the_phantom_was_here

Perhaps one of the worst teenage slasher films I ever did see. I'll start with the bad points of t he movie, which pretty much covers the entire film. First of all, something no one can avoid: TERRIBLE ACTING. I swear they picked up some random kids off the street based on how they looked. Secondly, BAD/UNCONVINCING CHARACTER WORK/DEVELOPMENT. You hardly even know half the kids who are killed in here. All you figure is that they deserved it one way or another. The scarecrow's character was overdone, and a cheap rip-off of the other great fantasy killers such as Freddy or Pinhead. Next: BAD DIALOG: The Scarecrow was full of horrid one-liners that would make you laugh, only because it was so terrible. Lines like "Let's go find some small animals to torture!" really just leaves you with an eyebrow raised. Last but not least: Next off: BAD CASTING. How old was the guy who played Lester? Like 30? The back of his head was balding for God's sake. There is much more I could say about this film, like it's cheap special effects, it's "high school film class" effort, but the point is understood. It's just bad film making at it's worst. As for what I found to be "good" in the movie: -Entertaining for those with low, low, LOW standards -Would help put insomniacs to sleep. -A very cheap laugh, or even a giggle.

I see all these people grudging against this movie, and it's well undeserved. I am into all kinds of comedy, especially silly ones such as this. What some seem to forget is that this movie was made to appeal more to KIDS around the age group of 12 or so. I do admit however that some of the comedy was predictable, yet some of it was clever enough to make me laugh. I do acclaim Steve Martin for his performance in this one, his accent was simply hilarious! I also enjoyed the wonderful Pink Panther remixes; they kept the film to a modern feel. This film is in the spirit of a Leslie Nielsen movie, so if you enjoy him, you'll enjoy Steve Martin.

To kick off, this film sucks! Call me immature, but it's true. I don't blame the actors, I blame the script. The whole gory shtick did nothing to add to the film. The whole movie is just a waste of talent and viewer time really. Julian Sands is great actor; unfortunately he will have to add this horror of a movie to his resume. I started to see the film's decline in the scene when Christine and the Phantom meet for the first time. The whole meeting was just...stupid. Basically, it was just him revealing that he can read her mind and communicate with her the same way. The fact that Christine fell in love with him because of this just made her seem like a weak-minded bimbo. This movie was so unrealistic and cheap, I had to watch Andrew Lloyd Webber's version TWICE just to rid the feeling of disappointment. I hear reviews saying that the movie wasn't as bad as what others might think. True -- IT'S WORSE. To anyone who even considered renting this pretense of an attempt to a good remake: Don't waste your money or your life on it. Stick to the Andrew Lloyd Webber or the original 1925 version.