Phantasm
| release date | November 30 1978 |
| studio | MGM |
| director | Don Coscarelli |
| writer | Don Coscarelli |
| starring | Reggie Banister, Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin |
| rating | R |
| tagline | If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead! |
| site | mgm.com/title_title.do?title_star=PHANT |
3 Comments
Since I haven’t seen any of the sequels I was completely baffled by the end of this one. It had a lot of really great elements to it (especially the music) but I think it will take some time for this to creep up on me. I guess that might happen as soon as the re-release Part II so I can make some sense out of Part I.
The 1970′s really has got to be the best decade for horror movies and Phantasm is no exception. I have not seen the sequels in years but the first movie is one I do watch at least once a year.
Weird and totally original with a great soundtrack too! Disturbed the hell out of me as a kid.
The Phantasm series as a whole is great. The way things un-fold and remain mysterious is excellent. The Tall Man is one of the best and most original villians ever. My favorites are Phantasm, Phantasm IV, and Phantasm III.
I love this movie. Has to be in my top 3 horror movies and (depending on my mood) might even rank as #1. For me, it has everything. The acting is spot on, especially considering the low budget effects that would have been made glaringly obvious if not for the actors making me believe in it. Hell, even the few kind of “off” acting moments made me smile in a good way. A perfect example of this is the shot of Jody’s face when Mike cracks him in the foot with a hammer. Priceless.
Speaking of Mike and Jody, their relationship in this movie is really well played. I would have no trouble buying that A. Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury were actually brothers, which really strikes a chord when you realize **SPOILER** that Jody is actually dead by the end of the movie. This, of course, opens the door for Reg to become the fucking man throughout the rest of the series, but it’s easy to forget that in the original it was mainly just the two brothers **END SPOILER**
Not to say that Reg wasn’t brilliant even with his smaller screen time. I defy anyone not to like this guy…”We’re hot as love, that’s all”
Of course you can’t talk Phantasm without talking about the Tall Man. While this isn’t the only senior citizen that I’m afraid of (Kane from Poltergeist anyone?) this is the only one that I’m quite sure could take me in a fist fight. Given that he doesn’t talk much it would seem like he had a pretty easy job, until you see Angus Scrimm and realize that, in real life, he’s just as unintimidating as your grandfather. But, with a simple scowl, he manages to be completely terrifying, even as decades have passed and his character has aged.
The final aspect of this film that really brings it all together for me is the score. Just a few repeating notes on the piano, and the composer manages to encompass the terror, surrealism, and sadness of the movie. This is probably my favorite theme song to any movie.
OK, that should just about do it for my fanboy rambling of this movie. If you haven’t seen it, just do yourself a favor and give it a chance.
My Favorite Horror Movie……Enuff Said
Loved this film killer balls were done great. When I first watched this when I was a teenager and the Tall man scared the hell out of me and those killer dwarves were also scary as hell a great horror movie highly recommended.
Just Follow Silver Ball To Golden Age of Horror!
Weird weird movie, not bad at all. I wish they would have explained more of what was going on but it was a pretty solid horror film.
Phantasm just might be my favorite horror film of all time, it’s such a wonderful trip that I would be willing to take all over again, any time, any minute. I adore the kitschy vibe of the bizzare plot, adorable characters, haunting soundtrack, and great cinematography inside the mausoleum. I’m an avid fan of the series as a whole, I applaud Coscarelli for never conforming to traditional filmmaking with this series and always leaving it full of mysterious surprises. A timeless classic, and one the best, if not THE best, horror film series ever.
This movie is one of the greatest
Tall man one of the greatest horror movie icons ever
if u havent seen it go buy it
Ten years ago, “Phantasm IV” was released straight to VHS(or a DVD if you were ballin’). Fully aware of Phantasm’s status as a classic horror franchise, I checked it out, knowing that it would likely be but a tenth of what the original was. I was left scratching my head. I had no idea what was going on the entire film. I figured, “well, I came into the franchise on the 4th film. one day, I will see the first and everything will start to make sense.” That day was today, and I am even more confused than I was ten years ago. A lot of the scares are genuine, and Tall Man is a great antagonist, but I’m still left with a bunch of puzzle pieces that just don’t fit together. Was the whole film a dream? Is Reggie dead or alive? Is Jody dead or alive? Well, obviously I know that’s not the case because they appeared in the 4th part. But the corpses were crushed down into dwarves and turned into slaves? Flying death balls, inter-dimensional gates, yellow bleeding supernatural aliens that’s fingers turn into really mean bugs that require two rounds in the garbage disposal before they day…it doesn’t add up.
I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers. I can see the cinematic value that gained this status as a cult classic.
phantasm is awesome, the tall man is one of the most iconic villians of all time
Phantasm is a great original film. It has some pretty creepy parts with the jawas and the Tall Man. It delt with fears a boy has of losing the ones he loves. I really like the improvised singing and guitar playing.
Extremely epic movie. Great scares, great story, original and great music. This is genuine horror, these were the good old days, before the likes of Eli Roth, 44 saw movies, remakes and so many others that have nearly destroyed the genre as a whole. Coscarelli wrote a very original story and made a great movie out of something most people fear, a mortuary. The usage of hearses, caskets and so much more make this movie great. You have to wonder why horror directors don’t implement these basic elements of terror anymore. No matter what day and age we live in, most people fear anything to do with death, caskets, graveyards etc.
I realize the idea of taking Star Wars, interbreeding it with one of Dario Argento’s cheese-fests, and putting an intoxicated spin on the whole thing may sound like a pretty cool idea. In 2009, the weirder the idea, the greater the appeal to the “open-minded” emo kids. In 1979, I’m the idea also appealed to the acid-induced “free-spirited” 10-year-old hippie boys. My point is, no matter what generation you grew up in, there has always been and always will be those who think that they can be nonconformists by throwing out every rule and making their own rules . . . thus, paradoxically, conforming. I can’t help but relate this attitude to Phantasm. It tries so hard to be different from the rest, but in the end, it’s just another bucket of horror clichés. Maybe the bucket is painted a different color–yellow blood, perhaps–but the contents are exactly the same as all the other generic horror films from the 70s.
A concept that few people really understand: When weird is the norm, it isn’t weird anymore.
That concept is the problem that I always have with movies like Phantasm. The fans and the modern critics always site them as coming up with original ideas, when in reality, they’re just cliché ideas presented in a weird light. Every single “weird” occurrence in Phantasm was unabashedly copy/pasted from Star Wars, Argento movies, 40s horror movies, and classic sci-fi novels. There wasn’t a single “weird” scene in this movie that I haven’t seen before in pre-’79 entertainment. For example, the silver sphere IS unarguably the lightsaber training bot in the original Star Wars. The hooded midgets in the end are also unarguably the Jawas from the original Star Wars. The fly was used before in various Stephen King short stories and various 40s movies. Etc., Etc. It would take me pages to list every single instance Phantasm ripped-off other movies/books, but it pretty much amounts to the entire movie. Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is a fanboy, blinded by his nostalgic first viewing of this film as an preadolescent, then growing up thinking “Those were the good ole days , when horror . . .” for no other reason than it was his first exposure to horror. Anyone who enjoys horror films that are actually scary, aren’t overflowing with cheese, and actually have some sort intelligence, this is the last place to look.
Despite what the old men who grew up with this film will tell you, it is not scary, gory, or weird. It’s just another generic paint-by-the-numbers horror film. The acting is pathetic. The special effects are pure cheese–fugitively and literally (referencing the yellow blood). The story is done with go-anywhere-do-anything surrealism–which has recently been popularized by the author Neil Gaiman–which works in children’s movies, but here is just unintentionally ludicrous. People have complained Phantasm makes no sense, but they fail to realize that’s the immature point behind the movie. It’s meant to be nothing more than a bunch of pseudo -weird scenes that it ripped-off from other (superior) movies. It’s ironic, maybe even hypocritical, that older horror fans claim Phantasm as part of “the good days of horror”, when “there was a story, not just gore and nudity.” Phantasm has no story. In its time, it was just an acid trip, and a vehicle to display what was considered over-the-top gore/nudity in the `70s. In its generation, it was far more mindless than what is claimed as mindless today.
Some cite the music as great: it’s really just okay. It is atmospheric like the music in Suspiria and Halloween, but it can’t stand up to either, really. Also, the acting, like everything else, is laughable. Another problem is the lack of entertainment value. I fell asleep four times.
I’m not sure what my overall thoughts on Phantasm were, because as soon as I write the last sentence of this review I’ll forgot entirely about it. It’s just a generic horror film with “weird” aspects copy/pasted from other films. And it cannot be defended by saying that it’s intended to be cheesy, because that is not the intention of the film. If that’s what we classify as original, intelligent horror that is deserving of a fond place in our hearts . . . there’s no hope for us as horror fans. And even less hope of the genre progressing any further in the future.
(1) Cheese oozing out of severed fingers, and fugitively out of the plotline. Or, (2) A genuinely scary, original horror movie that you can talk to the outside world about without feeling immature and stupid.
. . . it’s your choice.
Phantasm isn’t a great movie in any way, it has bad acting, gaping plot holes and cheesy effects and dialog. But somehow this film captivates me. It may be the weird atmosphere, the outlandish ideas or the creepy “Tall man”. The movie left me wanting more (which I got with the sequels). If your into weird, cheesy late seventies/early eighties cinema this movie fits the spot.
The Pearson brothers: Jody- 24(Bill Thornbury) and Mike- 13(A. Michael Baldwin) are trying to recover from the recent death of their parents. Much of the responsibility has fallen on Jody in taking care of his younger brother. Mike becomes obsessed that his brother will die and leave him; it doesn’t help matters after he pays a visit to a fortune teller. The teller makes his fears greater by the possibility of Jody skipping town while leavening Mike to live with his aunt. Because of this Mike starts to spy on his older brother and on one particular night he follows him to the Morning Side Cemetery. While hiding behind trees, Mike discovers dwarfs’ roaming around and nearly has a panic attack when he sees a mortician (aka The Tall Man) on his own lift a casket on to the back of a hearse. After conniving Jody and their friend, Ice Cream Man: Reggie (Reggie Bannister), they make the commitment in bringing the Tall Man down.
Phantasm is the thinking mans horror movie, it’s very cerebral in the way the story is told. Unlike recent horror movies and remakes where everything is unmasked and spoon-fed to the audience, Phantasm shows respect towards the viewers in letting them come up with their own theories and conclusions. Writer and director Don Coscarelli (credits include Phantasm Series, The Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep) does a successful job in giving the film a cold, morbid and grey look. Phantasm captures that grim street feel much like A Nightmare on Elm Street- almost between like a movie and documentary, realistic but polished. Coscarelli gave it just enough character development for us to have an attachment to them. Angus Scrim ( Tall Man) plays a freaky figure, the way he talks and stalks Mike; he makes the perfect Grim Reaper. With a believable cast, original story, a deep awesome atmosphere and a timeless score what more does a horror watcher want. Also the theme song is killer!
this movie is waaaaaaayyyy overhyped just boaring and not all that good.
Amazing! All I can say!
it a shame more people don’t know about this movie
Great horror/sci-fi thriller. Good cast including Angus Scrimm who plays the tall man. and I agree with nightbreed666′s review.”It’s a shame more people don’t know about this movie.” It deserves to be regarded as one of the best 70′s horror films if not horror films in general.
Phanatsm- 1978
Good Parts- entertaining for the most part, some good effects considering the time period, pretty good acting, creepy and memorable villan,creative plot
Bad Parts- pace may be a little slow, end of movie is a little confusing to me
Overall a good sci fi/ horror movie from the 70s watch out for the tall man! 9/10
Bought this movie because of the hype and the trailer looked pretty good, but was disappointed.
Definetly one of my favorite horror fllms of all time! Everyone pretty much has said what needs to be said about this film. I’ve heard that the original cut was well over two hours(close to three maybe?). I would love to see a special edition with alot of those scenes thrown back in. I know that some of them were used as flashbacks in Phantasm:Oblivion. There’s been rumors of a remake that have been going around the net for a few years now. I would just love to see Don Coscarelli get the budget he deserves to do Phantasms End.
this movie is the SHIT and if you are a true horro fan u have seen this and if u have not u NEED TO
music is great characters are awesome And the bad guy is creepy as hell One of my favs as a kid and still watch today
Chilling, amazing movie
The tall man character was a good idea, but the whole movie just seemed too disjointed. There didn’t seem to be any flow and a lot of the plot was very thin.
I just finished watching this movie and it is very creepy. I would not be suprised if this old man haunts someone at night after watching this movie. The story was intresting, it had a very creepy vibe to it and the old man made the movie. There are certain scenes that I dont want to give away that attack some of our fears and may still have us thinking to this day if we might see that old man there one day. The one down side for me were the little jawas I didnt care for them very much and that part of the story itself was a bit strange
One of the coolest horror movies ever.
Phantasm
12/26/2009
Two classic icons of horror came out of this movie made by Don Coscarelli in 1979, The Tall Man and the Silver Sphere. These two elements helped spawn three sequels, all of which were directed by Coscarelli. This is a fun scary ride of a movie that can be extremely weird at times. This first installment was filmed on a shoestring budget but all of the effects, story, and acting don’t seem to suffer much from it.
Like “Carriers” the last movie I reviewed, the story follows the relationship of two brothers. Jody is the older of the two and is now stuck raising his 13 year old brother Mike after their parents’ death. I’ve got to say that Mike is quite possibly the coolest bad ass kid ever. If I was a little older in the early 80′s he would be the kid you would dream of imitating. He owns a dirt bike; has a big knife strapped to his ankle, wears a jean jacket and has quite the dirty mouth. Not to mention the chrome .45 he wields towards the end. Mike is tough kid but also fears of being abandon by his brother. The one thing that keeps them together is their love for Jody’s muscle car.
At the funeral of one of Jody’s friends we are introduced to the mortician simply known as the Tall Man played brilliantly by Angus Scrim (who also appears in the sequels). He is the creepy embodiment of death and as Mike finds out there is something not right with him. We then meet Jody’s other friend Reggie, an ice cream truck drive and aspiring musician. I know it’s quite the combo. Reggie always to just be along for the ride, but is a very necessary character. Mike is always following his brother to make sure he doesn’t leave him. Jody then hooks up with this bar skank and they go into the cemetery to make out and shit. While Mike is looking on in the woods he is attacked by a dwarf in a brown robe. Rumor has it that George Lucas stole this idea for his design of the Jawa’s. Mike runs away screaming and Jody follows him. Mike tells him what he saw in the woods and about the Tall Man, but Jody doesn’t believe him.
Mike wanders off to the mortuary and breaks in through a basement window. After he is found out, he is pursued by a flying metal sphere. It ejects blades that hooks on to your face and drills through your skull. The sphere and the dwarfs make this movie so WTF it makes it really fun to watch. There are a bunch of cheesy scenes with a lot of bad dialogue but the creative story line makes up for it. Jody finally comes around to believing Mike and they go together to the mortuary too face the Tall Man and his minions of evil. There is a big twist ending that I won’t give away, that really makes the story make sense in a crazy sort of way. A new DVD edition of the movie was released in 2007 and includes a bunch of special features that are all quite good. This movie is quite an accomplishment in the fact that you would never believe its was made on such a small budget, all of the money is definitely up on the screen and not the actors pockets.
Classic! Phantasm is awesome. The music is great it adds to this movie so much. Check Phantasm out if you already havn’t.
This movie is really good! I wasn’t expecting much, and just took the movie for what it is. Great ideas, music and villain. The only thing that disappointed me a little was that we only see 2 people die in this movie, and only one of the death scenes is good(sphere scene,awesome). I like the dark atmosphere of this movie. Overall, definitly a must see flick, but don’t expect it to have a lot of blood and a body count(I know it’s not a slasher, but it doesn’t need to be to have more than 2 people dying). I feel like it might be a little overhyped, but there is just something about this movie that got me hooked and wanting for more. I’m definitly checking out the sequels.
This movie is simply classic. Weird, trippy and highly original. This movie builds an interesting mythology and almost avoids genre classification.
This movie is a classic. I remember seeing trailers for this on t.v. as a child, and knew that one day this movie and I would meet up. There is an impossible to place, druggy vibe to the film. “Phantasm” is definitely a movie to seek out if you haven’t seen it. Just know that you’ll get a big spoonful of 1970′s. Not another thing quite like it. Angus Scrimm is very creepy.
If you like this, check out “Bubba Ho-Tep” by Coscarelli; also starring Bruce Campbell as a geriatric Elvis.
Saw most of it the other day, and thought it was alright, though the characters seem to be very stupid. Gore was gross, blood pouring out the back of the metal ball, ugh, but yeh quite good. Dunno if it will make me watch the sequels tho.
Awesome horror classic that is a definite must see. Killer soundtrack and shiny steel balls included, BOY!!!
A classic that if you haven’t seen it you need to asap.
Awsome Horror film the dread and atmosphere are really well placed here.
Phantasm is more like a horror event than a horror movie. It is the whole package. It has a very cool story line that is bizzare and thrilling, it has great characters and it is also very fun. But it doesn’t stop there. It might seem cheesy at first but the film turns very claustrophobic and genuinely scary. The film maintains a great pace and is always entertaining. Phantasm also has one of the best soundtracks i’ve ever heard in a classic horror film. The music is perfect and completes the whole package. Phantasm is simply a unique horror classic that is one of my favorite horror movies.
Score: 9.5
Phantasm is extremely fun. The story is original and the characters are really likeable. The acting was pretty good for a movie like this. And The Tall Guy was insanely chilling. All In All, Phantasm is a great, campy horror movie. I recommend it.
Just didn’t do anything for me. Dull and all over the place in terms of tone and pacing. meh
I loved these movies for there totally original storyline.Anyone that doesnt dig this shit is not a true horror fan.Go watch “Scream” or some other bland predictible shit.
pretty disappointed overall, considering how much hype surrounds it. I guess it was amazing for its time, it just didnt really do much for me.
Perfect, absolutely perfect! A surreal, atmospheric nightmare put to the screen, and the best horror film of the 70′s. It’s got one hell of an amazing ending too. If your a horror fan, and you haven’t seen Phantasm yet, then I don’t what the heck your waiting for, because your missing one of the best, most surreal and bizarre horror masterpieces ever put to film. 10/10
First saw this film under the title; The Never Dead. Surreal and absolutely amazing!
Saw this as a kid. Total 70′s creepfest. Fun to watch late at night. Nightmarish, strange, freaky, scary. I’ll have to watch this again to see if it holds up – but guessing it does.
BOY!!!!If you have watched it you what I am saying!!
weird, good, but a little overrated.
“Phantasm” is a strange film. But that’s a part of its charm; which I find almost impossible not to like. It’s a horror film, but those who have tried to classify it within a sub-genre-within-a-genre (indeed, the horror genre) have failed. It’s truly something else. That doesn’t necesarilly make it a great film, but it certainly makes it a solid feature that I could see myself watching again-and-again; benefiting from repeated viewings. It’s an intelligent little low-budget chiller; relying mostly on atmosphere and the kind of imagery that we’re bound to remember whether we find ourselves entertained or not. Many critics find this movie, shall I say, distasteful? I can understand somebody not enjoying or admiring “Phantasm”, but dare I say, I think most of these detractors don’t get what writer-director Don Coscarelli was trying to do and say here. The film was shot in the English language, but Coscarelli obviously has some Italian in him, and his film is really no different from the surreal cult shockers from that country; films that carried what I call “dream-logic” with them, as well as some of the finest imagery available. Sometimes, it’s enough to just look at the movie, which more than likely will allow the most open-minded movie-goer to have a lot of fun.
Coscarelli has a really good idea, so he decides to make a film centered on that idea, as well as many other concepts. In the end, he makes “Phantasm”; a film that is essentially critic-proof, for the most part, and will be appreciated by those who can discover admiration in its absurdity. There’s an artistry to the way “Phantasm” is crafted; from the make-up effects to the most odd, bizarre, and surreal of moments. Unlike a few memorable installments in the Italian horror surrealist movement, the film has a story, and it makes perfect sense, if you think about it. It’s the underlying themes that matter most at the end of the day; but the simplicity of the storytelling methods adds to the quality.
Just try to buy into the story; which concerns two brothers. They have lost their parents, and are trying to cope. This leaves Jody (Bill Thornbury) to care for the younger brother, Mike (Michael Baldwin); who fears the eventual death that will someday come to his brother. He visits a fortune teller and seems to be questioning what will happen once Jody himself has reached the end of the rainbow. However, these questions are the least of Mike’s worries; he believes that little dwarves (which closely resemble the Jawas of “Star Wars”) are chasing after him, although he doesn’t know why. His theory is that they may be the slaves of a mysterious figure whom Mike refers to as “The Tall Man” (Angus Scrimm). It is suggested that this villainous being, who is indeed very tall, could be an alien, a demon, or perhaps just another human. That can’t be it. Mike claims to have seen this “Tall Man” single-handedly lifting a casket, and we all know that no mortal can do this.
The film is at its best when Mike is running, scared and alone, from the forces of darkness (the dwarve slaves, The Tall Man). Eventually, Jody invests in Mike’s tall-tales and agrees to help him fight back against “The Tall Man”, who seems to be gathering bodies for an unknown reason. Much of the film is taken up by this highly engaging and suitably entertaining sub-plot; which never drags on for too long, and never had me snoring.
The film is a consistently entertaining exercise in pure movie-making. It has some dazzling and very dream-like images, such as a glimpse of an alternative realm where the dwarves are put to work, hands coming out of muddy ground and reaching for the heroes, and of course, a small, metal sphere which flies towards its enemy and causes quite a mess indeed. People seem to remember the sequence in which the said sphere hits its target in the form of an assistant of The Tall Man; who gets a hidden drill right through the fore-head. The sphere absorbs a lot of his blood, spits it back out, and then leaves his body to die. He then urinates as he dies.
This is an intense, gory scene; one of the only blood-filled sequences in the entire film, in fact. “Phantasm” cares more about creepy effectiveness through its music score, its cinematography, and its images; which is something admirable. Clearly, it isn’t the best film ever when it comes to storytelling and characters; as well as dialogue, but there’s just something about it that I find impossible to resist. I liked it because it allowed me to escape into another world for an hour and a half, which is always nice. Films about reality and things capable of having within it were beginning to bore me; which is why I watch horror films in the first place. You never know when someone like Don Coscarelli is going to make his way into the horror scene and make use of nightmare fuel. He creates an entirely different universe; a different world where different things can exist and anything can happen. Maybe this is why I find “Phantasm” so good when it comes to escapist entertainment. Not everyone will “get it”. But for those who do; a salute you.
Very good.
Easily my favorite horror movie. Very creepy and dream-like. The ending is amazing.
Phantasm is Don Coscarelli’s first horror feature. The story is about a young boy who’s parents have been killed. Now the only person he has left is his brother, Jody, and he is scared of loosing him too. One of Jody’s friends dies and Mike isn’t allowed to come to the funeral. So, mike spies on the funeral and sees something he can’t believe. The next hour and a half in an atmospheric nightmare with flying spheres, undead dwarf slaves and a horror icon known only as the tall man. The music and visuals of this movie are incredible. Even though the acting could have been better from Bill Thornburry, Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister make up for it. The ending of this movie can give many different interpretations and is incredibly unexpected. A horror classic. 10/10