I found this film to be a great more intriging than Nosferatu, for they are both silent films.
My goal for today's blog to answer the questions left on my "The Fly" blog. I got some of the same feeling about this film as I did for "The Fly", when I was watching it. I could understand how this film was to be a horror film, but I personally would not have categorized it that way.
Compared to Nosferatu this film had: more compelling storyline, more intriguing characters, and more details in the back part of the film (many more cast members, the backdrops of the places had more detail compared to the bleak, bland places in Nosferatu, and such), etc.
Like in "The Fly" our "monster" isn't much of a monster at all. He is very much human with human ideas and he just wants to make music and be loved. The reason everyone is so afraid of him is the deformity of his face. Because he is different from average people that gives those people the reason for hatred and fear towards the Phantom. So much so that he lives alone in a dark underground cave of a place to be away from everyone. Making the monster more human like can make the film so much more scary when people watch it. People are much more afraid of evil things when they seem very close to home. To think that there is someone living next door to you who is so different from you, can make people afraid of them. People become anxious when change or difference happens in their life. 'Tis the case for the Phantom. He just wanted to make music and love another but the people of the opera would not accept him for he was different.
This film is completely about people being accepted for who they are not what they look. Though the Phantom had great talent of writing music, no one wanted to take the time to give him the chance.
This reminds me of a wonderful movie that conveys the same idea, called The Little Mermaid. The freakish half-fish half-woman has a wonderful voice(singing beautiful music) and must resort to a deal with Satan in order to become a full human. Once this happens she is able to find true love in the real human world. I forget how it ends but I think she turns back into the disgusting fish monster and midnight or something.
ReplyDeleteSo, if we feel so sorry for the Phantom, where is the "horror" in this horror film? Is the Phantom not really a monster then? And if he isn't the monster, then who is the villain here? Can you think of other horror films that do the same?
ReplyDeleteBtw, how is your reading in the textbook going?
I think the "horror" has more to do with the mechanics of the film. The Phantom is the monster in the eyes of the society around him. From a reality rather than "Film isn't real" point of view they were all in the wrong. It wasn't right for the Phantom to kidnap that girl and it wasn't right for the people to kill the Phantom.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein kinda does that too. Those the monster was created from other dead bodies unlike the Phantom.
Reading is going okay. I'm a little behind on it but I plan to catch up this weekend. I have a test today, one tomorrow, and one on monday that I have been freaking out about... It's been really interesting so far..