Many older, horror fans will recall the convenient draw of such television thrillers as The Night Stalker, The Night Strangler, Trilogy of Terror and Moon of the Wolf. Structurally, these hold an underlying, slasher slant, and if made a decade or so later, they'd have likely exuded a profuse, blood-splattered quotient.
There is one example from this television-movie-of-the-week era that too often gets overlooked. It's perplexing since it holds a distinct, Ten Little Indians structure, so prevalent in the slasher genre. The movie is MGM/CBS' 1974 The Phantom of Hollywood.
Produced/directed by Gene (Run a Crooked Mile) Levitt and written by Robert (Death Race 2000) Thom and George (NCIS) Schneck under the title, The Phantom of Lot 2, The Phantom of Hollywood is a variant of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera and flaunts an all-star cast, headlined by Peter Lawford, Jackie Coogan, Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Peter Haskell, Billy Halop and Jack Cassidy in dual roles, as the studio watchman, Otto Vonner, and his almost-a-star brother, Karl Vonner, aka the Phantom.
Though Karl once rubbed elbows with such greats as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Wallace Beery and Walter Huston, a set explosion rendered him scarred, leaving him to roam the Worldwide Studios' tunnels, sporting an executioner suit and mask (designed with menacing care by respected customer James Linn) whenever he bumps off those who enter his dusty abode. That the lot is about to be demolished (and sold to developers) only intensifies his desire to kill, and with this, the authorities investigate as the bodies mount, though find their efforts curtailed by the Phantom's shrewd maneuvers.
Along the way, Karl kidnaps a young lady, Randy Cross (Skye Aubrey), who's the daughter of Lawford's Roger Cross, Worldwide's head. Karl holds her for ramson, agreeing to release her only if the crumbling lot remains (and the deed to the property is handed over to him). This results in a tense and woeful climax.
The Phantom of Hollywood bridges its deaths with pathos, embellished by footage of MGM's backlot, which was being torn down around the time of the movie's making. Footage from the demolition gives Karl's plight visual credibility and makes his acts of vengeance identifiable, even if rash, entrenching the story further in The Phantom of the Opera mythos. The script also references the avenging aspects of How to Make a Monster 1958, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Theatre of Blood, along with the down-the-line, slasher submissions, I, Madman and Popcorn.
It must be stressed that Karl is an indisputable forerunner to any number of cinematic, masked murderers, even if more articulate than most. Cassidy's dual performance helps push the erudite blend, with his portrayal of meek yet compliant, Otto, standing in stark contrast to Karl's stylish antagonist. (Toward the movie's end, one could argue that Karl foreshadows Sam Raimi's yet-to-be-born Darkman. As such, if only per a slight modification, Karl may have surfaced as a full-fledged, brooding hero.)
Though it's far from a necessity, it's not unthinkable that The Phantom of Hollywood could be remade and include ample, slasher effects along the lines of Heart Eyes and Thanksgiving. On this basis, its conceptualization might end up in shocking tune with Dario Argento's1998 Phantom of the Opera: a splatter revision of Leroux's tale. (Heck, even Dwight H. Little's 1980 adaptation slides in that direction.)
For those who enjoy horror/mystery movies that press a modern flair, The Phantom of Hollywood will be your cup of tea. I, for one, do enjoy it, and I'm not ashamed to say, I sip from it often.
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