Phantasm
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Cone (II), David Arntzen, Kate Coscarelli, Reggie BannisterPrimary Contributor: Thornbury, Bill
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Movie Reviews of Phantasm
Movie Review: 5-Star Independent Classic Horror. See it, it's good for ya.
Summary: 5 Stars
Don Coscarelli's intensely dreamlike "Phantasm" is a very original and startling horror film from the late 70's. A lot of horror classics were produced in the 70's, but this one in particular stands out because it is the only one that does not hearken back in some way to earlier established archetypes. All the details are more or less original, so you are not looking at a retread of the conventional Frankenstein/Dracula/Zombie stories. The main baddie is an exceptionally tall undertaker from another planet, for starters. His dwarf slaves are essentially zombies (reanimated dead people he has crushed "down to half size") but in their behavior and appearance do not really resemble zombies from other myths. This is a movie trying to be as different as possible.
All the strange elements and images here add up to a high-octane creepy sense of the bizarre that, in my opinion, has never quite been matched. But if you find yourself chuckling at the absurdities here and there--or just straight-up laughing--that's no accident. There are some very funny moments ("Yahhhhh!! My FOOT, man!"), and these tend to hone the fine edge of the film's unpredictability.
In the opening scenes, we see that spooky shenanigans are going on over at that Morningside Mortuary, including murder, appearances of strange hooded dwarf creatures, and kid-hero Mike (Michael Baldwin) riding his motorcycle around in the cemetery, apparently for kicks. After just a few minutes have elapsed, "Phantasm" is already a tapestry of weirdness, and it generally gets stranger, scarier and funnier as it goes along. The youthful hero Mike, in order to save his older brother and their friend Reggie from the eerie monsters invading their home town, is ready to jump into the action and fight. Will the Tall Man, with his hordes of undead minions, be conquered? With a villain this strange and this powerful, their valiant, 70's-macho efforts may not be enough.
Not surprising that it was a big theatrical hit when it came out originally. It was totally unlike any other movie, and audiences could see clearly that this low-budget oddity was bending over backwards to deliver its roller-coaster-style entertainment.
Excellent on DVD with its stereo-surround remix and special features. This movie has had a number of sequels--all of which are interesting and worth a look. But the original first film establishes the ambiguous myth in a pure, inspired way, and is the most perfect of the series.
Summary of Phantasm
Jody is the kind of guy that every 1970s teen looked up to. He's in his early 20s, has a cool car, splendid '70s hair, leather jacket, plays guitar and (naturally) snags all the girls. His little brother, Mike, in particular, admires him and emulates him at every turn. Things start to go astray, however, when the two brothers and their friend Reggie attend a funeral for a friend. Mike notices a tall man working at the funeral home; in the course of his snooping, he sees the tall man put a loaded coffin into the back of a hearse as easily as if it was a shoebox. Jody doesn't believe his little brother's stories, though, until he brings home the tall man's severed finger, still wriggling in what appears to be French's mustard. From there, the film picks up a terrific momentum that doesn't let up until the sequel-ripe twist ending.Phantasm was one of the first horror movies to break the unspoken rule that victims were supposed to scream, fall down, and cower until they were killed. Instead, Mike and Jody are resourceful and smart, aggressively pursuing the evil inside the funeral home with a shotgun and Colt pistol. Furthermore, the script has a great deal of character development, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. The film even has a surprisingly glossy look, despite its low-budget origins, and little outright gore (except for the infamous steel spheres that drill into victims' heads). This drive-in favorite was a big success at the time of its release, and spawned three sequels. Little wonder; it includes an inventive story, likable characters, a runaway pace, and, of course, evil dwarves cloaked in Army blankets. The end result is one of the better horror films of the late 1970s. Hot-rod fans take note: Jody drives a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, the pinnacle of 1960s muscle cars, rounding out his status as a Cool Guy. --Jerry Renshaw
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