"The Phantom of Soho" ("Das Phantom von Soho" or "Murder By Proxy") is a very, very cheap German film. The music is cheap, the sets are cheap and the film looks like it was made on an Ed Wood budget. The DVD print is REALLY cheap--and looks like it was copied from a scratchy old videotape. The only positive is that English dubbing (which I always dislike compared to good old subtitles) is pretty good.
Oddly, the film is set in the UK and features an investigation by Scotland Yard--probably because that's where Edgar Wallace set it, but I am still surprised the German production didn't just say it was in Hamburg, for example, and the investigators were the local police. Patrons of a Soho sex club are getting stabbed right and left but it turns out they have more in common than just a love of debauchery--they all shared the same life boat after a ship wreck. As to who is unknown killer is and why, I won't tell, as it would spoil the suspense.
So is the film any good? Well, it's not terrible--but it is incredibly talky and slow. Add this to the terrible print and it's a wonder if many people (other than a few nuts like me) would bother with this movie. Looking back at it, despite the cool title and neat DVD cover, I wouldn't have bothered had I known.
Oddly, the film is set in the UK and features an investigation by Scotland Yard--probably because that's where Edgar Wallace set it, but I am still surprised the German production didn't just say it was in Hamburg, for example, and the investigators were the local police. Patrons of a Soho sex club are getting stabbed right and left but it turns out they have more in common than just a love of debauchery--they all shared the same life boat after a ship wreck. As to who is unknown killer is and why, I won't tell, as it would spoil the suspense.
So is the film any good? Well, it's not terrible--but it is incredibly talky and slow. Add this to the terrible print and it's a wonder if many people (other than a few nuts like me) would bother with this movie. Looking back at it, despite the cool title and neat DVD cover, I wouldn't have bothered had I known.