Theatre Of Death — Theatre Of Death( DVD)
Theatre Of Death sits somewhere between a murder mystery & horror film- with subtle giallo undertones. The late 1960s is set around Paris’s Grand Guignol theatre- where new director Phillipe Darvas (Christopher Lee) has just started working- and a series of murders are being carried out around the city, with the bodies being drained of their blood. Here from Cheezy Movie is a DVD release of the film.
Theatre of Death (aka Blood Feind, The Female Fiend) is from the year 1967. It’s a British production helmed by Woodbine, New Jersey-born Samuel Gallu. He had four features to his name, as well as four TV credits. His feature lengths go from secret agent drama/ mystery The Man Outside (1967), crime-drama The Limbo Line (1968), madcap inventor comedy Arthur? Arthur! (1969).
Though the film is meant to be set in Paris- it certainly feels like it’s set in a British city in the late 60’s, as every character is English(save one or two doing a very vague French accent), and the buildings/ locations look like they are in the UK.
The film kicks off with Phillipe(Lee) taking over the reins of the Grand Guingol from his deceased father- he’s a decidedly curt, at times downright unpleasant theatre director who really pushes his actress to the edge.
There are two key actresses in his sights- Dani (Lelia Goldoni) a dark-haired & somewhat haunted twenty-some. And the younger blond Nicole(Jenny Till)- he bullies, belittles, and at points threatens the first, but with the second he is somewhat besotted even asking her to live in his house- which is a classic gothic horror mansion- with hidden passageways, a portrait with spy-through-eyes, and lots of cobwebs.
As Phillipe & his cast are showing their series of macabre theatre pieces- someone is stalking the city late at night in a top hat, cloak, and masked face- stabbing and then draining the victim's blood. With the deaths been investigated by Inspector Michaud (Ivor Dean), and his blond brill-creamed & chain-smoking partner Dr. Charles Marquis(Julian Glover)- who also is Dani’s boyfriend
The gore/ violence in the film is fairly tame- with the murders just showing screaming women’s faces before they are killed. The briefly seen theatre pieces look neat- with one regarding a witch tied to a stake to be branded, one regarding a French revolution Guillotine death, and one is a speared voodoo death. They are rather tame too- with just slight dabs/ splashes of bright red blood.
Acting-wise Lee is great as the obnoxious at points decidedly cruel Phillipe- though he doesn’t get enough screen time disappearing for a time in the film's runtime. Both Goldoni & Till are effective as the two actresses- with neither of them seemingly being what they initially seem. Glover is decidedly smug & not terribly likeable- which isn’t great when I think he’s meant to be the hero of the film.
The film has a fairly soapy feel to a lot of its dialogue/ set-up. And personally, I was never really chilled or creeped out by the film- so while there are certainly horror tropes present Theatre of Death is ultimately a murder mystery at its heart.
This new region-free DVD features a clean, bright, and undamaged print- though it’s rather cropped & small when watched on a Blu-Ray player. As with all Cheezy Movie release- this is a bare-bones affair, with just a trailer.
It’s always great to see lesser-known Christopher Lee being reissued- and while he’s not in the film for a big clunk, he makes an impact when he is. So, on the whole Theatre Of Death is an entertaining enough murder mystery with subtle/ tame touches of both giallo & horror.