Late Night Double Feature

The Goreman of the Paradise

Recently I sat down to enjoy a couple of b or c movie titles, as I’m wont to do. It’s a personal favorite pastime of mine and I highly suggest it. Some of the best movies out there are low-budget, debatable quality gems that take a little digging to discover. If you operate in the same circles I do, then you’ve heard of these two movies over and over. If you don’t and you haven’t, then cheers! Today we’re going to be talking about The Phantom of the Paradise and Psycho Goreman.

I’ve been meaning to watch these movies for a while now, and was really looking forward to the special little date night I set out for myself and my partner. I use ‘was’ as simple past tense not because of some tragic mishap. Don’t get me wrong, fun times were had by all. That’s the first thing I’ll say about these two movies: even if they aren’t for you necessarily, they’re a spectacle that can be enjoyed. They’re weird, they’re charming, they’re full of a style uniquely their own.

I’ll begin in earnest with Phantom. A glam rock retelling of Phantom of the Opera and Faust, this film was a bizarre watch. The acting was, at times, laughably over the top, but I never thought it took away from the experience. The music really wasn’t bad, although I’m not sure I’d listen to it on my own time. The costuming, and the dancing really, was almost offensively 70’s; my fragile sensibilities were damaged by all the sashes and swaying. At its heart though it was a really enjoyable watch. Focusing on a down-on-his-luck musician who gets violent around his own music, the story was nothing new, nor was it supposed to be (it’s a retelling, keep up), but it served the purposes it set out to and kept my focus the entire time. The fit that the protagonist wears once he becomes the phantom is full-on bizarre and I sincerely loved it. The nature of his deformity, the sound of his voice, the special effects for this movie went hard. There were a lot of fun things about the movie, not the least of which being the hilariously over the top queer performer “villain” performing the Phantom’s music, and it was exactly as flashy as I was expecting it to be. The effects were majority practical, and as such they kind of stood up to time. Obviously they weren’t perfect, it’s a nice, shoestring movie after all and beggars can’t be choosers, but it really wasn’t bad. Even the bad acting had a certain charm to it that I definitely won’t fault the movie for.

Now to get into movies I will fault. Psycho Goreman you and your hunky boys were something I wanted desperately to love. The concept was hilarious, and the execution usually was, too. A couple kids accidentally awaken an ancient alien evil and make him play games and dress up with them while he’s bound to their magic amulet. Easy peasy. But the movie just didn’t work for me. The main characters were funny conceptually, but never really worked together in a way that felt satisfying. That’s my biggest problem with the movie I think, it never becomes more than the sum of its parts. On its face it’s a movie that was made for me, but in execution it was just missing something. It gave huge Power Ranger vibes during all of its action which I loved, the humor surrounding the treatment of Psycho Goreman usually landed, the practical effects were goofy and well implemented, it has a lot of things going for it. And yet I still can’t say it was great, or that I’ll be coming back to it after the fact. It was worth the watch and I had fun with it, but I really can’t recommend it to people in earnest. It just never stuck the landing. I think that there’s a much better movie in there somewhere and that’s what makes it so tragic to me. I should love it, I want to love it, but I don’t. Had it focused more heavily on Psycho Goreman’s queer awakening and not just made it two off-hand jokes (the best jokes in the movie hands down, but still) then I think I’d have liked it more. It needed somehow to be more absurd. Weirdly enough for a movie as deeply unserious as this it felt like it took its story and worldbuilding too seriously to make a bold jump and really cinch the absurdity of the concept. Maybe that’s just me.

They made for a fascinating time and watch, and one of them I’ll be coming back to soon. If I had to suggest one over the other the choice wouldn’t be hard to make, it’s Phantom of the Paradise and that’s that. Still, I think it’s important to support indie and low budget films, so I’m most definitely not upset that I watched it or am I saying you shouldn’t give Psycho Goreman your own chance, it just didn’t work out for me. Maybe it will for you! Definitely watch Phantom of the Paradise though, very much worth it.