My quick rating – 3.7/10. I couldn’t help thinking that Doctor Plague was stitched together from two entirely different Blu-rays found at the bottom of a dusty video store bargain bin. On paper, it reads like pulpy fun. Jaded private investigator John Verney (Martin Kemp) tracks down an ancient order of Plague Doctors dismembering the underworld of London, with the faint hum of Ripper conspiracies in the air. In practice, the end result suggests that the filmmakers can’t quite make up their minds whether or not they want to produce an occult thriller with style or just be a low-budget slasher flick with an affinity for bird masks.
The story starts strong enough. Kemp plays Verney with a worn-down, “I’ve seen too much” energy that mostly works, even when the script doesn’t give him much to do beyond glare, brood, and ignore common sense. The murders are brushed off by his superiors as gang-on-gang violence (yeah, why not), pushing Verney down a conspiracy rabbit hole that escalates rapidly from “something’s off” to “1888 secret societies are after my family.” It’s all very serious, very grim…and occasionally very silly.
I did kind of dig the Plague Doctor killer. The costume is actually decently creepy at first glance, but it also has a strong “I could buy or make that myself this weekend” energy. And honestly, I’m still not convinced what woman on Earth would step closer to a dude dressed like that just to hear what he’s saying. If anything, that beak should come with its own restraining order. Still, the look does its job, especially in shadowy scenes where the film briefly remembers that atmosphere exists.
The biggest issue here is how wildly uneven everything feels. Some sequences, particularly the visions and nightmare moments, are surprisingly polished and effective, hinting at a much better film lurking underneath. Then the next scene rolls around, looking unmistakably B-budget, with flat lighting and staging that drains any tension right out of the room. The body count follows a similar pattern, swinging between offscreen shrug-fests and genuinely worthwhile practical gore effects that slasher fans will at least appreciate.
The conspiracy itself becomes far more complicated than it ever needed to be. You won’t get lost, but you may find yourself wondering why the plot keeps taking unnecessary right turns when a straight line would’ve done just fine. The cast, to their credit, isn’t bad at all for a film of this tier. They’re simply stuck in a story that feels forced and oddly cramped, never giving them enough space to really sell the madness.
Director Ben Fortune deserves some side-eye for the inconsistency, but there is potential here. The film has a commendable old-school video store slasher vibe, which was clearly the goal. It just needed more shine, not necessarily more money. Doctor Plague isn’t for everyone. Not even close. But for fans of slasher films (Shogun‘s last flick, Helloween, would be a good comparison) who have a tolerance for imperfections and a few lost opportunities, it might be a fascinating late-night watch. Just don’t go in a dark alley with anyone sporting a beak mask.
