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Phantom of the Theatre
2016; directed by Raymond Yip

Phantom of the Theatre

This Mainland/Hong Kong co-production sticks to one of the tried and true film production methods liberally employed in the region, in that this is a movie "inspired" (directly or indirectly) by another film or literary source, this time out the classic Phantom of the Opera. Phantom of the Theatre tweaks things a bit by adding in supernatural elements. But since Mainland censors don't particularly like the idea of ghost stories, the film-makers take things even further with their explanation of the events going on in a supposedly haunted theatre.

Phantom of the Theatre

All of this ends up turning Phantom of the Theatre into more of something like CSI: Shanghai 1930 than your usual spooky story, but even before that, there's not that much in the way of suspense, horror, or scares. Sure, the film looks great, the cast (including veteran Simon Yam) generally does fine work, and the special effects are well done, but there's not a lot behind the pretty veneer. Even with the twists, one definitely gets a sense of deja vu in effect here, as we've all probably seen this sort of story play out before, no matter the country of origin. Still, there is a kind of slick pop charm to the proceedings, and there is a thankful lack of bloat which usually tends to bring down Mainland productions, so the viewer is left entertained -- if not particularly enthralled or challenged.

Phantom of the Theatre

RATING: 6

This movie has been released uncut and in the original Mandarin language with English subtitles in North America by Well Go USA. It is available on DVD from Amazon. Extras include trailers for the movie and other Well Go releases.

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