I'm Working On: Phantom of the Mall (Patreon)

I picked this one from a bunch of movies Graham found because we've never reviewed a Phantom of the Opera type movie. This one is obviously based on that story very strongly but what it leaves out is interesting. Most notably the heroine doesn't have any major goal as Christine does, and so the Phantom does not act as a mentor. I wouldn't say this is the biggest issue - key plotpoints are as flimsy as tissue paper - but it is interesting to see how, without this driving the plot, the story is left ruddeless. One of the thing about Phantom of the Opera is that Christine is pulled between love for Raoul and fascination with the Phantom; her desire for a man and her obsession with her singing career. If the Phantom had been better looking then she probably would have abandoned Raoul. The more you look at it, the more layers it has (and the worse Christine comes off), none of which is true in Phantom of the Mall. Although the ending doesn't make the heroine look great either; at no point in her rejection of the Phantom doe she say 'plus, you killed a bunch of people.'