I am a big fan of the Asian cinema, and usually gobble up just about everything that I can get a chance to sit down and watch. I had not heard about "Phantom of the Theatre" prior to finding it by sheer luck. But being a fan of Asian cinema, I of course took the time and effort to sit down and watch it.
I was more than pleased to see that the movie had the talented Simon Yam on the cast list. But I was just somewhat disappointed to find out that he was but a mere supporting actor in the movie, which was a shame, because he could have contributed so much to the movie.
The storyline in "Phantom of the Theatre", which I thought would just be an Asian rendering of the class "Phantom of the Opera" story, turned out to be something else, although it drew inspiration from the "Phantom of the Opera" for sure. It is about a haunted theatre, where an up-and-coming director wants to shoot his horror movie. But the spirits of the old theatre are vengeful and things soon start to turn awry for the film and the film crew.
It was a mediocre storyline, which actually held little or no surprises at all. And it wasn't a particularly riveting storyline that offered much to the audience. So I can't really claim to be much impressed with the vision of director Wai Man Yip in this movie.
The acting in the movie was good, though, and it made it bearable and worthwhile to sit through the movie to the end. Ruby Lin and Tony Yo-ning Yang actually carried the movie quite well and they complimented each other quite well on the screen. It is always a pleasure to see Simon Yam in a movie, just a shame that his part was only a supportive role.
"Phantom of the Theatre" has good effects and good make-up as well. Just as the wardrobe and props were really good. And this all really did help to lift up the movie, which was otherwise hindered by a fairly mundane and mediocre storyline.
"Phantom of the Theatre" is not a milestone in Chinese / Mandarin cinema history, not by a long shot. But it is certainly a movie well worth watching if you have the time and have an interest in the Asian cinema. It just wasn't an outstanding or particularly memorable movie experience.
I believe that "Phantom of the Theatre" is a movie that will come and go relatively unnoticed, and most likely only will find its way out to us fans of the Asian cinema because we are looking actively for movies.
