[The Feature Image above is AI generated and has only the barest connections with reality.]

Well if there’s one thing to guarantee me to post, it’s this month.

I start this month of Horror with the Horror Classic Phantom of the Opera. Despite owning a copy of this film for years, I’ve never watched it from beginning to end. I’m not quite certain why. Lord knows I’ve watched my fair share of silent films. Perhaps the soundtrack accompanying this flick helped.

In any case I managed to finish it. I’m going against conventional thought and saying I like the Claude Rains version better. I like the humor in the story and the characters better. Weird statement from a Horror Guy, I know, but there it is.

That said, this is a damn fine flick. Damn fine.

Except for maybe Lon Chaney the film is overacted in the typical Silent movie way. Early in the film we have a flock of dancers who tend to do twirls for no clear reason at all, save, perhaps to remind people of what role they have. There’s also a lot of leaning away in horror, theatrical gestures, and the like.

To go back to Chaney, he’s the best part of the picture, as he usually was. Whether behind a creepy mask or in his staggering face make up, his presence grabs you by the lapels and shakes you. Which was impressive to me, as I was wearing a t-shirt when watching the flick.

As a Horror Guy, I’m fairly familiar with The Phantom of the Opera, having watched the later films. The Claude Rains version, the Hammer version, and so on. With those memories in mind, I had a fair idea of where things were going. Despite this I was delightful tense throughout, a sign that this is a very well made flick.

Then again, there are differences from this film and the others. For instance, the chandler scene. I seem to recall it always at the end. Here it’s the Phantom’s first act of terror.

Then there’s the Phantom himself. In the later films he tends to be more sympathetic. Here he’s damn evil.

All in all, this is a Horror classic. Even at a hundred (well almost), it still packs a punch. Worth seeking out.

In the rating system of the sister site, Great flick for 2.0 points. Liked it a lot, which adds on 1.5 points for a total of 3.5 points.

(Claude Rains, for the curious, is 3.0 points. A good flick, but not a classic one.)