Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Samuel Gallu's "Theatre of Death" starts out interesting but peters out once Christopher Lee disappears. The movie can't be seen as Lee's finest moment but he makes the movie worth seeing. He plays a theater director whose theater may be linked to a series of murders. The only other prominent cast member is Julian Glover, who played Walter Donovan in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and now stars on "Game of Thrones" (which I haven't seen). Christopher Lee plays a really impressive role, as does Leila Goldoni, but the movie would've been a whole lot better had Lee stayed in the whole thing.Does anyone know if Samuel Gallu directed any other movies?

Theatre of Death is set in present day Paris where the Theatre du Mort, which translates into English as the Theatre of Death, is open for business in the seedy backstreet's & specialises in gruesome plays that feature torture & death. Forensic doctor Charles Marquis (Julian Glover) visits his actress girlfriend Dani Gireaux (Leila Goldoni) who has a staring role in the Theatre du Mort's latest production, at a party held by the Theatre's own Philippe Darvas (Christopher Lee) he hypnotises another actress named Nicole Chapelle (Jenny Till) who then almost murders Dani in a trance before Charles stops her. Charles is asked by Inspector Micheaud (Ivor Dean) to help investigate several strange murders, murders where the victims all display the same neck wounds. Charles comes to the conclusion that the killer think of themselves as some sort of Vampire & suspects Darvas but when he to is found dead Charles has to rethink...Originally released in the US under the alternative title of Blood Fiend this English production was directed by Samuel Gallu & was one of several similar sounding films that took some mundane establishment & added some sort of sensationalistic word to make a cool sounding title like Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), Circus of Horrors (1960) & Theatre of Blood (1973) which is not to be confused with Theatre of Death as one stars Vincent Price & is a class while the other features Christopher Lee is is a bland & forgettable mix of ideas. The script can't quite decide what it wants to be, it's part murder mystery, part thriller, part stage musical, part Vampire horror film & part detective drama as none of it really gels together that well. While it's competent & fairly well paced it never grabbed me, I never had any real interest in anything that was happening & the story never drew me in. At 90 odd minutes it does feel quite long at times too. The twist ending is alright, it has no great impact other than it being unexpected & a bit bizarre but at least this is one aspect where Theatre of Death is mildly effective. A rather lethargic & bland film overall I would find it hard to recommend Theatre of Death of anyone, watch the infinitely better Theatre of Blood again instead.The killings are spliced into the film almost at random, none of the victims have any connection to anyone else in the film until the end & there's little build-up to them & we never see that much anyway. There's no real gore, there's a few dead bodies & a bit of brightly coloured blood but nothing else of note. Shot in full 2:35:1 widescreen Theatre of Death looks quite nice with bold & bright colours which look almost garish at times. The opening titles feature skulls & eyeballs are cool but unfortunately the film thereafter goes downhill. The setting of the film is obviously based on the infamous real life Theatre du Grand Guignol which staged similarly gruesome plays in Paris between 1897 & 1962.Although filmed entirely at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire here in England the film is set entirely in Paris. The production values are good but it's shame the film is so forgettable & doesn't deliver on it's promise or it's lurid title. The acting is alright, Christopher Lee gets top billing but only features in the first half of the film.Theatre of Death is a bit of a bore really, I can't say I liked it that much although it looks nice enough & while the twist ending is abrupt & out of context with anything that has gone before it's different & unexpected I suppose. Not one of British horror's finer moments I'm afraid.

Christopher Lee is given top billing in this film but is in it less than one expects from that billing. Regardless this is a very good murder mystery which keeps one on one's toes and guessing right up till the end. Julian Glover is the real star of this film as former police surgeon Charles Marquis who has taken it upon himself to investigate the mysterious murders which involved victims being stabbed in the neck and drained of all their blood? A modern vampire perhaps? or perhaps the explanation is something else entirely?This one kept me entranced to it until the end and while the conclusion does disappoint slightly, I still would recommend this one to fans of murder mystery and horror.

In the dark streets of Paris, innocent victims mysteriously die, having had all their blood drained from their bodies by sharp punctures. A Theatre of Death, or Grand Guingol theatre, is nearby and a great success, thanks in large part to the efforts of its somewhat mysterious, demented, hypnotic director Phillipe Darvas. Christopher Lee plays the director in this above-average horror-mystery. A friend of the cast, Julian Glover, and a policeman, somehow find that the theater and the mysterious deaths are related. Lots of red herrings in this one and a neat, creative story tying up the loose ends. Not a lot of action but more mood and psychological horror. The setting is Paris but you only know that, because everyone has French names - otherwise it seems like London. Production values are pretty good, and the film boasts some fine scenes such as when two actresses rehearse a Salem witch-burning scene for the first time whilst one is hypnotized by Lee and the house of the director is a truly scary place with a very good painting of Lee that has eyes cut out and a back panel. Good old-fashioned horror here!