“By Hollywood standards, Phantom of the Paradise was considered a commercial disaster, never gaining the cult stature of another Rocky Horror Picture Show. Its neglect is unfortunate since Brian de Palma's rock musical is one of the most interesting examples of this 70s glitter genre. Drawing from Phantom of the Opera, ‘Faust,' and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,' this comic horror film relentlessly and cynically parodies that epicenter of youth culture - the music industry.
“A young composer named Winslow Leach (William Finley) is first swindled and then framed by a ruthless rock music impresario, Swan (Paul Williams). When the enraged musician tries to avenge the mogul's cruelty by sabotaging his record plant, he becomes hideously disfigured by a record press. Presumed dead, Leach assumes a disguise and sets to haunting and unleashing havoc in the Paradise, the villainous Swan's dream rock palace.”