The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)/Dr. Phibes Returns (1972)

Though my love for Vincent Price could have me writing many more entries on his behalf, it didn’t seem necessary to have separate entries for this somewhat ridiculous but still awesome film series. Price’s brilliant, mute, and presumed dead Dr. Phibes first is set on avenging the death of his wife by murdering those he feels were responsible, finding inspiration in the ten plagues of Egypt. Unfortunately for Joseph Cotten, he is at the top of Phibes’s list. In the second film, Dr. Phibes travels to Egypt in search of the one thing that can resurrect his dead wife. Unfortunately for Dr. Phibes, there are others on the same quest. The deaths in both films are wonderfully and memorably over the top. The visuals are fantastic, particularly in Phibes’s lair and the Egyptian temple. In both films, Phibes is partnered with the mysterious Vulvania (though I prefer the actress in the first film over the second) and an orchestra of clockwork musicians. In an admirable note to continuity, they are pursued by the same pair of detectives.