The Phantom of the Opera (1989 film) The Phantom of the Opera (1989 film) The Phantom of the Opera is a 1989 American horror film directed by Dwight H. Little and based on Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name. The film is an updated and gorier version of the classic 1910 tale, and stars Robert Englund as the Phantom. Christine Day (Jill Schoelen), a young opera singer in modern-day Manhattan, is searching for a unique piece to sing at her next audition. Her friend and manager Meg (Molly Shannon) discovers an old opera piece called "Don Juan Triumphant", written by a composer named Erik Destler. Curious,
The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film) its predecessors the current 'Phantom' seems a reasonable booking for average houses, without doing anything to erase oldtimers' memories of the earlier versions." "Harrison's Reports" gave the film a grade of "Fair", writing, "The story of creative fakery, revenge and danger is not only loosely woven together, but its believability is weak. Its dénouement is thin and vaporish." "The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films" wrote of the film: "Although distinguished by some fine acting, sets and music, "The Phantom of the Opera" seems decidedly half-baked." The author(s) called Terence Fisher's direction "misguided", and noted that distributor J.