The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) & Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Very few horror films from the early '70s have aged well. Too often they suffer from lame effects, bad make-up, theatrical acting and tacky storylines. While still enjoyable, by today's standard they are usually more comedic than genuinely scary.

The makers of Dr. Phibes might have had some understanding of this, and decided to forget about the scariness all together and go for full entertainment, bordering on parody.

They let Vincent Price loose, at the top of his game, as the pipe-organ-playing-madman with a sense of romance and a lust for revenge. Though his character is mute, his wondrous voice has opportunity to sing, as he narrates his murders through a tube to his neck.

The real stars of the films however, are the policemen hot on his trail. They hobble along like a pair of Inspector Clouseaus, making silly observations and quirky comments that will have you watch both films back to back.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes - IMDB
Dr. Phibes Rises Again - IMDB