On Halloween 1974, 20th Century Fox releasedPhantom of the Paradise, a campy musical comedy lampooning the tropes and conventions of the horror genre. Less than a year later, the same studio releasedThe Rocky Horror Picture Show, another campy musical comedy lampooning the tropes and conventions of the horror genre. Both received negative reviews on their initial release, which led to disappointing commercial returns. But whereRocky Horrorquickly became a sensation on the midnight movie circuit,Phantom of the Paradisewas a box office bomb everywhere except Winnipeg and got swept under the rug of American cinema.Rocky Horroris still playing on the big screen somewhere in the world at any given time, nearly 50 years after its premiere, giving it the longest-running theatrical release in the history of film, whilePhantom of the Paradiseremains an underappreciated gem.
They’re both great movies that mix their offbeat genre cocktail withthe perfect dose of campness, butRocky Horrorhad the benefit of arriving afterPhantomhad already bombed at the box office. Fox learned the right lessons fromPhantom’s commercial failure, which allowedRocky Horrorto become a hit. SincePhantomhad generated good word-of-mouth in spite of its harsh critical reception, Fox targetedRocky Horror’s marketing and exhibition at the kind of niche cult audience that would dig its tongue-in-cheek horror satire and ignore the negative reviews. The strategy worked a treat andRocky Horror, unlikePhantom of the Paradise, became the cornerstone of cult cinema it was destined to be.
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De Palma’sPhantom of the Paradisescript has a much more engaging story thanThe Rocky Horror Picture Show. The meandering plot ofRocky Horrorisa hodgepodge of B-movie clichés, with a young couple arriving at a haunted castle in the middle of the night, a mad scientist playing God to create life, and a UFO detective showing up to save the day.Phantomspins a more original yarn, revolving around a downtrodden artist, motivated by his love for an aspiring singer, fighting back against a slick record executive to have his music heard at a prestigious new concert hall. It doesn’t just have a more compelling, character-driven narrative thanRocky Horror; it also has a more specific satirical target. On the surface, it’s a parody ofPhantom of the Opera, but its tale of a musician selling his soul for a record deal reimagines the Faustian legend through the lens of the crooked modern music industry.
But, whilePhantom of the Paradisehas a stronger script,The Rocky Horror Picture Showhas a more memorable soundtrack. From “Dammit Janet” to “The Time Warp,” a lot of Richard O’Brien’sRocky Horrortracks have become beloved pop hits in their own right. ButRocky Horror’s soundtrack is let down by putting all its best songs in the first half-hour. The movie blasts through “Science Fiction Double Feature,” “Dammit Janet,” “Over at the Frankenstein Place,” “The Time Warp,” and “Sweet Transvestite” in its opening reel, then trudges through less revered numbers like “I Can Make You a Man” and “Planet Hot Dog” for the rest of the runtime. TheRocky Horrorsoundtrack is a great rock album, with or without its attachment to the film, andPhantom of the Paradisedoesn’t have a soundtrack like that. But while Paul Williams’Phantommusic hasn’t made its way onto party playlists outside its connection to the movie, it does complement De Palma’s storytelling and visuals beautifully. The regular reprisals of the “Faust” song serve to musically symbolize Winslow’s transformation into the Phantom.
In the hands ofa master like De Palma,Phantom of the Paradiseis a better-directed movie than its fellow ghoulish rock opera.The Rocky Horror Picture Showwas helmed by Jim Sharman, the director of the original stage show. The movie has some undeniably brilliant camerawork – like the unnerving handheld closeups in the death scenes, capturing the terror in a character’s eyes during their murder – but Sharman is a theater director first and a filmmaker second. He mostly shot the film adaptation ofThe Rocky Horror Showby pointing a camera at the theatrical staging of the play. The majority of the movie feels like watching a stage musical on a screen. De Palma, on the other hand, is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in the world – especially in the genre space – andPhantom of the Paradiseexhibits all his signature stylistic trademarks: split-screens, point-of-view shots, pitch-black humor, and an abundance of Hitchcockian homages (including an even more absurd subversion ofPsycho’s infamous shower scenethanHigh Anxiety).
From Susan Sarandon as Janet to Meat Loaf as Eddie,Rocky Horrorhas more star power thanPhantom of the Paradise. It’s narrated by the great Charles Gray, previously seen as Blofeld and later seen as Mycroft Holmes, while Tim Curry gives one of the most iconic performances in movie history as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. ButPhantomarguably has stronger acting across the board thanRocky Horror. De Palma mainstay William Finley plays Winslow Leach and his alter ego “The Phantom” as a relatable underdog; a tragic hero turned into a monster in a freak record-pressing accident. In addition to providing the soundtrack (and the Phantom’s singing voice), Paul Williams offers a spot-on portrayal of the sleazy record producer archetype in the villainous role of Swan. In her feature film debut, three years beforeher career-making turn as Suzy Bannion inSuspiria, underrated scream queen Jessica Harper brought real humanity to Phoenix’s quest for fame.
One ofPhantom’s biggest advantages overRocky Horroris that it knows when to end. Winslow kills Swan, then succumbs to his own mortal stab wound, and finally reconciles with Phoenix before dying – cue the end credits.Rocky Horror, on the other hand, drags its ending out for much, much longer. The movie reaches its natural climax when Frank awakens Rocky in his lab and bludgeons Eddie to death. But then it becomes a sex farce, and then there’s an awkward dinner scene, and then the characters put on a show within the show, and then Frank gets a scenery-chewing death scene (which, admittedly, Curry knocks out of the park, giving this flamboyant “mad scientist” caricature a true look of fear in his eyes during his final moments). Even afterRiff Raff and Magenta have revealed that they’re aliensand the entire castle has been launched into space, Brad and Janet sing another number in the smoke that remains.
LikeEDtvandThe Truman Show,The WanderersandThe Warriors, andThe HowlingandAn American Werewolf in London,Phantom of the ParadiseandThe Rocky Horror Picture Showwill always be connected to one another by their shared subject matter and release window. Interestingly,Rocky Horror’s cinematographer Peter Suschitzky andPhantom’s editor Paul Hirsch worked onThe Empire Strikes Backa couple of years later. And inthe polarizing sequel toRocky Horror,Shock Treatment,Phantom’s Jessica Harper took over the role of Janet from Susan Sarandon.
It seems redundant to choose a favorite betweenRocky HorrorandPhantom of the Paradise, because there’s nothing wrong with liking both. They’re both great rock operas with a pitch-perfect blend of the sinister and the silly, butPhantomis arguably the best-made movie of the two. Not only isPhantom of the Paradisemore evenly paced thanRocky Horror; it’s better-directed and better-acted, too (although none of the performances inPhantomare as strong asTim Curry’s turn inRocky Horror). It’s great thatPhantom of the Paradisehas earned a cult following in the years since its disappointing initial release, but it’ll never reach the same cult status as the other campy mid-‘70s horror musical. Much like Winslow himself,Phantom of the Paradiseis doomed to eternal damnation, forever remembered asDeep ImpacttoRocky Horror’sArmageddon.
