spy Vibers who wish to jump right to the scene, it begins at 2:28. Movie still from Head Injury Theater. Happy Halloween!
