The Phantom of the Opera Review (1989)Worth Watching?

It's about a woman who gets knocked unconscious while auditioning for an opera in New York, wakes up in London a hundred years in the past with a disfigured serial killing maniac as a secret admirer.

The Phantom of the Opera was directed by Dwight H. Little (who also directed Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid and Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers) and stars Robert Englund (from Nightmare on Elm Street, Nightworld, Freddy Vs. Jason, Fear Clinic), Jill Schoelen (from State of Mind, The Stepfather, Popcorn) and Bill Nighy (from The Lime House Golem, Total Recall, Underworld).

Only love and music are forever.

If you read my other Phantom of the Opera review, the first reboot from 1943, you'll know that it wasn't much of a horror. It was a drama, start to finish. I felt like I watched the wrong version. So I called on the horror community to suggest the best version to watch and these were the three recommended finalists:

The Phantom of the Opera from '89 with Robert Englund

The Phantom of the Opera from '98 by Dario Argento

Phantom of the Paradise from '74, by Brian De Palma

Choosing to start with Freddy Krueger as the phantom was a no-brainer!

So let's just say that this version from '89 is everything I had hoped Phantom would be. Sure, when I first watched Phantom from '43 I was looking forward to classic horror, but I'll take actual horror over classic non-horror any day of the week.

This Phantom packs more suspense into its first 5 minutes than the classic version did in its full 92. And this version is actually super gory. I'm talking decapitations (yes, plural), disembowelments (yes, plural) and even a full body skinning. I was definitely not prepared for this!

Robert Englund is beyond perfect for this role. I assumed I would see him as Freddy throughout the entire thing, especially considering his disfigured face was full of scars, not to mention he hung out in a dingy cellar. But on the contrary, he was very convincing and nailed the role.

I loved every minute of this Phantom.