Song at Midnight

Ambiguously queer Phantom says be queer, do crime, join the revolution.

Song at Midnight takes Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera and seamlessly adapts it into a movie about political unrest, the desire for revolution, and the need to fight for freedom.

This Phantom (like the original) is a victim of war and corrupt politics, in hiding from those who mean him harm, and continuously craving love he cannot hold onto, but Song Danping is depicted as a more tragic and innocent victim than the possessive and murderous Erik.

Where Erik decides to mold Christine into his eternal bride, Danping spies a young man (Sun Xiao Ou) struggling to perform and decides he has just the remedy for that - in exchange for a little comfort...for his ex-girlfriend. No strings attached, as it would turn out. Accepting no for an answer is the most chill thing I have ever seen a Phantom do and I will admit that this one has a very soft place in my heart for that reason alone. Also, it's hard not to notice that these two men have such intimate chemistry that their relationship can be contemplated further than what appears on the surface.

Rather than being raised as a murderer for hire, Danping left home to become a revolutionary fighter during the Second Chinese Revolution and later took up a new identity as a successful actor, all the while living in fear that his connections to the revolution would be discovered. Unfortunately, he is eventually caught and punished not for his connections but because he fell in love with a woman who was above his station. This poor man survived a whole revolution only to be tortured and burned with acid for the crime of falling in love.

This movie is often referred to as the first Chinese horror film and I can see why. The typical horror movie elements are definitely present here.

~ The eerie atmosphere of the rundown theater and the slow, suspenseful walk down the hallway leading up to it.

~ Women screaming in horror.

~ The overacted moment when Danping's bandages get removed and he sees his scarred face for the first time.

~ The equally overacted "woman succumbs to madness" trope.

~ The (accidentally? erotic) torture scene.

~ The tragic/forbidden love story through lines.

~ The attempted assault and subsequent murder.

~ The angry, terrified villagers wielding torches and pitchforks as they chase the "monster" through the night with intent to kill.

Parts of this movie are dark and hard to make out in its current state and the editing is noticeably choppy in places, but I have to say I can't recall ever seeing a horror movie open with a shadowy figure singing a long-winded and poetic serenade to a stone-faced lady who looks possessed before now, so I was immediately intrigued.

The opening is very slow-paced and focuses more on building the atmosphere than introducing the audience to its plot. The aforementioned artsy serenade, featuring a lot of beautiful nature shots, takes up the majority of the first 13 minutes. So, when the Angel Theatre Troupe finally shows up, the story unexpectedly continues to drag for a short time while the performers wait out in the rain, knocking on doors until they find a place to stay. Most likely in an attempt to build suspense, they eventually take a drawn out walk down the eerie theater hallway to reveal the rundown mess inside. Thankfully, the plot picks up from there and it becomes easier to follow.

The music is beautiful and Song Danping's makeup puts certain other sunburned Phantoms to shame, especially during the initial reveal where his skin almost looks like it's melting off his face.

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