Of course, as with any Faustian bargain, this comes with a terrible price as his face rots and decomposes. In this adaptation, Englund plays Erik Destler, a brilliant composer who makes a deal with the devil to become a beloved composer.

How did he interpret such an iconic character? What makes this film a hidden gem of '80s horror? Was there going to be more to this story? The writer desperately wanted an excuse to write about The Phantom of the Opera again, so today we are going to answer all of these questions, and take a look at a hidden gem from a horror legend. Charles Dance was the master of sass, Lon Chaney let his makeup and body language do all the talking, Gerard Butler made it sexy, and in 1989 the master of nightmares had a go as the masked maestro. The Phantom of the Operais one of the most adapted stories in the public domain, with each actor who takes on the leading role bringing their own spin to the character. However, while many return to Elm Street for their horror movie marathons this Halloween season, there is far more to the master of horror than one, albeit iconic, character. He's a legendary character actor beloved by many, and in an industry where many actors encompass one character, Leatherface for example, he will always be Freddy Kruger, polarizing remakes aside of course.

Robert Barton Englund : horror fans all over the world know the name well, and for good reason.

Phantom of the opera movie wiki