A man buys an old, abandoned theater and puts on '50s-type rock shows. Then people start being killed in a rash of "accidents"...
Ed Blake is a balding middle-aged man who decides to buy an old movie theater, called The Ritz, to shape it up into a retro 1950s music hangout. With the aid of his loyal girlfriend Nancy, his foreman Bruno, and his assistant Marcus, Ed is able to assemble a construction team to plan to be on time for the grand re-opening. But unknown to everyone, a large and disfigured man lives in the passageways of the old theater since the 1950's occasionally popping out to murder an occasional wino or intruder that happens upon his domain.—matt-282
1958
A drag racing results in a serious accident. Two cars collide at high speed and are set on fire. One of the drivers has remained conscious and is now trying to rescue his brother from the other car. But a huge explosion tears the pinched teenager to pieces and causes severe burns to the other. He escapes from the hospital and hides in the recently closed "Ritz" film theater.
Today
The 40-something Ed Blake bought the now dilapidated and neglected Ritz cinema and intends to convert it into a nostalgia dance palace in the style of the 1950s. He sees the company as a kind of therapy for his very pronounced mid-life crisis. He is supported by his life partner Nancy, her shrill friend Sally, who is responsible for various secretarial work, and the eloquent colored bodybuilder Marcus, who is supposed to be responsible for security.
At the same time, Inspector Lassarde is tasked with investigating a series of murders that have been committed in the immediate vicinity of the "Ritz" for decades. The acts of violence increase particularly sharply when an entrepreneur tries to repair the "Ritz". In fact, further crimes are not long in coming, a worker is brutally killed, and Sally is kidnapped by a giant black-clad figure.
Blake is only marginally aware of all of this, as he is so deeply involved in the preparations for the upcoming opening of the "Ritz". He doesn't even notice that, frustrated that he no longer pays attention to her, Nancy starts a quack with an Elvis Presley impersonator he booked for his opening party. Inspector Lassarde now suspects Ed Blake of being the killer, since two more dead victims, a teenage couple, have been found. There is no arrest for lack of evidence.
The following evening, the Ritz has it's opening night. In the middle of a performance by The Coasters with their old hit "Yakkity Yak", Nancy is also kidnapped by the black-clad giant of a man. The terribly disfigured giant takes her to his hiding place under the basement of the "Ritz", where he also holds Sally prisoner. There she learns about his fate and that his monstrous figure is due to steroids, which he took at the time against the pain of the burns and which he is still addicted to today. He fell in love with Nancy when he heard her beautiful singing earlier during the planning phase of the renovation work.
But when Sally rejects his feelings, the "phantom" gets mad. At the last second, Ed, Lassarde, Marcus and a police SWAT team reach the hiding place of the Phantom and can just prevent the worst. A bloody showdown sets in as a result, a fire breaks out, to which the whole "Ritz" falls victim and burns to the ground. Nancy and Sally are saved and the "Phantom of the Ritz" dies in the flames.
