Dr. Phibes Rises Again begins with a recap of the previous movie, featuring a voiceover that sounds like the SuperFriends narrator. Then we pick up the story as Phibes lies dead in a crypt with the body of his dead wife, Victoria.
Dr. Anton Phibes, who replaced his blood with embalming fluid at the end of the first movie, is revived when the moon and planets align just right and moonlight shines on the light-activated mechanism on his crypt that reverses the embalming process. This is a once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence, but fortunately, Dr. Phibes only had to wait three years to be revived.
Conveniently, this confluence of celestial events coincides with another once-every-two-thousand-years occurrence: the flowing of a secret river under the pyramids in Egypt - a river that holds the secret to eternal life, and to the resurrection of Dr. Phibes' beloved wife.
Unfortunately, when Phibes returns to the surface level of his home, he finds that it has been destroyed in the intervening years and the papyrus in his safe that holds the secrets of the river's location has been stolen. Dr. Phibes must find the thief, recover the papyrus, and set about reviving his dear dead Victoria, no matter how many people he and his mute assistant Vulnavia have to kill along the way.
Phibes and Vulnavia are a bit like Scaramanga and Nick Nack from The Man With the Golden Gun. They make a strange pair as they play music together, eat gourmet meals together, wear several different matching costumes, and generally seem to enjoy their happy little murderous lives as they casually go about their quest.
This time around, Dr. Phibes' instruments of death include poisonous snakes (both real and mechanical), an eagle, scorpions (both real and mechanical), a giant fan, a cot... So many bizarre and funny ways to kill someone. As with the first movie, it's a little hard to say that we should be rooting for the murderous doctor, but it sure is fun seeing him come up with this strange assortment of impractical gadgets at just the right time to kill someone. It's like he's ordering these things from the ACME catalog or something.
Interestingly, it seems clear that Dr. Phibes Rises Again was an influence on Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Holy Grail. The passage through the desert, the trap-filled caverns, and the quest for immortality are all present here, as are the remarkably similar consequences of not achieving immortality. It's amazing how this campy horror movie could strike a chord with future filmmakers in the way it did, as was the case with the first Phibes.
Dr. Phibes needs to learn how to let things go. This obsession he has with his dead wife is unhealthy, for him and his victims. And he has the beautiful Vulnavia right there, patiently helping him in his mad quest, doubtless a heartbroken wreck behind that brave exterior every time Phibes waxes poetic about Victoria. I'm surprised Vulnavia has never moved on to another madman, but she remains devoted to her unrequited lover to the end.
Dr. Phibes Rises Again almost recaptures the fun of the first Phibes movie, but comes up just a bit short. It has the creative kills, the odd antics of Phibes and Vulnavia in their hideout, the fantastic cops (Scotland Yard inspector Trout returns, as does his flustered boss, but they aren't in the movie enough), and some incredible sets.
Unfortunately, the movie drags in the middle just a bit, it could use a higher body count, and the ending is a bit too vague and confused. But it still has Vincent Price doing what does (again speaking only through a contraption in his throat - and by the way, he eats through a similar contraption on the other side of his neck. Eww.) and is well worth a look if you liked the first one.
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