THEATRE OF DEATH (1967)

 

Christopher Lee plays Phillipe Darvas, the owner and producer of the Theatre of Death in Paris, which features plays and dance routines depicting bloody executions. When several people are found murdered and drained of their blood, the film's storyline leads the viewer to believe Darvas is a vampire. But is he? One of his actresses, Dani Gireaux (Lelia Goldoni), and her boyfriend, Charles Marquis (Julian Glover), certainly think so. And they're also suspicious of his unnatural hold on another young actress, Nicole Chapell (Jenny Till).

The fantastic Mr. Lee gives his usual commanding performance, easily dominating the other less impressive actors. Unfortunately, he is burdened with a weak story that leads in one predictable direction, but then leads to a twist that makes absolutely no sense. And Lee's character disappears sometime before the unconvincing conclusion, making the proceedings even less interesting than they would have been with his presence.

Christopher Lee turns on the fright in THEATRE OF DEATH.

The film does have a very beautiful Hammer-esque look to it, though (It is not a Hammer film.), with rich color and well designed sets. Darvas lives (?) in a spooky house that seems appropriate for the owner of something called the Theatre of Death. It has secret doors leading to a basement/dungeon overladen with cobwebs and filled with all manner of mysterious furnishings and objects, all of which seem to lend importance to the story, but are never explained. Miss Goldoni, at one point, finds herself exploring this basement/dungeon with the typical dramatic flair exhibited by all movie heroines who find themselves in creepy spaces overladen with cobwebs, etc. Maybe the director included this sequence as an homage to Roger Corman and his Poe series at American-International Pictures in the 1960's.

Miss Goldoni, best known for her role in John Cassavetes' SHADOWS, is a good actress when given good material. However, like Lee, she is let down by the script. She also seems confused by the nationality of her character, mixing American and British accents, at times within the same sentence.

Fans of Christopher Lee will want to give this film a watch just to see his great performance. Otherwise, THEATRE OF DEATH is a rather disappointing entry into the lexicon of British horror of the 1960's.

Directed by Samuel Gallu. Also known by the alternate title BLOOD FIEND.