[home] [news] [reviews] [features]

PHANTASM (1979) Director: Don Coscarelli. Hacktors: Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Bill Thornbury, Michael Baldwin. Rating/5: The Lowdown: Now out in England as part of the amazing Phantasm Sphere Limited Edition Boxset, this quirky franchise gets a welcome return to the limelight. A true horror gem, Phantasm is a low budget fever dream of a film, all iconic imagery and madcap action. The story follows plucky teen Mike and his brother Jody, who are thrown into a fantastical adventure following the murder of their friend. Something isn't right at Morningside Cemetery, what with the missing bodies, the strange creatures and at the heart of it all, the menacing Tall Man. What follows has to be seen to be believed! Good Points: When you praise Phantasm, you have to start with the director. Rarely in film franchises has a series stayed so much under the vision of its original creator. While the plot may veer wildly at times, the movie is just so endearing you go with it. Coscarelli is a master of mood, creating indelible images throughout the film. Riding high on the back of Bubba Ho-Tep, and recently invited to contribute to the new Masters Of Horror US cable series, Coscarelli has proven to be one of the horror field's most consistent talents.         Then there's Angus Scrimm. Mastering The Tall Man's menacing walk and laconic delivery, the Scottish actor nails a performance that has thrilled audiences for decades. Another highlight is Reggie Bannister, surely cinema's only ice cream van man warrior. The rest of the cast suit the family mood of the film, obviously having a lot of fun wielding guns and driving muscle cars.         The presentation here is superb: Phantasm has never looked or sounded better. This highlights just how well-made the film is, giving the impression of a much larger budget. Surprisingly, the film has aged well and doesn't feel dated. Another strength is the fantastic score, which works perfectly throughout to ratchet up the tension. Bad Points: The movie does take a few liberties with common sense at times, which more curmudgeonly viewers might take umbrage to. Bah humbug to them I say, I love this film! DVD Details: The film comes with a pristine 1.85:1 widescreen transfer with an optional DTS, Dolby Digital or 2.0 soundtrack. The extras include an audio commentary, trailer, biographies, an introduction by Angus Scrimm, deleted scene and home movies. Also hunt down the hidden easter egg!     If you are purchasing either of the Anchor Bay box sets, then you get the added value of a bonus fifth disc. Packing in six features and running for nearly three-and-a-half hours, this has a wealth of interesting information about the film's creation and history. Phantasmagoria is a 97 minute long documentary which looks at all four films and sets the tone for all the features by being exhaustive and featuring interviews with all of the key personnel in front of and behind the camera. The funniest feature showcases Reggie as he takes a tour around the locations used during the series in the Phantasmagorical Mystery Tour. Greg Nicotero pops up in a self-titled feature looking at -the effects of the classy second film, featuring lots of behind-the scenes footage. The featurette Phandom, however, focuses on a small group of, lets face it, obsessed fans who all found themselves involved in making the films themselves, which is actually quite interesting. Genesis is the weak link here, a look at behind-the-scenes footage of shooting parts of the films which is often no more than the same shot but from a different angle. There's also a great hidden Easter Egg, featuring Angus Scrimm being inducted into the Fangoria Hall Of Fame and an interesting Q & A with Don Coscarelli. This is a great disc, and a major incentive to buy one of the box-sets over the single-disc editions. Overall: With its frantic pace, non-stop action and insane plotting, Phantasm is a joy. Not many films have this much energy, verve, imagination or endless rewatch value. There is a scene which perfectly captures the feel of this film. Mike is watching the Tall Man as he lopes menacingly through his home town. He passes Reggie, standing by his ice cream van, frozen vapours heavy in the air. The Tall Man stops and breathes deeply of the frozen air in slow motion. This scene makes no sense whatsoever, but it looks fantastic and gives the film its completely unique sensibility. It is full of moments like that. The special effects are also all over the place, from the amazing ball attack to the frankly ridiculous bug attack, all adding to the fun. The key word here is fun: it is a horror film made by people who love the genre, understand it and are able to give the fans what they want to see. Release Date: Phantasm is available in the USA on a single disc from MGM. The disc reviewed here is the Region 2 version, available as an individual disc, or as part of the new Anchor Bay UK five-disc release featuring all 4 films and a bonus disc. This set is available in a normal digipak or the awesome Sphere packaging. Put simply, one of the best DVD packages ever made. Hurry though, there are only 25,000 of them available… Reviewer: Jon Kelly. [Check out the MGM disc at Amazon US] [Check out Anchor Bay's Phantasm Sphere set at Amazon UK] [See clips from DVD featurettes in Media] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present