Circus of Horrors (Phantom of the Circus) poster & wallpaper

Donald Pleasence, Anton Diffring, Jack Gwillim

In 1947 England, a plastic surgeon must beat a hasty retreat to France when one of his patients has ghastly problems with her surgery. Once there, he operates on a circus owner's daughter, deformed by...( read more  read more... ) bombs from the war. Later he becomes the owner of the circus, and continues transforming disfigured women into the beautiful stars of his show. The police and a nosy reporter (as well as Scotland Yard) become interested when the women who want out of the circus begin dying in freak accidents, and they begin suspecting the good doctor is responsible.

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38% liked it

1,543 ratings

Unrated, 88 min.

Directed by: Sidney Hayers

Release Date: January 1, 1960

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DVD Release Date: October 9, 2001

Stats: 37 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (37)

  • webalina
    November 1, 2009
    webalina
    Dull horror flick from schock distributor AIP. The plot points are WAY too convoluted for a movie of this genre. A famous plastic surgeon terribly botches a woman's face, changes his name and runs away with his assistants/henchpersons, by chance comes across a run-down circus, bu...( read more)ys it from Donald Pleasance (with hair!), staffs it with criminals who he does surgery on so they'll be beautiful and unrecongnizable to the authorities, but he keeps dossiers on all of them so if they try to leave and expose him, he can expose them back, but that doesn't matter because he falls in love with all the women, and when they try to leave he kills them during their circus performances, and....aww, to hell with it. Not bad enought to be fun. Just bad.
  • bradwest
    September 13, 2008
    bradwest
    This movie freaked me out as a little kid when they showed it at a Wallace & Ladmo (local Phoenix Kid Show Hosts) weekly Saturday theater event. (I almost got a Ladmo Bag out of the bargin.)
  • joshhitch
    November 5, 2009
    joshhitch
    Not as gruesome as the title suggests but does have a solid story and some great acting from Anton Diffring and the bevy of beautiful women does not hurt the film at all lol. For a horror flick like this it really is a little dull at times but the film is shot well. And the pre...( read more)mise, farfetched as it is, does work and could have been made into a better film I believe. Probably a film for horror fanatics only (which I am). Though it was nice to see Donald Pleasence in an earlier role though was not much of a part.
  • UglyThing
    February 8, 2009
    UglyThing
    Maniac plastic surgeon Rossiter (A.Driffing is a great villain in evil roles) steals the ownership of a crap circus. How?...not to move a finger to save previous owner who's taking a warm hugh from a big bear...it's a good way, hehe!
    Schuler (new name of Rossiter) has some goo...( read more)d ideas how to increase his activities: he 'repairs' some disfigured whores who then they become great artists for his circus. Schuler wants sex too and when those babes try to leave the circus, he has no mercy for them! His assistants provides to kill all victims during the shows (i.e. good suspence awaiting a murder by knife). Deaths by accident, of course...
    I've got some fun when an angry Gorilla seeks for revenge vs Schuler...and Schuler kill the Gorilla haha!
    Usual unhappy end for the villain...damn...
  • hugonar
    November 1, 2007
    hugonar
    Not interested. I generally avoid horror movies.
  • JessicaRochelle
    July 3, 2007
    JessicaRochelle
    haha sounds cool....
  • brianpark08
    December 10, 2006
    brianpark08
    Waste of TIME!! Very Weak movie, DO NOT WATCH, if you do end up watching it, side effects may include: Suicide, murder ramapages, road ramapage, any kinds of ways of harming yourself, and many others...
  • SarahJoyFrost
    December 8, 2006
    SarahJoyFrost
    I wonder what this is about, i think ill see it!!
  • brodyalex
    October 25, 2006
    brodyalex
    Hmmmm...seems cheesy.

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