Phantasm (1979)

Director:

Don Coscarelli

Writer:

Don Coscarelli (written by)

Release Date:

28 March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

If you're looking for horror that's got balls...IT'S FOUND YOU.

Plot:

A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.

Plot Keywords:

Tall Man | Boy | Funeral | Nightmare | Ice Cream Man

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

A. Michael Baldwin	...	Mike (as Michael Baldwin)
Bill Thornbury	...	Jody
Reggie Bannister	...	Reggie
Kathy Lester	...	Lady in Lavender
Terrie Kalbus	...	Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
Kenneth V. Jones	...	Caretaker (as Ken Jones)
Susan Harper	...	Girlfriend
Lynn Eastman-Rossi	...	Sally (as Lynn Eastman)
David Arntzen	...	Toby
Ralph Richmond	...	Bartender
Bill Cone	...	Tommy
Laura Mann	...	Double Lavender
Mary Ellen Shaw	...	Fortuneteller
Myrtle Scotton	...	Maid
Angus Scrimm	...	The Tall Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dac Coscarelli	...	Funeral Guest (uncredited)
Kate Coscarelli	...	Funeral Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Coscarelli

Writing credits
Don Coscarelli		(written by)

Produced by
Dac Coscarelli	....	producer (as D.A. Coscarelli)
Paul Pepperman	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Fred Myrow
Malcolm Seagrave

Cinematography by
Don Coscarelli

Film Editing by
Don Coscarelli

Production Design by
Kate Coscarelli		(as S. Tyer)

Art Direction by
David Gavin Brown

Makeup Department
Kate Coscarelli	....	makeup artist (as Shirley Mae)

Production Management
Robert Del Valle	....	unit manager

Art Department
Mark Annerl	....	architecture
Doug Cragoe	....	set construction
Willard Green	....	constructor: Silver Sphere
Stephen A. Miller	....	set construction
Marc Schwartz	....	set construction supervisor
Kurt Tiegs	....	set construction

Sound Department
Gene Corso	....	sound effects creator
Michael Gross	....	sound recordist
Robert J. Litt	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Bob Litt)
Lorane Mitchell	....	sound effects creator
Colin Spencer	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Paul Pepperman	....	special effects creator

Stunts
George W. Singer Jr.	....	stuntman

Camera and Electrical Department
Mori Biener	....	grip
Steve Chandler	....	best boy (as Steven Chandler)
Daryn Okada	....	grip
Roberto A. Quezada	....	gaffer (as Roberto Quezada)
Roberto A. Quezada	....	visual consultant (as Roberto Quezada)
Marc Schwartz	....	first assistant camera
George W. Singer Jr.	....	key grip
Jacalyn Welan	....	second assistant camera
John Zumpano	....	grip
Robert K. Feldmann	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kate Coscarelli	....	wardrobe (as Shirl Quinlan)

Editorial Department
James Becker	....	editorial assistant
Bruce G. Chudacoff	....	editorial assistant
Roberto A. Quezada	....	assistant editor (as Roberto Quezada)
Dena Roth	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Paul Ratajczak	....	music recording

Other crew
Wendy Kaplan	....	script supervisor
Adele Lustig	....	production coordinator
Dena Roth	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• New Breed Productions Inc.

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Adams Filmi (1980) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (19??) (Canada) (theatrical)
• AVU-Video-Vertriebs-GmbH (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1981) (USA) (TV)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Icon Film Distribution (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (19?) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Mr. Horror Presents #19)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Nelson Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Nordic Video (????) (Finland) (video)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Titanus Distribuzione (????) (Italy) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Ashram Music  music published by: (B.M.I.)
• Seatone Music  music published by: (A.S.C.A.P.)
• Westheimer Company  opticals (as The Westheimer Co.)
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Samuel Goldwyn Studios  post-production sound
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (video rental version) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:(Banned) (2002) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Italy:VM14 (new rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) (VHS) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2001) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1980) | France:-16 | USA:R (Approved No. 25327)

Filming Locations:

1232 Corsica Drive, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Breed Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Co-Producer Paul Pepperman approached Angus Scrimm at a sneak preview of Kenny & Company (1976) and told him that Don Coscarelli had written a role for him in his next production. When informed that he would be playing an alien, Scrimm became very excited and immediately asked to know what country his character would hail from. Pepperman said: "He's not from another country, he's from another world."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can see the stick making the finger move when its in the box.

Quotes:

Mike:I know you're not going to believe this, but these things were here, right in the garage, and they were going to get me!
Jody:Aww, give me a break, would you?
Mike:They were jumping on the car and making these weird sounds!
Jody:You're sure it wasn't that retarded kid, Timmy, up the street?
Mike:No, it was the same thing that chased me last night!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

Soundtrack:

Sittin' Here At Midnight

A Start . . .

Phantasm is one of those movies where you have to look beyond the constraints of a non-existent-budget sci-fi/horror flick to see underlying talent. The film suffers from some hammed up acting, classical 1970s character naivety, make-shift and jimmy-rigged special effects that don't quite work, a score that might as well be a series of MIDI files, and a plot that's all but coherent; however, Phantasm maintains a certain original charm and resourcefulness that larger budget films frequently lack.

The above paragraph really isn't a complaint (despite how it may sound). On the contrary, I'm impressed with what director Don Coscarelli managed to accomplish with the hand dealt to him. Phantasm could have been an utterly forgettable film on all levels, but instead he managed to leave a number of positive impressions.

For one, the frame composition and some key scene transitions transcend budgetary implications (in particular, the Tall Man in the cemetery and the Tall Man slow-motion shot by Reggie's ice cream truck come to mind).

Fred Myrow also comes to the forefront with intriguing and memorable synthetic score. My only complaint on the music is the synthesizer it was performed on sounds like an old 80386 game. Still, the notes played transcends the quality of the instrument it's played on.

Phantasm's trademark bladed sphere effect, however, did genuinely bother me when they stuck into their victim's skulls. The fact that the soon-to-be-dead have no physical reaction after being slapped in the forehead with a fastball goes beyond my ability to suspend disbelief, and to my dismay the effect has never been amended in later sequels. A simple flinch is all that's needed to sell the effect! Something tells me that the effect, as it stands, is part of the Phantasm trademark, part of the Phantasm charm (for the cult followers anyway), and won't ever get a more realistic edge.

Minor silly plot elements aside (Jawa grave robbers, anyone?), my only major gripe deals with the sheer open endedness of the Phantasm universe (vastly exploited in later sequels.) Phantasm is not unlike a comic book, where nothing that happens seems significant since a character can so easily wake up to another reality. Anarchy governs the Phantasm series, no rules apply so reality, fantasy, and parallel universes co-exist in such a fashion that nothing seems to matter anymore. It's like playing a game with Coscarelli in which we must abide by the rules he sets down, and he sets the rules down as he goes when situations apply to him. Why bother playing? Why care?

Still, the film has its charms, and there's something fun in the sinister eye-brow raising and growling Tall Man played effectively by Angus Scrimm. I'd caught bits of Phantasm 3 in the past, and came into this film expecting to hate the Tall Man and this entire franchise, yet I found myself grinning at each of his lines.

I say if someone can look below a cheap and cheesy surface, Phantasm is full of a pleasant surprises.