Plot: What’s it about?
Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) is a veteran stage performer, but he has never been adored by the critics, to say the least. In truth, his performances often meet with volleys of miserable reviews, without much in the way of praise. This is not to be blamed on the critics however, as Lionheart is a hamhanded actor and in the end, his work isn’t worthy of much critical praise, if any at all. But he has just produced an entire season of Shakespearean plays and still been overlooked for any kind of awards. He even confronts the Critics’ Circle and demands answers, but he is offered none he wants to hear, which sends him into a depression. At his lowest point, Lionheart even throws himself into the Thames River to end it all, but is pulled out by some bums and various other lowlifes. But now his focus is on revenge and in a most dramatic fashion, he plans to exact some payback from the critics who’ve hounded him all these years. Perhaps he never won them over with his acting, but Lionheart still plans to knock ’em dead in the end.
This is a terrific movie and I am thrilled to own it on DVD, even in this less than impressive package. Vincent Price (Twice Told Tales, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) gives a dead on turn as a bad actor who decides to take revenge on the critics, which means tons of fun indeed. The premise here seems a little limited, but rest assured, it is fleshed out very well and exceeds the potential, if you ask me. The first time I watched Theater of Blood, I expected the pattern to become tiresome, but the deaths are rather inventive and never even come close to dull. I was even taken back by the amount of blood and gore in the killings, much more than expected, to be sure. I think the sheer volume of blood could scare off some viewers, but so long as you can stand the sight of the red stuff, you’ll be fine here. This might sound like a horror movie and it is, but there’s also plenty of dark humor to go around, which is most welcome here. This disc from MGM offers minimal value content, but passable technical merits and a very low price, so it is still recommended.
Video: How does it look?
Theater of Blood is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. I am unsure why MGM continues to refuse anamorphic enhancement on 1.66:1 titles, but the lack of added resolution is obvious here. I saw more shimmering and edge enhancement than I’d like, which can sometimes be distracting. The print is in good shape, but shows some grain and debris, though not too much. The colors and contrast seem in fine order, with no real flaws to report, aside from when the grain gets a little thick. This is a flawed visual effort for sure and a new anamorphic edition is most welcome, but given the nature of this release, this transfer is stable enough, I think.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not much to talk about here, as the original mono option is used and it is solid, though unmemorable. I heard little in terms of age related errors, so the material is free from distortion and hiss, save a few minor instances. The music and sound effects come through well enough, but remember, this is mono and as such, we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of dynamic presence and such. No errors with dialogue however, all the vocals seem crisp and clean throughout, without volume flaws to contend with. This disc also contains language options & subtitles in Spanish and French, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
