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Movie Review: “Phantom Of The Theatre” Is No Webber’s Opera

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A haunted theatre, filled with the vengeful spirits of a tragically-trapped performance troupe murdered in a fire 13 years ago, waits for the once-grand palatial playhouse to re-open with a new show – and bring in new victims.

China is rapidly becoming a major global player in the cinematic world, its significant theatrical sales saving the likes of, say, “Terminator: Genisys” from flopping at the worldwide box-office. The breakneck theater expansion in the country led to a high demand of Hollywood product, as well as local productions that emulate the gloss and style of Western blockbusters (obviously with toned-down violence and sex). As a result, we get Wai Man Yip’s “Phantom of the Theatre,” China’s “Crimson Peak” with a dash of (or with allusions to) Webber’s classic musical – a romantic, pseudo-gothic horror, basked in red and golden hues, old, vengeful ghosts and scandalous drama. Unfortunately, just like Guillermo Del Toro’s admirable failure, “Phantom of the Theatre” fails to balance out all those elements and achieve the grandeur for which it was aiming. Despite being a discombobulated mess, Yip’s berserk film does have its redeeming qualities, the primary one being: for the most part, it’s rather beguiling, if for all the wrong reasons.

From the first second, “Phantom” moves at a brisk pace, to say the least. A thief escapes from hesitant cops into an old, abandoned movie theater. Before he can bite into an apple (don’t ask), numerous ghosts materialize, accuse him of murdering them, and set the man on fire. All of this happens in less than three minutes – next thing you know, the film cuts to an Oscar-like ceremony, called the “First Film Queen Awards”, where the most popular actresses in the country are celebrated. Among them is Meng Si Fan (Ruby Lin, “The Way We Were”), who gets the “Most Photogenic” award, an uncomfortably sexist sequence that made me wonder whether it was intentionally satirical, a statement on Hollywood’s system, or just blatantly chauvinistic.

In the meantime, forensics inspect the thief’s burnt body and discover embers inside – “the fire was internal.” Wei Bang (Tony Yo-ning Yang, “Formula 17”) is the forensic scientist’s boyfriend, a screenwriter just back from France, whose horror script caused “quite a stir” at the award ceremony. He is looking for a lead actress; “You will get what you want,” his girlfriend reassures him. Inspired, Wei Bang goes to a meeting with Mr. Tang, a film investor, who is having a meeting of his own with Meng, promising her support for all her films. Wei Bang catches Mr. Tang slipping a roofie-like substance into Meng’s wine and stops her from drinking it at the last minute – but she drinks the tainted wine demonstratively in front of Tang (dangerous move, if you ask me – and another example of questionable sexism in the film) and consequently passes out in Wei Bang’s arms. Right then and there, Wei Bang decides he wants her as his lead actress.

Soon Wei Bang wanders into the haunted theater, location scouting, and witnesses a ghostly scene from the past. Despite finding out that there was a fire at the theater 13 years ago that killed an acrobatic troupe, an energized Wei Bang quickly decides to shoot his film at – and even move his office to – the haunted mansion. “Aren’t you worried that the rumors are true?” the theater owner asks him. “Only the guilty are afraid of ghosts,” Wei Bang calmly responds. He visits his mother’s grave, who committed suicide, which prompted him to move to France and abandon his father, Commander Gu Ming Shan (Simon Yam, “Ip Man”). They meet at the cemetery; it becomes apparent that Ming Shan is against the whole filming endeavor, his military upbringing clashing with his son’s creative ambitions, and he resents his son for leaving him.

The shooting commences. Meng’s lead male co-star apparently only picked the script because “there are intimate scenes between us” (yet another example of the film’s confusion with its sexual politics). “In that case,” Meng responds, “you better go easy on me.” Before he has the chance to do so, the set lights explode during the shooting of the first scene, and the actor is set on fire, after inhaling the scent of a flower that may or may not contains an evil powder. The incident sends the crew into disarray, but they resolutely (and inexplicably) proceed. “Running away won’t solve anything,” Meng tells Wei Bang at one point… Um, yes it would – get the hell outta that theater, girl! Even after Mr. Tang, the producer who tried to roofie her, attempts to once again rape Meng, and after she is chased around the theater by a slew of ghosts – including the twins from “The Shining” – and a masked killer – even then, Meng sticks to her “running away won’t solve anything” theory.

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As the rest of the film progresses, mysteries and past secrets are unveiled – Meng’s sister died in the fire; Ming Shan re-enters the picture to marry Meng (scandalous!); the phantom surfaces; an extended flashback towards the end derails the plot while also somehow furthering it; and Wei Bang’s film premieres…which leads to an unintentionally hilarious, overblown stand-off.

The film’s primary fault is that it’s not frightening in the least – a big “no-no” for a horror film. The plot lurches from scene to scene without much coherence or character development, frustratingly confusing at times. The ultra-silly dialogue is blankly delivered by the wooden actors. Tony Yo-ning Yang fares the worst as the lead, particularly in scenes where he has to react to crazy shit – his expression is totally vacant. Ruby Lin fares better, but flings to the other end of the spectrum by over-acting in some scenes. Their romance is unbelievable and cheesy: “You have nothing to be afraid of tonight,” Wei Bang tells her on a dimly lit street cafe, “just be yourself.” Mind you, most of the scene is played out in slow motion, I guess to accentuate the subtleties of their romantic exchange.

Speaking of, there are about 20 slow motion sequences, 30 horror dream sequences, and so many flashbacks that one would get alcohol poisoning if they were to take a shot each time one of the aforementioned things occurred. “Phantom of the Theatre” is clogged with nausea-inducing, soapy sentimentality. And I’ll mention it again, just to beat a dead horse: the sexism, whether it’s meant to be satirical or not, is wince-inducing throughout (“A woman isn’t worth getting blood on my hands,” a character proclaims at one point).

That said, there is some effective imagery: Meng lying on a sheer-white, satin-like material, surrounded by dozens of ghostly faces that swallow her up; a man on stage, engulfed in flames, bent back and frozen still; a burning man causing a vehicle to explode; a female performer, soaring over the stage on silk strings…A few mild references to “Phantom of the Opera” kinda work, the carnivalesque atmosphere is well-sustained, the set design is beautiful, the quirky score helps move things along briskly (though sometimes it swelters with “Gone With the Wind”-style grandiosity), and the cinematography is beautiful. Oh, and there is a nifty little message about the dream-like power of film.

Above all, the unabashed commitment and passion of the filmmakers is palpable. Yes, “Phantom of the Theatre” is deeply flawed, but it’s jarring of tones and heightened stylistic flourishes render it entertaining, in a B-movie, “so-bad-it’s-good” sort of way, like a cult classic with good production values. If you’re looking for an evening of pot-fuelled goofiness, then look no further than “Phantom.” Its end theme song alone is worth the price of admission for lovers of ultra-camp. But if you are looking to see an actually scary Chinese film (well, technically from Hong Kong), Fruit Chan’s creepy “Dumplings” will satisfy your craving.

Available on DVD & Digital October 11th

 
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Alex Saveliev

Alex graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a BA in Film & Media Arts and studied journalism at the Northwestern University in Chicago. While there, he got acquainted with the late Roger Ebert, who supported and inspired Alex in his career as a screenwriter and film critic. Alex has produced, written and directed a short zombie film, “Parched,” which is being distributed internationally and he is developing a series for a TV network, and is in pre-production on a major motion picture.