Halloween season
simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of golden age Universal
horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip
of it by counting down Psychobabble’s
31 Favorite Universal Horrors!
#13. The Phantom of
the Opera (1925- dir. Rupert Julan)
Lon Chaney’s definitive character is still really scary. What
did those audiences in the earliest days of cinema think when they witnessed
Chaney’s Phantom staring them down, marching forward with dreadful relentlessness,
his finger pointing accusingly right at them? Probably something like, “Oh,
rhatz. I do believe I’ve soiled my golf knickers.” There’s something a bit off
about a silent movie about opera, but the big bonus is that we don’t have to
listen to any opera. Plus, the Phantom’s sewer lair is super cool.
