01
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Why this pick
Its masked, near-silent Price antihero, ornate revenge killings, and candy-coloured period stylisation echo Madhouse’s love of horror as lavish performance.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1974 1h 32m GBR
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
Madhouse
CrimeHorrorThriller
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved Madhouse, try these.
01
02
A Taste of Evil
Why this pick
This compact Vincent Price thriller shares the uneasy pull of a protagonist whose mental state and possible culpability remain troublingly uncertain.
03
The House That Dripped Blood
Why this pick
A portmanteau Gothic chiller steeped in horror-industry self-awareness, sinister houses, and familiar British genre faces—close to Madhouse’s playful macabre register.
04
The Night Stalker
Why this pick
Darren McGavin’s combative investigator gives this a more grounded edge, but its tense uncertainty and lurid urban menace suit Madhouse’s mystery-horror balance.
05
The Vault of Horror
Why this pick
This EC-inspired anthology offers the same early-1970s British horror texture: grisly morality tales, polished studio atmosphere, and a knowingly heightened tone.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
Paul Toombes (Vincent Price) is a successful horror actor whose trademark role was Dr. Death, a skull-faced sadist. During a party in Hollywood showing off his fifth ''Dr. Death'' film, he announces his engagement to Ellen Mason (Julie Crosthwait), who gives him an engraved watch as an engagement gift. Later that evening, however, adult film producer Oliver Quayle (Robert Quarry) reveals Ellen had worked for him previously. Distraught at Toombes' angry reaction, Ellen returns to her room, where a masked man in dark garb, similar to Dr. Death's attire, approaches her with a knife. An apologetic Toombes comes in shortly after, only for her severed head to fall from her shoulders. Though he is acquitted of the crime, Toombes' career is destroyed as he spends several years in a mental hospital, where even he is not sure whether he killed Ellen or not.
02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
Vincent Price
Paul Toombes
Robert Quarry
Oliver Quayle
Linda Hayden
Elizabeth Peters
Natasha Pyne
Julia Wilson
Michael Parkinson
T.V. Interviewer
Barry Dennen
Gerry Blount
Jenny Lee Wright
Carol Clayton
Adrienne Corri
Faye