MovieChat Forums > The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) Discussion > Passivity of the victims

Passivity of the victims

posted 9 years ago by Steamboy
4 replies | jump to latest

I really wanted to love that film but I couldn't because of all the problems in the script. Even for a semi-comedy it's difficult to digest. Instead I loved the aesthetics, particularly the sets, and liked the rest.

*SPOILERS*

One thing that really bothered me is the passivity of the victims. Terry-Thomas doesn't protest much when a stranger steps into his living room and starts draining his blood. Same with Dr Hedgepath, he doesn't even try to escape. A car has two doors, you know. And the nurse... okay, let's imagine she took a sleeping pill, I mean, the most efficient sleeping pill in the whole damn world, the one that won't wake you up while you're being eaten alive, but how would Dr Phibes know that? How would he know she would be so deeply asleep she wouldn't move? As for Joseph Cotten, how could he not immediately think of his first born instead of his mother's??

I'm conscious the film is fiddling with its subject and really not taking itself seriously (cute harmless animals responsible for instantaneous violent deaths) but I think it would have helped to make it a little more realistic.

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[–] www1125 8 years ago

More realistic? But that would destroy what makes the movie so grand to begin with

[–] steviehallandale 7 years ago

I found the passivity of dr longstreet (terry thomas) to be the most creepy of all!

[–] greenbudgie (2355) 2 years ago

***SPOILERS***

To put my imaginative view on the Dr Longstreet situation, the doctor had been drinking and had just been made to feel guilty by his housekeeper. He was put under the startling spell of the voluptuous Vulnavia after being horned up watching the snake dancer on film. He was feeling guilty. He was captivated by Vulnavia. He was squiffy with wine. So he was caught suddenly at his most vulnerable.

Perhaps the most unlikely thing about the attacks is that Dr Phibes knows exactly when to strike at his victims' vulnerability. It's not a film for earthbound realists and literal thinkers. For the lovers of surreal horror, it's a joy.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I don't think the film had the budget for extended struggles, or the screen time. Lots of fabulously stylish miurders to get through!