This horror drama is a retelling of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera from Erik, the Phantom's twisted point of view, directed by Ryan Bijan in 2010 and released two years later. It stars Ryan Bijan as Raoul, Autumn Hyun as Christine Daae and Matthew Brett Ham as Joseph Buquet. Erik, the main character, is untitled as it was played by more than one actor.
Before I start this review I'd like to point out that this is a really low-budget movie, done by an amateur cast and a 19 year-old director, who's also writer and actor. I got to know this movie - as well as most of the Phantom movies I've seen - thanks to the PhantomReviewer and I have to agree with him once more: this movie is worth the buying.
The things I didn't like about this movie are really few and mostly due to the inexperience of the cast and director.
The worst thing by far is the audio. I'm not sure if it's due to the cut or the problems with a bad mic, but there are places where you can't really understand what the cast is saying.
This is directly related to the cut. In general the final cut's amaizing. Yet there are some scenes in which it's not as neat as it should be. Two examples of this are the scene at Perros' graveyard, where Raoul answers a question Christine doesn't do, and the scenes where Erik talks to Christine through the mirror. A scene in which the editing makes no sense, is the one in which Madame Giry enters Box V and has some sort of conversation with Erik, while you see Erik in another box on the other side of the theatre. It's rather confusing, but as it's a really short scene...
Other than that I had only isues with Meg Giry's acting, which could have been a lot better. In general the acting was ok. Not brilliant, but ok. I think Erik was the best played. His whole presentation is great and he has some rather awesome scenes such as the park scene, in which the viewer get's glimpses of his humanity. Christine has some sort of character, which is allways nice, plus she kicks Raoul, which is even nicer. Don't get me wrong, Ryan Bijan does a great job as Raoul, but I just can't stand that character.
The script ads some interesting things to the traditional story. It's very close to the Leroux Novel, including things that don't usually make it into the movies. The scene at Perros, includes the throwing of skulls at Raoul, scene I think haven't ever seen in a Phantom movie, and Raoul even has this little and anoying moustache. It also gives Erik some of his bad-ass-ness back. He kills, he threatens, he throws the voice and he does evil things. And the killings are rather colourful and beautifully innecesary. For example Compte Phillipe D'Arcy- who hadn't made it into a Phantom movie since 1925- death scene is rather unnecesary, but got me laughing at the strangeness of it.
A problem of the script is: it focuses so much on Erik, that it nearly forgets to show the world of the other characters, making some of the scenes difficult to follow if you aren't familiar with the original story - which in turn focuses so little on the Phantom's point of view, that you really don't get a good look at him.
The best thing by far is the cinematography by Wesley Kirk and Spencer Wallace. The movie is beautiful to watch. The scenes and decoration, the colors... Specially those turning around the phantom. Erik's lair has finaly turned into a normal regular house, with a great persian rug and Luis XVI furniture - sort of.
As this was filmed in Texas, USA, the crew found a problem: the Opera wasn't really that old, at least the inside of the building. It looks rather moddern. As does Christine's dressing room. Some of the scenes are very victorian - the Phantom's lair and Carlotta's dressing room, while others are completly modern, like the corridors of the Opera House, and the stage and even some of the dresses. This duality is great, and helps making the story a-temporal.
I have to praise the work of the costume and make up department. Erik wears a great black mask and a smaller white one which allows to see his chin, teeth and mouth. And those are disgusting. Really and uterly disgusting. His cloack- a big red and black thing- is spectacular and I just love his fedora.
Christine's dresses are rather acurate at times, and Carlotta's green dress is just amaizing.
Last but not least I have to talk about one of the Lair scenes. All of them are great, from the dinner scene to the unmasking scene. But I think the best one is the praying scene in which Erik kneels in a muslim fashion on his persian rug and thanks god. That scene and the park scene in which Erik goes through a big and beautiful park and plays with a squirrel, are THE most beautiful scenes of the whole movie.
I really recomend this movie to you, for it's flaws don't outshine it's greatness. Of course you have to watch it bearing in mind it's only the first half of the story (Act I) and that it was made by amateurs, with no budget and barely professional. The result is the clear reason why people do movies: not to earn loads of money, but because there's a story to be told.
The worst thing by far is the audio. I'm not sure if it's due to the cut or the problems with a bad mic, but there are places where you can't really understand what the cast is saying.
This is directly related to the cut. In general the final cut's amaizing. Yet there are some scenes in which it's not as neat as it should be. Two examples of this are the scene at Perros' graveyard, where Raoul answers a question Christine doesn't do, and the scenes where Erik talks to Christine through the mirror. A scene in which the editing makes no sense, is the one in which Madame Giry enters Box V and has some sort of conversation with Erik, while you see Erik in another box on the other side of the theatre. It's rather confusing, but as it's a really short scene...
Other than that I had only isues with Meg Giry's acting, which could have been a lot better. In general the acting was ok. Not brilliant, but ok. I think Erik was the best played. His whole presentation is great and he has some rather awesome scenes such as the park scene, in which the viewer get's glimpses of his humanity. Christine has some sort of character, which is allways nice, plus she kicks Raoul, which is even nicer. Don't get me wrong, Ryan Bijan does a great job as Raoul, but I just can't stand that character.
The script ads some interesting things to the traditional story. It's very close to the Leroux Novel, including things that don't usually make it into the movies. The scene at Perros, includes the throwing of skulls at Raoul, scene I think haven't ever seen in a Phantom movie, and Raoul even has this little and anoying moustache. It also gives Erik some of his bad-ass-ness back. He kills, he threatens, he throws the voice and he does evil things. And the killings are rather colourful and beautifully innecesary. For example Compte Phillipe D'Arcy- who hadn't made it into a Phantom movie since 1925- death scene is rather unnecesary, but got me laughing at the strangeness of it.
A problem of the script is: it focuses so much on Erik, that it nearly forgets to show the world of the other characters, making some of the scenes difficult to follow if you aren't familiar with the original story - which in turn focuses so little on the Phantom's point of view, that you really don't get a good look at him.
The best thing by far is the cinematography by Wesley Kirk and Spencer Wallace. The movie is beautiful to watch. The scenes and decoration, the colors... Specially those turning around the phantom. Erik's lair has finaly turned into a normal regular house, with a great persian rug and Luis XVI furniture - sort of.
As this was filmed in Texas, USA, the crew found a problem: the Opera wasn't really that old, at least the inside of the building. It looks rather moddern. As does Christine's dressing room. Some of the scenes are very victorian - the Phantom's lair and Carlotta's dressing room, while others are completly modern, like the corridors of the Opera House, and the stage and even some of the dresses. This duality is great, and helps making the story a-temporal.
I have to praise the work of the costume and make up department. Erik wears a great black mask and a smaller white one which allows to see his chin, teeth and mouth. And those are disgusting. Really and uterly disgusting. His cloack- a big red and black thing- is spectacular and I just love his fedora.
Christine's dresses are rather acurate at times, and Carlotta's green dress is just amaizing.
Last but not least I have to talk about one of the Lair scenes. All of them are great, from the dinner scene to the unmasking scene. But I think the best one is the praying scene in which Erik kneels in a muslim fashion on his persian rug and thanks god. That scene and the park scene in which Erik goes through a big and beautiful park and plays with a squirrel, are THE most beautiful scenes of the whole movie.
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| ERIK - PORTRAIT OF A LIVING CORPSE TRAILER |
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