The Phantom of the Opera (1998)

The Italian romantic-horror film, The Phantom of the Opera (1998), directed by Dario Argento, is an adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. In 1877 Paris, a group of rats rescues a baby from a river and raises him in the underground of the Opéra de Paris. This child grows up to become the Phantom of the Opera, known for his misanthropy and tendency to kill anyone who enters his underground chambers, mirroring how rats are killed when they emerge above ground. One night, while singing alone on stage, Christine Daaé captures the attention of the Phantom with her voice. He appears before her and expresses how her voice fills his heart with light. From then on, he communicates with her telepathically and a romantic relationship blossoms between them.

The upper-class Baron Raoul De Chagny has also developed feelings for Christine, although she initially only offers him a platonic connection. Eventually, she contemplates the possibility of having feelings for both men. One evening, the Phantom beckons her to his lair via an underground lake and boat. When she arrives, he is playing an organ and requests that she sings for him. Christine chooses to sing the same song he heard her perform on stage when they first met. After being intimate in his bed, the Phantom reveals his past to her. He then leaves to secure a role for her as Juliet but suggests she stay in the lair while he is away. However, Christine adamantly refuses and he storms out. She becomes enraged with him and angrily proclaims her hatred for him as he departs in the boat.