Phantom of the Theatre

A spooky and stylish thriller that sustains interest even after it veers from the flamboyantly fantastical to the relatively realistic.

Eventually, even the story sinks under the weight of its forced grandiosity and literal-mindedness.

Like one of its unfortunate acrobats, the movie spins out of control.

"Phantom" glories in its own artifice. The movie is carried by sweeping widescreen images, dynamic camera movements, impressive special effects and a color scheme that contrasts icy blues against fiery reds.

Raymond Yip Wai Man's Phantom of the Theatre has all the easy-to-digest charm of a Disneyland attraction. Also most of the built-in limitations.

It may seem corny to American audiences but it's entertaining and handsome, with a grand sense of design, lavish costumes, and bigger than life emotions, like a lavish, colorful old Hollywood picture with modern special effects.

Brief moments of greatness ruined by the overwhelming downpour of mediocrity you're forced to conquer just to reach the film's meaningless finale., but Phantom of the Theatre does leave you with the question of, "Do ghost farts smell like garlic?"

Lavishly produced and stuffed to the rafters with familiar horror tropes, [this] period pastiche should appeal to genre fans looking for a spin on classic themes and images.

Your ability to enjoy 'The Phantom of the Theatre' will depend on your willingness to abandon any expectation of narrative coherence and simply revel in the cinematic splendor of it all.

Asian horror fans may be intrigued by the premise of this, but they should resist.

Phantom of the Theatre is still a fast-paced and agreeably silly horror movie and showbiz satire for the most part, even if it pulls its punches at the end.