Let just say that this movie should not be considered your "flashy" type of horror movie. This movie is an old-fashioned, perhaps low in budget one (to be blunt) The plot is well, pretty simple and got explained at the end despite leaving some rather confusing questions. The plot seems rather rushed though. The actors were great at their roles (what to expect from Price and Cushing). The scenes were well done and the music was great absolutely. Conclusion, I enjoyed this movie throughout actually. It was a joy to watch. Despite being an old fashioned movie, I believe that this is much better than some contemporary movies these day. Had a charming aesthetic and atmosphere surrounding it but was frightening as well. This movie is not totally a " ten/ten" at the plot but I believe it is definitely worth the watch. A short and nice movie, Hurrah!

Vincent Price not only parodies his own career but salutes the whole genre as well in this look at the modern world through the eyes of Gothic horror. Old colleagues Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone get honored through their then recent deaths through clips of several of their horror films, and while this marked the end of Price's American International films, he had nearly 29 years left in his own career that included film, stage and TV, as well as various other forms of art. Paired here with Peter Cushing, Price still gets the spotlight as the complicated horror movie star whose series of films as Dr. Death have seemingly driven him mad. But is he the fiend, or is it someone else?Cushing actually has little footage as an actor of horror films who instead became a writer of the series, and hints are dropped that he could be the maniac. But there are other suspects too, among them a former female co-star who has obviously gone mad due to her own frightful memories and unrequited love. The film is bloody and gruesome but not needlessly so, unlike some other films that took the frights a bit too far. Its ultimately pretty predictable but a nice ending to the lengthy career Price had at the greatest B studio following the end of the golden era of movie making. At times, Price overacts a bit and seems to be taking what Karloff had done in Targets and giving it his own touch. There is a persistent blonde who stalks Price and I couldn't wait for her to be dispatched. Perhaps that is the point of the film made through a speech Price gives that we all have a deep seated desire to see violence even if we are unable to commit it.

Rather tame, tepid screamer from American International, one with a PG rating and a cast full of weary oldsters and bland female murder victims. Vincent Price would seem to be snugly cast as the star of the "Dr. Death" horror movie series, coaxed back to the role after a 12-year hiatus following the unsolved slaying of his fiancée at a Hollywood party, who may be blacking out and killing people for real. But Price can barely summon up the energy to get through this leaden picture, and--what with clammy British locations and plodding set-ups--viewers can hardly blame him. Director Jim Clark can't seem to get anything right, not the scenes utilizing old movie clips nor the unravelling of Price's sanity. Showing us the actor's back teeth as he screams in shock, Clark is exploiting Price (just as he exploits Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff in the clips), feasting on the star's sagging, hairy face in unflattering close-ups. It's a hack job, made by hacks and actors in need of their paychecks, with a quasi-campy tone that is never acknowledged and shoddy cinematography worse than any television series of the era. *1/2 from ****

Horror cinema changed dramatically in 1968 with the release of George A.Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead', before taking another turn with 'The Exorcist' in 1973. Out went the cobwebbed castles, bats and torch-wielding villagers in favour of gory tales based in the modern world. The old guard of Hammer, Amicus and American International continued to plug away, however. Having starred in the magnificent 'Theater of Blood' the year before, Price stayed in England for his next picture. Loosely based on the novel 'Deathday' by Angus Hall, the Jim Clark-directed movie cast him as horror movie star Paul Toombes ( great name! ). At a Hollywood bash to celebrate the release of his latest 'Dr.Death' movie, he announces his engagement to the lovely Ellen ( Julie Crosthwait ). Then a seedy producer named Oliver Quayle ( Robert Quarry ) tells him Ellen was once the star of his porn movies. Paul is furious, and after a row, she flees upstairs. A mysterious figure in a cloak enters the room. Some time later, Paul goes looking for her. He finds her sitting before a mirror. When he goes to touch her, her head falls off! Paul is blamed for her death, and sent to an institution. On release years later, he travels to England to star in a television series based on the 'Dr.Death' movies. The killings start up again. First to go is Liz ( Linda Hayden ), an aspiring actress keen to get into Paul's new series. So is he the killer? Or could it be someone else? Similar to William Castle's 'Strait-Jacket' ( 1964 ), at no time does this come anywhere near the quality of 'Theater Of Blood'. In fact its a lot less gruesome than your average 'Hammer House Of Horror' episode, but worth watching because of Mad Vince and the great Peter Cushing as screenwriter 'Herbert Flay' with Adriennce Corri as his insane, spider-loving wife. Natasha Pyne was known for her role in the Patrick Cargill sitcom 'Father Dear Father'. Michael Parkinson puts in an appearance as a television interviewer ( which probably served him in good stead for his later skirmishes with Emu and Meg Ryan! ). Robert Quarry was 'Count Yorga' in two A.I.P. movies. Rather interestingly, Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff are credited even though the former died in 1966 and the latter in 1968. Toombes' career is illustrated using clips from old Price movies such as 'The Haunted Palace' and 'Tales Of Terror'.The final twist is not particularly surprising. To tie-in with this movie's release, B.B.C.-1 ran a season of Price movies late on Friday nights, mostly drawn from Roger Corman's adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe. Cushing and Price would later reunite - with Christopher Lee - in 1983 for Pete Walker's 'Night Of The Long Shadows'.