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.

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+!!!!!!!!!!!!!