Rifftrax Forum Untitled Film Club Movie Page Number One!!!

[mrbasehart]

I have also seen the movie. 

[MontyServo]

I have also seen the movie. 

You've seen a lot of movies.  When did you watch this one?   

I just watched it a few hours ago.

I really want to start talking about this movie.  I'm glad I took notes. 

[Edward J Grug III]

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!

There you go, have at it!

(I'll be back when I watch the movie after work tonight)

[mrbasehart]

I have also seen the movie. 

You've seen a lot of movies.  When did you watch this one?  

I just watched it a few hours ago.

I really want to start talking about this movie.  I'm glad I took notes. 

I saw it the first time a few years ago.  I saw it again a couple of hours ago. 

There ain't no slacking in the club!   *complicated hand gesture*

[MontyServo]

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!

There you go, have at it!

(I'll be back when I watch the movie after work tonight)

Are you authorized to make that decision?   

OK here are the notes I jotted down while watching the movie.  Obviously there are spoilers here, so beware!   



The Abominable Dr. Phibes (or the movie where Jigsaw got his idea from)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really comes off like an artsy version of a Saw movie.

Olde timey porn!

Blood that looks like cherry Kool Aid.

Up until the point where the detective visits Joseph Cotten, I thought the movie was a period piece.  But Cotten's house is obviously very modern (for the time).

After the amulet maker told the detective that the marking was Hebrew, I thought to myself, "Quick!  Somebody get me a rabbi!", cut to the next scene and I got a pretty good chuckle.

I really love the look of this movie.  I bet it would look amazing on Blu Ray with a new HD transfer.

Now I'm really starting to get confused about the time period.

I wonder if the makers of Seven or Saw were influenced by this film?

Where does one find rabid bloodthirsty rats?

Nice little bit of gore there with the rat gnawing on the dudes flesh.

LOL!  Death by unicorn spike!  Awesome!  Funny bit there with them spinning the body to unscrew him from the wall.

Death by brussels sprout? He's making Jones Thanksgiving soda!

What is he going to do to the naked lady banner?!?

So the banner was just for dramatic flair?

HA!  Locusts don't work that way!  (Or maybe they do, I really don't know.)

OK, the face of the dead wife on his organ phone dialer was stupid.

Yay!  Joseph Cotten is da man!  Whacking the dumb detective wit da telephone!

Did I mention yet that this movie is awesome?

Dr Phibes invented the voice box!

This movie is Saw Zero!  This bit is totally Jigsaw.

I don't think she is a qualified surgical nurse.

Yes!  The big reveal!  Actually a pretty nice bit of makeup work.

Nice bit of tension with the lock.

Even with all that is going on, Joseph Cotten still finds the time to put his jacket back on.  Total class, that guy.

So if he replaces his blood with embalming fluid, then how does he "Rise Again!"

Over The Rainbow!

Wow, great movie!  Great first pick for the movie club.  I look forward to seeing where the discussion takes us.

[Doctor Who?]

I must have missed the rats and brass unicorn the last time I read the book of Exudes.

I felt Cotten was pretty much wasted.  Don't get me wrong as always he did a great job,but I just felt it was a part anyone could of played. 

Also the woman who is helping Price is one of the worst characters in film history.  We never learn anything about her.  I am all for a sense of mystery in my horror films but this just felt like bad writing.  Price needed a side kick,who is she and why is she helping him?  Who cares?  It made no sense that anyone would help him in such a strange scheme for revenge against people who didn't do anything to him.

I will say this the direction was nice and the movie moved along at a nice pace,but there was very little tension.

I felt this was a below par British horror movie for the time held up only by it's stars.

[THE QUEEN!!!]

Thanks for the "spoilers" sign. I almost read everything before seeing the movie. Obtained my copy and I'll watch it tonight. Based on the trailer seemed like it would be more fun after dark.

[mrbasehart]

I must have missed the rats and brass unicorn the last time I read the book of Exudes.

I felt Cotten was pretty much wasted.  Don't get me wrong as always he did a great job,but I just felt it was a part anyone could of played. 

Also the woman who is helping Price is one of the worst characters in film history.  We never learn anything about her.  I am all for a sense of mystery in my horror films but this just felt like bad writing.  Price needed a side kick,who is she and why is she helping him?  Who cares?  It made no sense that anyone would help him in such a strange scheme for revenge against people who didn't do anything to him.

I will say this the direction was nice and the movie moved along at a nice pace,but there was very little tension.

I felt this was a below par British horror movie for the time held up only by it's stars.

Originally, she was meant to be revealed as a clockwork person, just like the band.  But you're right, without that information, she's a nothing character.  Also, it's an American horror movie, made by AIP. 

I do like the movie though: It's completely demented.  It really sets its stall out early in the opening 20-25 minutes, with the organ scene and the vampire bats.  I don't think Phibes is Jigsaw Monty, he's more like Darkman.  Darkman if doctors killed his wife rather than hoodlums.   

I think it runs out of steam in the final third, as I think it does two things incorrectly: it kills off too many people at the beginning and doesn't make Cotten's character interesting enough to care about.  The relationship with his son isn't given enough time either, and so the final confrontation lacks tension.  I'd have made the kid younger, or maybe a girl, that would make it a little more vulnerable. 

The sense of time is a bit odd, I agree.  They do allude to it being the turn of the century, I believe with someone mentioning a year, but I don't remember the context.  I think most of the music isn't of the period though.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

[Doctor Who?]

Oh I thought it was British because it said it was made in England and it had a British cast(Including Ian Marter from Doctor Who!).  I didn't hate it.  It has some neat ideas and some good sets and what is more it doesn't drag so i didn't feel like I was wasting my time,but I did feel it should have been better given the cast.  Oh and I always try to give young actors a break,but the kid playing Cotton's son was just so wooden.

Also did Cotton even bother to sow his son back up after opening his chest?!

[MontyServo]

I don't know about everybody else, but I thought the woman was supposed to be his daughter.  There was nothing to suggest that, but it was what I was thinking (either that or a robot).  I kept waiting for that to be revealed but they never explained her.  Maybe in the sequel?

I don't think Phibes is Jigsaw Monty, he's more like Darkman.  Darkman if doctors killed his wife rather than hoodlums.  

Or maybe Phibes is Jigsaw, but with Darkman's origin story? 

I enjoyed it for what it was, a cheesy horror movie.  It obviously wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.

[mrbasehart]

No, in the sequel - spoilers if you'll see it:

I think there develops a love story between her and Phibes.

It's clearly not meant to be a serious movie.  The unscrewing of the man from the unicorn is almost Airplane! quality in terms of humour.

[Relaxing Dragon]

Alright, finally watched it. Monty covered most of my thoughts (especially the Saw stuff; when they pulled out the x-ray I was seriously getting flashbacks to the Venus Fly Trap at the beginning of Saw II...), but here's a few more:

I thought those bats were adorable. Especially the one that crawled on the good doctor and proceeded to nibble him to death.

The butler's nonchalant reaction to a bat swooping in (aided by wires, must've been an injured bat) and landing on the eggs was perfect.

The guy killed by Blood must've been really tired by the hand-cranked burlesque show. He barely lifted a finger when a stranger walked in, ripped his sleeve, and stabbed him with a needle.

Vesalius labeling the stacks of sorted case reports was a nice (if pointless) touch.

I like the random elements of humor put into the film. Trout going back for his brandy before alerting the sergeant is a good example.

So, was the green slime stuff supposed to be a kind of acid that killed the nurse and dissolved her skull (would make it a sort of dry run for the acid he uses on the final test), with the locusts being symbolic? Or were the locusts actually what skin-stripped her? Because if it's the latter than that lady was a damn heavy sleeper. I'm pretty sure I'd wake up if my face (especially nose and mouth) was being pissed on covered by a layer of ooze.

Trout can't get no respect.

When Phibes' coffin lid closed at the end, did the row of blood jars and embalming fluid (with tube) go with him? Since I don't think he was quite done before he shut up.

Overall, I liked it. It had some interesting ideas, and the acting was well done. I liked how... straight everything was played (I guess that's the best way to put it). Being the Saw fan that I am, I'm always keen on strange and inventive methods of offing someone (even if some of these were pretty dependent on the victim acting like a deer caught in headlights). The frog one was definitely my favorite (loved the entire scene, actually, from "Point me towards the ladies" to the vision clouding up with blood). I agree with what others have said, the ending sorta runs dry and the girl is just weird (I hoped they were going somewhere with the violin, but I guess that's just another of the good doctor's musical theme things), but overall I rather liked it. Good first show.

Also, random question: did anyone have trouble with the Part 9/10 YouTube video, about & and a half minutes in (when she's smashing the drum)? Mine froze up for some reason, had to reload the video from a few seconds ahead of that. Very strange.

[Edward J Grug III]

So, was the green slime stuff supposed to be a kind of acid that killed the nurse and dissolved her skull (would make it a sort of dry run for the acid he uses on the final test), with the locusts being symbolic? Or were the locusts actually what skin-stripped her? Because if it's the latter than that lady was a damn heavy sleeper. I'm pretty sure I'd wake up if my face (especially nose and mouth) was being pissed on covered by a layer of ooze.

It was meant to be the locusts had eaten her - I guess that was why they made mention of the sleeping pill.

We just finished watching the movie, I have to say I enjoyed it a whole lot more than the first time I saw it. So as not to effect anyone's expectations, I kept quiet, but the first time I saw this film, I hated it. In fact I had to watch in in three sittings because I found it so dull. This time I thought it was above average.

The cinematography and the acting were both excellent, so that made it a lot easier to watch. I also thought it started to drag towards the end and the tension was only slight.

My wife and I mentioned the same things about SAW and Se7en - they must have been influenced at least subconsciously.

Shame the female sidekick didn't get any kind of reveal or explanation.

I feel like they almost had something great - not quite enough comedy to really work as a comedy and not scary enough/tense enough to work as a horror or thriller. Not smart enough to stand alone either.

All in all, I think I'd have to also give it a 6 out of 10.

(Would love it if everyone rated the films, then we could figure out the averages at the end of the year and see which ones were most/least popular. But then I am a bit of a nerd like that).

[Doctor Who?]

I am wondering why the film makers even brought the book of Exudes into the plot.  I mean 1)They used curses that were not even in it and 2)they never give a reason for it.  I mean it would kind of make sense if Price or Cotton were Jewish,but they weren't so it kind of came out of left field and made know sense.

I have to say I liked the way music was used in this movie,it was cool hearing all those happy songs used in a horror context.

I think the scene where the guy was killed by bats would have been more scary if the room was a little more dark in the scene.

[Dr. Whopoopeepee]

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (or the movie where Jigsaw got his idea from)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really comes off like an artsy version of a Saw movie.

Olde timey porn!

Blood that looks like cherry Kool Aid.

Up until the point where the detective visits Joseph Cotten, I thought the movie was a period piece.  But Cotten's house is obviously very modern (for the time).

After the amulet maker told the detective that the marking was Hebrew, I thought to myself, "Quick!  Somebody get me a rabbi!", cut to the next scene and I got a pretty good chuckle.

I really love the look of this movie.  I bet it would look amazing on Blu Ray with a new HD transfer.

Now I'm really starting to get confused about the time period.

I wonder if the makers of Seven or Saw were influenced by this film?

Where does one find rabid bloodthirsty rats?

Nice little bit of gore there with the rat gnawing on the dudes flesh.

LOL!  Death by unicorn spike!  Awesome!  Funny bit there with them spinning the body to unscrew him from the wall.

Death by brussels sprout? He's making Jones Thanksgiving soda!

What is he going to do to the naked lady banner?!?

So the banner was just for dramatic flair?

HA!  Locusts don't work that way!  (Or maybe they do, I really don't know.)

OK, the face of the dead wife on his organ phone dialer was stupid.

Yay!  Joseph Cotten is da man!  Whacking the dumb detective wit da telephone!

Did I mention yet that this movie is awesome?

Dr Phibes invented the voice box!

This movie is Saw Zero!  This bit is totally Jigsaw.

I don't think she is a qualified surgical nurse.

Yes!  The big reveal!  Actually a pretty nice bit of makeup work.

Nice bit of tension with the lock.

Even with all that is going on, Joseph Cotten still finds the time to put his jacket back on.  Total class, that guy.

So if he replaces his blood with embalming fluid, then how does he "Rise Again!"

Over The Rainbow!

Wow, great movie!  Great first pick for the movie club.  I look forward to seeing where the discussion takes us.

I like your riff-style format.  All that's missing is the readme file!