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.

Robert Englund and Jill Schoelen star in this 1989 horror film based on the novel and play. This film begins in Modern-day New York where we meet young woman, Christine Day (Schoelen) who is an aspiring opera singer. She finds an old symphony piece and decides to recite it in an audition. After an accident, she's transported back to 18th century London where she meets scarred composer, Eric Destler aka the Phantom (Englund) who coaches her and goes on a murderous rampage in her honor while she becomes a sensation. Soon, Christine comes back to her own time getting the part of her dreams and reunites with the Phantom. I like this version and think it's underrated. Robert is terrific in it as usual and he and Jill are good together. I think the film was marketed badly because Robert's burn makeup resembled his Freddy Krueger one Kevin Yagher also applied in the first 3 "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequels and people probably thought it was "Freddy of the Opera." The make-up is great though as well as Misha Segal's score. I recommend this.

I saw this when it was first released on video, but I forgot just about all of it as the years went by. Finding a DVD rental copy at my local video store, I decided to give it another glance.There are some good things about this Menahem Golan production, which he made shortly after splitting from his producer cousin Yoram Globus. First, the movie looks very nice. Granted, some scenes are obvious backlots, and there are not a lot of "wide" shots (probably due to the movie's low budget), but the cinematography makes everything look more expensive than it was. Also, I thought the performances were good. Robert Englund wisely subdues his acting for the most part so he doesn't come across as a Freddy Kruger wannabe.But the movie has some problems. First, the story moves very slowly - possibly due to the fact that there isn't a lot of story here. Also, the characters of the Phantom and Christine were pretty thin - you don't get to learn much about their backgrounds, and they come across as pretty one-note. Also, some cuts that were made to the movie in order to secure an "R" rating are pretty evident.Not really a bad movie, just a mediocre one overall. It does pass the time, but that's about all.

Gifted, but deranged and disfigured composer Erik Destler (superbly played with great gusto and passion by Robert Englund) takes sweet aspiring opera singer Christine Day (a winning performance by the always spunky and appealing Jill Schoelen) under his wing and grooms her to become a major star. Moreover, Destler murders several folks in Christine's honor. Director Dwight H. Little, working from a shrewd and compelling script by Duke Sandefur, brings real style, flair and elegance to the often-told tale: the evocation of London in the past is very rich and flavorsome, the production values are stunningly opulent (Destler's subterranean sewer lair is simply amazing!), the music is exquisitely beautiful, the murder set pieces are handled with suitably gruesome panache, and the fiery climax is truly exciting. Little and Sandefur earn bonus points for making a few bold changes to the narrative. For example, Destler in this movie isn't your standard pitiable simpering lovesick fool; instead he's a decidedly unsympathetic lethal and vicious killer who made a pact with the Devil in order to achieve immortality as an artist and now has to bump folks off for their skin. The wrap-around scenes set in modern-day New York are another nice touch; they help make the point that love and music are forever. Englund portrays the juicy role of Destler with deliciously lusty aplomb. Schoelen is likewise excellent as Christine. There are additional praiseworthy contributions by Alex Hyde-White as Christine's dashing suitor Richard Dutton, Bill Nighy as slimy worrywart opera house co-owner Martin Barton, Terence Harvey as the hard-nosed Inspector Hawkins, Stephanie Lawrence as snooty diva La Carlotta, Nathan Lewis as Hawkins' bumbling partner Davies, Molly Shannon as Christine's supportive friend Meg, and Peter Chapham as mean opera critic Harrison. Both Misha Segal's robust, shuddery score and the glossy cinematography by Peter Lyons Collister and Elemer Ragaly are up to par. A worthy and satisfying fright film.