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There's no doubt that we're in the era of Universal Monsters, with classic horror villains such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf all getting their own modern remakes. But there is one monster missing, The Phantom.
Just this year, we have a new Frankenstein movie from Guillermo del Toro heading to Netflix, as well as Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man due to claw onto screens as we speak. Plus there is a new Mummy movie in the works, and the classic vampire tale Nosferatu is still at large in movie theaters too. Even The Invisible Man was resurrected in Whannell's 2019 movie of the same name, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon saw a modernization with Del Toro's 2017 flick The Shape of Water.
Yet, the Phantom of the Opera has been left in the lurch for way too long, and it's time that The Phantom has a modern horror remake of his own – one that isn't a romanticized musical.
A story worth adapting
Based on the 1909 gothic novel by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera premiered in 1925 and follows an outcast known as The Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House and is forced to hide his face when he falls in love with a young soprano named Christine. But when The Phantom faces rejection, he begins to wreak havoc on the Opera House and all who enter it. With such a strange and quite touching storyline, it is surprising that we haven't seen more adaptations.
As well as the original 1925 adaptation, Universal released another version in the early '60s, but before any of that, it is reported that a silent movie was made in the 1910s – sadly, this has been lost. Perhaps the most notable remake is Andrew Lloyd Webber's '80s musical which was turned into a movie in 2004. However, many of these takes tend to focus on the romance and yearning of the story rather than the horrific aspects. This creates a perfect gap for a remake to really get into the depths of Leroux's chilling tale, that really leans into the horror of the original movie through a modern lens. With all of this in mind, the story is just waiting for a director like Robert Eggers to take hold.
Speaking of Eggers, the recent success of his 2024 flick Nosfertau just solidifies why we need a Phantom remake. The two stories share a lot of similarities. They are both based on classic gothic novels – with Nosferatu being adapted from Bram Stoker’s Dracula – and both movies derive from silent movies as well as centering on a ghoulish villain that will stop at nothing in the search of lust. The Phantom of the Opera explores many gothic tropes such as obsession, a threatening atmosphere, revenge, and the unfamiliar.
Not only this, but much like the cold and haunting backdrop of Nosferatu’s Victorian Germany, The Phantom's cursed Parisian setting holds much to be explored. It is said that Leroux was inspired by the many rumors and accounts of ghost sightings surrounding the actual Paris opera house (the Palais Garnier). Just like in the novel, it was reported that a fire caused the chandelier to come crashing down, injuring many and killing one. It is also believed that in 1841, a production of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz used a former ballet pupil's skeleton as a prop. Webber’s world-famous musical does include the chandelier drop, but this could be brought to the screen in a big way with modern effects.
Less music more horror
Webber's renowned musical is the first thing that comes to mind when many hear 'The Phantom of the Opera' and even though the stage version is terrific, to say the least, this means the horror version is often forgotten. Last September, Deadline reported that Disney is set to remake the 2004 musical movie into a young adult movie by the same director who helmed High School Musical. The film is set to become a series of movies just like Disney's descendants, meaning, I can't see it being that scary or gruesome.
The musical versions of The Phantom of the Opera differ from the original movie and the novel due to the logistics of a staged adaptation and the fact that the musical focuses more on the romantic storyline (as musicals tend to do). This veers away from the very reason why Universal decided to make The Phantom (AKA Erik the Opera Ghost) the first Universal Monster – because of his possessive and violent nature. Much like Count Orlok, Erik is not as soft and misunderstood as perhaps the 2004 version presents him, but a cold-blooded killer only interested in possessing Christine rather than falling in love with her.
All in all, I feel like Leroux's novel has so much more to offer the horror genre than we have seen before. From the chilling origins of the book to The Phantom's ability to stop at nothing to get what he wants. There's no doubt a modern-day remake of The Phantom of the Opera could match the staggering acclaim that Eggers Nosferatu reached. All that's left to do now is for a director to take on The Phantom… who could it be?
For more, see our list of the best horror movies, or keep up with other upcoming horror movies.
