Phantom of the Paradise - Movie Review

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Phantom of the Paradise is a musical horror comedy film written and directed by Brian De Palma (who also directed classics such as Scarface and Carrie) and tells the story of a musical artist who sells his soul for the woman he loves so she will perform his music, but vows revenge on an evil record producer who steals his music to open his big palace, The Paradise. Released in 1974, the film bombed at the box office and received negative reviews upon release, but has since received a much more positive reception and has become a cult classic.

Check out the album review by me and my friend, Rick!

https://themusicalbloggyblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/spectacular-soundtracksthe-phantom-of.html

THE GOOD

This movie is gloriously campy and cheesy, has tons of style, has fantastic music and is quite funny! The performances are over the top in just the right way, and the characters are delightful! The music is catchy and quite memorable, it's a rock musical and as a lover of classic rock I found the music to be quite a treat! You get the styles of Elton John, The Beach Boys and much more! (Disclaimer: those actual artists aren't in this film but the movie does replicate their style.) This is a beautiful looking film, it's stylish and colorful, it's never dull in terms of visuals. There's great humor here too, whether it's the dialogue, the campiness or the acting, there's some laughs to he had here.

THE BAD

I do have a couple of negatives, one of which is while this film is labeled a horror comedy, there's virtually no horror until the last 10 minutes of the movie. Also this movie does drag a little bit in the middle.

CONCLUSION

Phantom of the Paradise is not perfect, but it's still a damn solid 70s rock musical! This movie definitely earned its cult following. It's fantastic music and delightful campy tone make this a joy to watch! It does have a lack of horror and it does drag a tiny bit in the middle portion but those are my only issues with it. This film is awesome and I highly recommend it!

9/10

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG (N/A)

Release date:  October 31st, 1974

Run time:  91 min

Studio:  20th Century Fox 

SOURCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_of_the_Paradise