I am a big fan the two Dr. Phibes movies. Some people seem to find them mean-spirited, but I think they’re too goofy to take seriously. Part of what sells it is how much fun Vincent Price is having. John Considine isn’t Price, but he channels some of that diabolical glee as the villain in 1973’s Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls.
Considine’s character is hundreds of years old. Back in medieval times, he was an aristocrat and alchemist (alchemocrat?) who discovered the secret to eternal life: transferring his soul to that of a recently deceased man. He navigates through a long series of bodies until he winds up in 1970’s L.A., providing this service for others.
The first demonstration we see of his work is bizarre. In fact, it is downright theatrical, as he saws a woman in half—for real. “I don’t know what gets into me, but I feel the urge to do everything theatrically.” The purpose of this ritual was to move the soul of that woman into a corpse on the stage.
Barry Coe is in the audience witnessing this Grand Guignol transfer of a soul. His wife has recently died and he is unable to get over the loss. Looks like somebody is about to see the doctor.
Let’s go ahead and get something out of the way. You are not going to be able to enjoy this movie if you get hung up on the technical details of what happens to a body after death. In one scene after another, the soul of one person is transferred into a dead body and, regardless of how fresh that corpse may be, it obviously ended up in state that was unable to support life. I found I had to quickly set aside doubts that putting a soul into a recently poisoned body would be a good idea.
That said, if you can suspend your disbelief, this movie is a hoot. More than half of the fun is watching Considine go audaciously over the top. He is gloriously hammy and relishes it, such as when he tells Coe his life story: “To explain it properly, and I do enjoy telling the story, we start 1000 years ago.” Later, he lays a big, wet smacker on a corpse and declares, “This child kisses better dead than Tana did while she was alive.”
The production values are OK, but nothing extraordinary. Everything about it looks and feels like a made-for-TV movie. Admittedly, such a film wouldn’t have the gore this does, but there isn’t much that would have to be trimmed from it today to get a PG-13 rating.
I also want to briefly mention the score, which becomes more cartoonish as it goes along. By the end, it sounds like music from Scooby Doo, cult TV classic The Avengers and the original Batman series are all playing at the same time.
As for the cast, Coe and the supporting actors are all competent, but not much more than that. Of particular note is Moe Howard of the Three Stooges in a cameo that was his final screen appearance.
Doctor Death is less horror than it is comedy, even if it is an especially dark one. And Considine isn’t Price, but he is a fair substitute for a film like this. I went in with no expectations and ended up having a good time.
Dir: Eddie Saeta
Starring John Considine, Barry Coe, Cheryl Miller
Watched on Scorpion Releasing blu-ray