This little thriller plays more like an Italian giallo than your typical British horror film along the lines of Hammer, Amicus and the rest. Gone are the atmospheric locations and supernatural overtones; instead, we have a black-gloved killer murdering girls with a spring-loaded knife and a dedicated police surgeon hunting him down. Much of the film takes place in the theatre of the title, which, as Michele Soavi found twenty years later in his STAGE FRIGHT, makes for an unsettling, atmospheric location.The film benefits from some excellent sets, the design is really artistic. There is also some great camera-work and the colours flow off the screen. The film is thus very arty and nice to look at, and the murder-mystery type plot keeps you guessing until the very end. There are also some good set pieces, with the witch burning being the most arresting, while at the end a half-naked woman indulges in some voodoo dancing.The acting is uniformly good, with Julian Glover a strong, if not likable, hero type, and with extra attention being paid to the female characters in the film, which is unusual and pleasingly different (frankly I'm fed up of the girls being just the victims or the romantic interests). However, as you might have guessed, it's Christopher Lee who deserves the acting honours here, although he only appears in roughly half of the film before disappearing. His arrogant, patronising, self-obsessed director is typical of the actor's roles and one of the best that he's played. If not likable, he is totally believable and invokes a sense of awe when he appears on screen. The film is not particularly gory, with a few splashes of blood here and there to liven things up, but then again it doesn't need to be. It's a pleasing, intelligent horror thriller which retains the interest throughout. There are better films and there are worse, but this is at least nicely crafted.

Theatre of Death is a pretty below the radar example of British horror. It rarely seems to get much of a mention and is relatively unknown. Having just seen it I have to say that this is a somewhat unfair situation. On the face of it, it is quite similar in terms of subject matter to a Hammer film. But in reality it has more in common with a super-stylish Italian flick from the period, like the kind of thing Mario Bava might have directed. The reason for this is that, while it stars Hammer regular Christopher Lee and has a horror based story, it is set in chic Paris and, more importantly, it looks absolutely gorgeous. The art direction really is rather fine, with nice décor and exceptional use of colours, especially red and black. And most significant of all is the sumptuous cinematography by Gilbert Taylor. It may be a low budget movie but it looks absolutely great and that kind of craftsmanship counts for a lot in my book.The setting is a theatre based on the famous Grand Guignol of Paris. This was a place that put on macabre and gory plays. It operated for decades and had something of a reputation. Likewise in Theatre of Death the plays on offer are of the dark and sinister kind. We have a nice set-piece to enjoy of one such example, 'The Witches of Salem'. Lee plays the intense, sadistic theatre director and he comes under suspicion when a series of serial killings occur that have all the hallmarks of a vampire attack. From here on in several of the cast attempt to solve this mystery and get to the bottom of these gruesome murders. It all winds up with a climax in the theatre during a particularly impressively erotic voodoo dance sequence. It's a stylish ending to a great looking movie. This is a film that definitely deserves far more recognition.

Please note that the phrase in this comment's headline isn't necessarily a negative criticism towards the movie, but a direct quote spoken by the almighty Christopher Lee as he portrayed a director of horror plays himself in this rather mediocre, but nevertheless overlooked late 60's chiller. Mr. Lee once again dominates the screen as the arrogant and truly sardonic Philippe Darvas, creator of macabre and blood-drenched plays in the Parisian "Theatre of Death". Real murders are committed in the streets simultaneously and the police investigators promptly link them to the theater and its eerie set pieces, since none of the victims have any blood left in their bodies. Darvas is immediately profiled as the killer, but when he mysteriously vanishes as well while the murders continue, the search for the culprit is totally stuck. The film has a strong and compelling first half, but it all goes down together with Lee. When Darvas disappears, the atmosphere and definitely the dialogs become a little dire and uninteresting. The remaining leads aren't capable of carrying the movie and it quickly turns into an uninspired whodunit-story that desperately yet unsuccessfully tries to mislead you. Still, even during the dull moments, there's always the beautiful decors and imaginative photography to admire. "Theatre of Death" is a type of Gothic horror effort, with rather neat costumes and an excellent theater setting. Certainly worthwhile for fans of contemporary British horror, but no patch on the Hammer highlights of that time (on which director Samuel Gallu obviously wanted to cash in). ** Spoiler ** the film is worth tracking down if it were only for the scene where a mad-raving Christopher Lee "advises" a wannabe actress to urgently look for a different profession, and if that doesn't work out, jump into the nearest river. Now that's what I call pep-talk!

I can`t say I`ve ever thought of Christopher Lee as much of an actor . There`s just something about him that makes he think that he`s a sort of British William Shatner in that he`s both totally over the top and very hammy at the same time , and his performances aren`t helped by the fact he`s played a lot of bad guys in very bad movies . Mind you he was an absolute revelation in THE LORD OF THE RINGS and he was also very good in ATTACK OF THE CLONES And to be honest Lee does give one of his better performances in THEATRE OF DEATH . Remember when you were at school and there would be this really nasty teacher with an university degree in sarcasm ? That`s the sort of role Lee plays here as an acting teacher with lines like " Look at you . You`re about as frightening as a baby with a rattle " THEATRE OF DEATH also contains the ironically biting line " Acting in the true sense of the word - in my sense of the word ... " where you can insert your own punchline about Lee`s acting style if you want to be cruel Of all the cast Christopher Lee probably gives the best performance since the rest of the actors are very disappointing especially Julian Glover . It`s also impossible not to notice this but since all the characters are French and the story takes place in Paris there is absolutely no sense of time and place . The audience are only reminded the film is set in France when one of the characters mentions it on screen A word of warning - If you`re going to watch THEATRE OF DEATH expecting a horror film you`re probably going to be disappointed since it`s far more of a murder mystery / whodunnit rather than a straight horror movie