First off, I just have to ask if anyone knows if this was intended to be a comedy? I am a fan of the works of Dario Argento. In my opinion he is a master of the craft who can superbly wrap the viewer around his finger. With The Phantom Of The Opera, however, I feel that he may have bitten off more than he could chew. The whole thing seems ill advised from the start. Its been some time since I read the book by Gaston LeRoux, but I do not recall the Phantom having a perfectly fine face. Nor do I recall that he was raised by rats or a rat catcher being a main character who drove around in the labyrinth under the opera house on a steam powered rat vacuum. Truly that was one of the most bizarre elements added to the tale. There were murders in the original novel, that I do recall, but I do not recall them being borderline slasher kills. To be fair, the slasher slant is not a new one. Robert Englund starred in a so-so slasher take on the novel in the late 80s. It just seemed like the film was trying to constantly outdo every other take on the tale and failed on every level. Much of the acting is awful to say the least, and some poor dubbing doesn't help matters any. In all honesty, the only actor with any real power in the film is Asia Argento. She gives a very good performance as Christine. Julian Sands is normally a fine actor but here he seems to be overacting much like the rest of the cast. Avoid this one and stick with the old B&W version. Its far better.