Why don’t we make Phantom of the Opera movies anymore?

I think that The Phantom of the Opera is one of those narratives that’s just sort of made for movies. Since 1925, the story has been one that resonated with filmmakers and audiences.

Lon Cheney’s portrayal solidified the story as a commercial success, and goes into the classic monsters canon for a reason. The practical effects and dedication to the novel’s story line really sets it apart from later retellings. Universal’s second take on the Phantom, in 1943 with Claude Rains, would actually win Oscars for cinematography and art direction. Then we had a bunch of horror retellings of the story in the 1970s and ‘80s, including The Phantom of the Paradise and Dario Argento’s Opera.

I think for the classic era, this is a perfect story, and it make sense that this would be a well that they would continue to go back to. A naive, beautiful woman (humble but still ambitious) is haunted by a ghost that lets her rise to the top of her chosen profession. It is revealed that her patron is actually a controlling stalker, which then allows her to be torn between success and love, with her love interest being the one to save her.

The setting also allows for rich, expansive set design and costumes, which is where The Phantom of the Paradise and Opera really shine.

But then… Andrew Lloyd Webber happened.

There was a cultural shift in the 1990s, where anti-heros reigned and monsters became romantic. Webber’s Phantom came at a time when romance was king. We had Coppola’s Dracula, which turned the classic idea of a monster into an “I can fix him” object of desire.

Not that the play is inherently romantic. It is a horror story, still, but there are sweeping duets and the Phantom is not defeated, but gives Christine up at the end because he realizes she doesn’t love him. It’s the aesthetic and fan response in a time when “gothic” shifted meaning into something connected more with a toxic romance than anything abject or horrifying in the analytical sense. The Phantom was the object of desire in the fandom, and still is to this day.

But there is hope. Nosferatu, last year, subverted the romance and beauty of the vampire fandom by going back to it’s classic horror roots. It brought the dirt and grime back to a horrifying story, and brought the vampire back to it’s monster roots.

I think we could do the same with Phantom. Going back to the novel, it is a thrilling tale with horror and suspense. There is a lot of room to make a true Gothic tale out of it, and I think it is something that modern horror fans are looking for.