OVP: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Film: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Stars: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, George Memmoli, Gerrit Graham

Director: Brian de Palma

Oscar History: 1 nomination (Original Song Score)

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

All October long, The Many Rantings of John is running a marathon dedicated to the Horror classics of the 1960's-00's that I'm seeing for the first time this month.  If you want to take a look at past titles from previous horror marathons (both this and other seasons) check out the links at the bottom of this article.

We're going to start our month of horror in the mid-1970's, and with a filmmaker not necessarily known for horror so much as for making thrillers: Brian de Palma.  De Palma, of all of the hero-worshipped 1970's auteurs, is not a director that I love.  I get why he's special-there's clearly something happening in his movies that is interesting, and he's definitely got a distinctive style...but it's not for me.  I honestly didn't know when I picked Phantom of the Paradise for our premiere film that this was directed by de Palma.  Why I picked it was because, keeping with our theme, it's Oscar-nominated (though not true for all of them, there will be a number of Oscar-cited films this month as a parting blog nod to the Oscar Viewing Project).  The film, along with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, may stand apart as the only two rock horror musicals in film history, a combination that could only happen in the mid-1970's.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is a send-up of both The Phantom of the Opera and The Picture of Dorian Gray set in a nightclub.  Winslow Leach (Finley) is a talented songwriter, but his works are stolen by Swan (Williams), the diabolical owner of the nightclub called the Paradise who spends most of his time bedding the women who audition for him.  Winslow is framed for drug possession, and is sent to jail where he has his teeth removed, and upon escaping disfigures himself further when he gets stuck in a record press.  Now deformed, he wears a mask (like the Phantom of the Opera), and begins to haunt the Paradise, trying to get revenge for his stolen music.  He eventually strikes a deal with Swan, that will allow the girl he met & wanted to sing his songs, Phoenix (Harper) to be the headliner, but he also realizes he has a devil's pact with Swan.  Swan has sold his soul to the devil so he can remain youthful forever, and Winslow can't die until Swan does, so they're trapped forever...until of course Swan is exposed as the monster he is (aka the Dorian Gray angle), and they both perish on the stage of the Paradise.

Here's the deal-even for a horror movie in the 1970's, this movie makes no sense.  It's preposterous, it frequently changes its plot with expositional dialogue each scene, and every scene feels like it's sort of telegraphing what comes next.  De Palma is not a subtle director, and this is not a subtle script.  It also isn't a particularly well-acted one.  Paul Williams is a fascinating choice for the bad guy, and is the best part of the movie, but it's more curious than actually good when you think about his performance itself.

But for what it is, it's not bad.  It's certainly a movie you won't stop watching, and it's brief & moves along given how thick with plot it is.  The film's song score was Oscar-nominated in part because this was a weak year for the category, but it's not an embarrassing moment for the Academy.  The best song is "Old Souls" sung by Harper, whose voice sounds shockingly like adult contemporary crooner Anne Murray (seriously, listen to it and tell me I'm wrong).  This becomes something of a theme for the film, and had every song handled with this kind of care, this would be a rocking soundtrack to a weird movie.  As it is it's just a fine soundtrack to a weird movie.

Past Horror Month Reviews

1920's: The Golem, The Phantom of the Opera

1930's: The Black Cat, The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Dracula's Daughter, Frankenstein, Freaks, The Invisible Man, Mad Love, The Mummy, The Old Dark House, The Raven, Son of Frankenstein, Werewolf of London

1940's: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Cat People, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Dracula, The House of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Man's Revenge, The Invisible Woman, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Invisible Agent, The Mummy's Curse, The Mummy's Ghost, The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, Phantom of the Opera, She-Wolf of London, Son of Dracula, The Uninvited, The Wolf Man

1950's: Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, The Blob, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Creature Walks Among Us, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, It Came from Outer Space, Revenge of the Creature

1960's: The Devil Rides Out, The Innocents, The Masque of the Red Death, Night of the Living Dead,Village of the Damned

1970's: The Amityville Horror, Black Christmas, Carrie, Dawn of the Dead, Don't Look Now, Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes, The Omen, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, When a Stranger Calls, The Wicker Man

1980's: Child's Play, The Evil Dead, The Fly, Friday the 13th, Gremlins, Hellraiser, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, The Thing

1990's-Present: Arachnophobia, The Blair Witch Project, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Candyman, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Paranormal Activity, Scary Movie, Scream