"Never sing my music again. Not here, not anywhere. Do you understand? Never again. My music is for Phoenix. Only she can sing it. Anyone else who tries, dies! "
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Look, there's a tortured madman, an evil genius in league with the devil and lots of violence and mayhem so....okay, you got me....this isn't really a horror movie. Still, this is my list and if I want to include a garish rock-opera comedy/horror pastiche starring Paul Williams that's my prerogative.
Fact is, "Phantom of the Paradise" may be kitschy and dated but it's also a GREAT movie. As you can probably tell from the title it's a modern take on the "Phantom of the Opera", with a tacky rock club standing in for the Paris opera, while also borrowing elements of "Faust" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
De Palma delivers a piece of pure sensation cinema that somehow manages to be completely cartoonish and genuinely heartfelt. Paul Williams' songs are very strong and it's a bit of a mystery to me why this film doesn't have as large a cult following as Rocky Horror.
William Finley is memorable in the title role of disfigured composer Winslow Leech, as is Jessica Harper as soulful songstress Phoenix, and Williams is surprisingly nuanced as evil record producer Swan. However, for me the film is stolen by Garrit Graham as cowardly glam-rocker "Beef" a hysterical (in every sense) performance of pure comic camp.
To be fair, it's all pretty silly but, nevertheless, I have genuine affection for this particular pop-culture oddity.
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