Movie Crush Monday: Little C and Phantom of the Paradise

It's that time again! You know, the time where you wish it was Christy's turn for Movie Monday so you could read about a review of a normal film written by someone who knows what they're talking about when it comes to movies. Well too bad! You're stuck with me.

This week I want to talk about a movie that's on the obscure side of the cult classics. Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise. 

This movie came out in 1974 and flopped spectacularly at the box office. It's got all the weird trappings of a 70's horror film, weird costumes, trippy sequences, a not so thinly veiled metaphor for the devil. It's Rocky Horror Picture Shows slightly insane and less well known cousin. I love every minute of it.

It's the story of a young songwriter named Winslow who is cheated out of the credit for his greatest composition by a scheming record executive and then he ends up disfigured and voiceless. It's kind of a play on the story of Phantom of the Opera, except Brian De Palma can't make anything quite that linear so he added in a glam rocker, and Faustian deal with the devil. Who in this case looks a lot like Truman Capote.

Most movie fans love Brian De Palma for his gangster films. He's the director of The Untouchables and Scarface, and those are probably what he will always be remembered for. But I will always prefer the way he attacks a horror film. With both Phantom and his next movie, Carrie, he has this way of knowing exactly which parts of the story are the most uncomfortable for the audience, and he emphasizes those moments. They're uncomfortable to watch, but it's also hard to look away. I won't say much more, because I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone, but look this film up if you can.

Happy watching,

Little C