THEATRE
OF DEATH (1966)Director: Samuel Gallu
Anchor Bay Entertainment
THEATRE
OF DEATH (1966)THEATRE OF DEATH involves the cast of a Grand Guignol Theater group in France. Christopher Lee plays Darvas, a cruel, humorless and apparently sadistic director of the group. Darvas humiliates and irritates the actors and is constantly creeping around the theater, spying on them and even hypnotizing one of the girls in a Svengali-type manner.
Meanwhile, a young police surgeon played by Julian Glover (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY) is seeing one of the actresses (Lelia Goldoni) and gets tangled up in the investigation of a rash of vampiric murders. A number of victims have had their necks slashed open and their blood drained out, and Darvas is the prime suspect, but he too disappears.
Samuel Gallu's THEATRE OF DEATH has more to do with mystery than horror, owing more to European murder movies than traditional British thrillers of the time. The theater setting is an ingenious backdrop for the proceedings, and was later applied to Gordon Hessler's MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, Pete Walker's THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW, and Michele Soavi's STAGE FRIGHT. Looking rather mod, Lee is engrossing as usual, but the top billed-actor is more or less one of several red herrings.
Anchor Bay's DVD transfer for THEATRE OF DEATH is a stunner. Previously available on video in several bad pan & scan nightmare versions, the disc is appropriately letterboxed in its full 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. The picture looks fantastic, with vivid colors (especially the deep crimsons) and the mono sound is crystal clear as well. The film is also fully uncut, reinstating a woman's half-naked voodoo dance, which was trimmed from some prints.
Included is an 11-minute video interview with Lee entitled "Sinister Theatrics." The ever-energetic Lee talks about being in THEATRE OF DEATH, the cast, the Grand Guignol, and his continuing discontent with his later portrayals of Dracula for Hammer. Other extras are the British theatrical trailer, still and photo galleries, and a biography of Lee. There's also some offbeat radio spots for the U.S. release titled "Blood Fiend" where Hemisphere Pictures teamed it up on drive-in bills with some of their wild Philippine horrors. (George R. Reis)