Edward Lionhart (Vincent Price) is an actor who continually gets overlooked by the local critics. After being snubbed by them for the final time it pushes Edward over the edge and results in him attempting suicide. Edward is saved by a group of bums and winos and from there he plots his revenge on those who did him wrong. With Edward being presumed dead he finds ways to trick the critics into brutal yet humorous scenarious based on Shakespeare's plays in which he gets his revenge!
I am a huge Vincent Price fan and even in his most schlockiest films he stands out and makes the film watchable. When it comes to the film I have here today it is simply one of the best in his filmography. Vincent Price does what he does best and takes a character that would normally be someone you should go against and makes you cheer for him instead. I found myself loving the eccentric character that is Edward Lionhart. I don't want to say that what Edward does is justified, but I can understand why he does what he does. He simply tried over and over again to prove he was a good actor and he continually got snubbed which led him to madness.
Aside from Edward Lionhart there was a pleather of characters in this film which for the most part was composed of snobby and very unlikable theatre critics, a few police officers, and a bunch of winos. Each one of the critics had their own way of sticking out from one another, but the one that stuck out most to me was Meredith Merridew (Robert Morley) and I think that was due to his over the top personality. He also has the most twistedly humorous deaths of the bunch. Edward basically makes Meredith that he is on a TV show and ends up serving him a meal that is comprised of his two beloved dogs. Then he is force fed the food until he dies. Quite morbid, but in a dark humor way.
If this film was made nowadays then it probably would be put out as a horror comedy and in alot of ways it is. I actually got a few chuckles here and there when Edward would setup these scenarios in which he killed the critics. It actually feels very much like most european exploitation films of it's time. I can very much say that if you are into Vincent Price and have never seen this film then you really need to check this film out. This release from Twilight Time is great, you get a very clean and highly detailed image along the side of the original mono audio track that has a very clear sound. Now for special features there really is only a trailer. For me that's fine because I highly doubt there is much more extras that could be added. Overall this is a must have for any Vincent Price fan!
-Daniel Lee
Director: Douglas Hickox
Lead Actor/Actress: Vincent Price
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2016
Theatrical Release Year: 1973
Time Length: 104 mins.
Rating: NR
Region Code: Region A
Release Company: Twilight Time
Website:
www.screenarchives.com
Edward Lionhart (Vincent Price) is an actor who continually gets overlooked by the local critics. After being snubbed by them for the final time it pushes Edward over the edge and results in him attempting suicide. Edward is saved by a group of bums and winos and from there he plots his revenge on those who did him wrong. With Edward being presumed dead he finds ways to trick the critics into brutal yet humorous scenarious based on Shakespeare's plays in which he gets his revenge!
