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Subtle, silent asides.įuest demonstrated his comfort with visual story-telling by taking us through the first ten minutes of the film without a word being spoken, by which time we get to know Phibes, the man, his mission and his methods. My favourite scene is when he leaves one murder only after giving the corpse a withering look after sniffing some cheap wine, then re-entering the shot to shake his head at some doubtful art hanging on the wall. Vincent Price is supposed to be stoney-faced - perhaps a technique he perfected for Witchfinder General - but shows just how little he needs to still make it humorous. When his assistant Vulnavia appears, she walks down a corridor built especially for a grand entrance. Between murders, and even during murders, Phibes does everything with style. Beautiful corridors, exquisite women in exquisite dresses, music, dance, fine food and wine. Fuest, like Phibes, makes time for the finer things in life. Many dark jokes arise from Phibes having had his face burnt off, meaning he has to eat and drink through unseen cavities in the side of his neck, and plug in a speaker to make himself heard.Īs I watched this again, I kept catching myself thinking "nothing is happening in this scene". It was fun to see reviews of Se7en remember this film as a possible influence. The location stripped down to the place 'where it all happens'.Ī hugely enjoyable black comedy, with Vincent Price murdering his enemies with a variety of themed murder methods. A wooden church literally in the middle of nowhere. Again, wide open flat space with only the key buildings visible. The rocky plains of Lapland at the start of The Final Programme also resonates with The Devil's Rain, set almost entirely in an American desert. There are very few towns or buildings and very few places to hide. The 'stage' is empty apart from a few key players. The French countryside in And Soon the Darkness is open and flat - the cyclists are often alone in an expanse with no one else around. His trademark bizarre set designs are completely absent, but what remains is the sparseness, using empty landscapes instead of soundstages. While The Avengers and The Final Programme are set in surreal and stylised universes, The Devil's Rain and And Soon the Darkness are set in the real world. Like the methods of the 'Master of Suspense', Brian Clemens' script created a plot which would play on the audiences' expectations and try to keep them guessing. No spoofing, but an attempt to do nail-biting suspense in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock. A sober change from The Avengers, this was definitely a horror film.