The Phantom of the Opera

1989

Action / Drama / Horror / Music / Romance

22
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 54% · 12 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 54% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 4858 4.9K

based on novel or book gore remake phantom of the opera low budget

Plot summary

An aspiring opera singer finds herself transported back to Victorian-era London -- and into the arms of a reclusive, disfigured maestro determined to make her a star.

Director

Gary Trousdale Photo
Gary Trousdale

Top cast

Yehuda Efroni Photo
Yehuda Efroni as The Rat Catcher
Alex Hyde-White Photo
Alex Hyde-White as Richard Dutton
Bill Nighy Photo
Bill Nighy as Martin Barton
Mark Ryan Photo
Mark Ryan as Mott
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
749.41 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 1
1.43 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 15

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jweinste-2 7 / 10

A dark, unique take on a classic tale a good horror movie

Being a great fan of the story, I have seen most film versions of Phantom of the Opera I'm aware of and this is truly one of my absolute favorites.If you're interested in this movie because you're in love with ALW's musical and you just want more Phantom, approach this movie with caution. If you're madly in love with every detail of the novel and want to cry every time you think of anything not in the novel, approach this movie with caution. While it remains the same tale of a disfigured man desperately doing what he can to spend his life with the woman he loves in a world that won't except him, it seems people are often put off by the fact that this film takes greater artistic liberties in telling the story than others, but I think that's what should be appreciated about this movie. I am unaware of any takes on The Phantom like this one and feel it is worthwhile for that reason alone if you are interested seeing a variation on the story.This is the story of a much more brutal Phantom reaching out to a great singer who otherwise wouldn't be given a chance in a much more brutal setting. While it is indeed a horror movie, it's a unique one, featuring creative death scenes and an interesting story. It can be enjoyed as a good horror movie and an enjoyable different Phantom story.Robert Englund's committed portrayal of a man devoted to the beauty of music and love of a woman is greatly admirable. While I'm sure many will jump to disagree, I feel his performance in this film, while different, is far more believable and powerful than Gerard Butler's (2004) performance. As the Phantom, he is intimidating and passionate.The real star of this movie is its oh-so-underrated score. So often is the music of a Phantom film not brought to the forefront enough. One of the great things about this movie that set it aside from other films based on the same story is that it is as much about Christine's love for The Phantom's music as it is about his love for her. In a film where the score plays such an important role, Misha Segal does a brilliant job, keeping the audience in suspense, making them cringe in horror, giving a haunting, addictive voice to The Phantom's desperate longing and giving Christine good reason to show interest in a man so ugly.See it for the story, see it for the music. Enjoy.
Reviewed by GTeixeira 6 / 10

Leroux's masterpiece gets the slasher treatment; much better than expected

I had a lot of reservations towards this film, though at the same time I was curious. I love horror films, and Gaston Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera" is one of my favorite books; on the other hand, the idea of turning 'Phantom' into a slasher felt very wrong, which combined with the negative ratings and reviews made me feel uncertain on whether to watch.The film surprised me, truthfully. While it is far from a faithful adaptation, taking its fair share of liberties and deviations from the original story (ex.: the Phantom's backstory is altered to a Faustian deal with the devil, the story is set on London rather than Paris, and the modern day twists), the main idea is still there. It is gory and bloody even for 80's horrors, with some very good and even creative death scenes, and there is a genuinely tense, well-made mood that makes this highly successful as an horror. But the musical score is possibly the true highlight, especially the Phantom's 'Don Juan Triumphant'.Robert Englund was another pleasant surprise. I like him, but didn't feel his wisecracking, semi-comical persona would do well for the role of the Phantom. Luckily, he does not imitate Freddy Krueger in here (despite his make-up being similar): he is intimidating, mysterious and unnerving, but at the same time seems to truly love Christine and his music; a bit darker than the original, but all-around the best depiction of the Phantom since Lon Chaney. While undeniably a tragic character, most adaptations prefer to sugarcoat him to an extent and leave out the sadistic, violent murderer aspect of the Phantom character, which thinking again could be ripe for a gory horror film.But whereas Englund deserves praise, the rest of the cast does not. The other big player in the film, Jill Schoelen, sings well enough but otherwise is quite a weak Christine. The rest of the characters (even Raoul) were relegated to mere extras, becoming such unimportant players in the story to the point I barely remember which characters got left out from the book (once again there is no Persian, but the brief appearance by the Ratcatcher was nice). In special, Alex Hyde-White is such an inexpressive Raoul (or whatever the name they gave him here) that you view little to no connection between him and Christine, while he should be a major character.Overall, this is a very dark and gory adaptation of 'The Phantom of the Opera'. It's quite weak adaptation-wise and has its fair share of flaws movie-wise, but it is nonetheless a solid and entertaining horror piece with a great Robert Englund. A much better watch than, say, Dario Argento's versions.
Reviewed by Sburt4-1 5 / 10

Gory fun!

I really enjoyed this version of the Phantom of the opera. I really love Robert Englund. He is fun to watch as he kills anyone that gets into Christine's way to fame. Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather, Popcorn, When a stanger calls back) plays the lovely Christine who hears the voice of who she thinks is her guardian angel. This version makes the musical boring. The movie has a new twist on the tale. That keeps this from being routine. Robert Englund is great as the phantom. The costumes are also nice. I own this movie on DVD and have seen it a few dozen times. If you have not gotten enough of Robert Englund being Freddy Krueger then you should rent The Phantom of the opera. It is gory fun! I give it an A+!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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