The Phantom is always referred to as this tragic figure, yet if you watch such revered versions such as the original Lon Chaney film, the Phantom comes across as a murderous nut bordering on being a supervillain, not a sorrowful romantic individual. Of all the changes to the story, I appreciate what they did with the title character, the Phantom, the most. This might seem like heresy, but as with Hammer’s reworkings of Dracula and Frankenstein, the changes function well within the context of the updated plot and keep you from predicting how things might turn out. Many of the story’s most memorable and famous moments are reworked to the point where you might not recognize them as even being throwbacks (the unmasking scene is totally different, as is the chandelier scene), while some of the most fantastic sequences are removed altogether (the Bal Masque, for instance). Like all of Hammer’s remakes, the plot receives a bit of an overhaul, remaining similar to the source but receiving some refreshing alterations. Producer Harry Hunter (Edward de Souza) investigates the matter on behalf of the lovely Christine and discovers the terrible truth about the “Phantom” (Herbert Lom). Christine (Heather Sears), recently cast for the lead, is haunted by a disembodied voice in her dressing room and a strange black figure lurking within the sub-corridors of the opera house. The opera receives sabotage after sabotage, eventually resulting in murder.
Lord Ambrose d’Arcy (Michael Gough) is ready to premiere his new opera, ‘Joan of Arc’, but it seems the very forces of nature are out to get him.