Phantasm (1979)

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

Director:

Don Coscarelli

Writer:

Don Coscarelli

Stars:

A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, afraid to lose his brother follow him to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lifting a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate, and discovers that the Tall Man, protected by his flying spheres, is shrinking dead bodies down to half their normal size and reanimating them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.

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Plot Keywords:

woman on top | thin woman | sex on the floor | long haired woman | picking up a girl | 

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Taglines:

Beware the ball, beware the tall man, beware the never dead.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for nudity, violence, and intense scenes

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Morningside

Filming Locations:

16232 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,988,469

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Breed Productions Inc., Bad Robot

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono 4-Track Stereo (Visurama)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sequels to the Phantasm films were made in comic book form.

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Goofs

When The Tall Man breaks down the door of Mike's house, at the bottom of the door, a crew person's feet are visible running and pushing the door.

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Quotes

Reggie: This guy's not gonna leak all over my ice cream, is he?

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Crazy Credits

The cable TV version has a extra text in the credits that reads "enter the Tall Man's Mausoleum if you dare at www.phantasm.com"

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Alternate Versions

In 1998 MGM re-released Phantasm on VHS to buy. The movie had a Newly Remastered Dolby Stereo Soundtrack. Also, after the movie the video featured 4 Minutes of scenes cut from the movie. The cut fotage was two scenes

• The first involved Mike entering a room with 2 coffins, one is open and a body is inside, the other is closed but Mike hears sounds from inside it and thinks its Reggie. As he tries to open the coffin, Reggie enters the room. When Mike sees him and then realises that something unplesant is in there, together the two close the coffin. Mike then tells Reggie that they need to find Jody
• The second scene had Mike and Jody run into the Tall Man in the funeral home. Jody shoots the Tall Man several times with his shotgun but it has no effect on him. He then knocks Mike onto the floor and picks up Jody by the neck with one hand! Mike sees a fire extinguisher and remembers when the Tall Man reacted badly when he passed by Reggie's Ice Cream truck with its refrigerator open. Mike realises the Tall Man can be hurt by the cold ,so he takes out the fire extingusher and blasts the Tall Man with it as he's about to kill Jody. The Tall Man withers in pain, suddenly he screams and his head explodes splattering yellow blood all over the walls!

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Connections

References Invaders from Mars (1953)

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Soundtracks

Sittin' Here At Midnight
by Bill Thornbury
Thornbury Music

User Reviews

Another Horror Classic, And With Good Reason

A teenage boy (Michael Baldwin) stumbles upon a plot by a very tall mortuary worker (Angus Scrimm) to steal dead bodies and turn them into midget slaves for an alien world. With the help of his older brother (Bill Thornberry), the boy hopes to cut the tall man down to size.

Many years later, Don Coscarelli is now seen as a master of horror and Angus Scrimm somewhat of a horror icon (though to a lesser degree than, say, Robert Englund). While the plot I have outlined above may sound silly, the actual execution of this idea makes it clear why this film has really lodged itself in horror history and spawned numerous sequels (all starring Scrimm).

This film captures the feeling of the late 1970s and early 1980s horror with the young boy stumbling upon a plot of large, sinister proportions. Horror geared towards the youth of a generation who have parents who may not believe them (or in this case, an older brother). I really like this theme, much like "The Goonies", "The Monster Squad" and "Lost Boys" -- a kid's film without being childish.

"Phantasm" has become known for the silver balls, and believe me -- when Angus Scrimm puts one of his balls in your face, you won't be happy about it. A bloody mess is all you will get! I really enjoyed the effect of this (remember, this is 1979 when effects still took some creativity). Some of the tricks they pull off are impressive considering computer technology of the day, and also considering Coscarelli himself was writing and directing at the unthinkably young age of 23.

Now, some things I did not understand. For example, why are the midgets bleeding macaroni and cheese instead of blood? And more importantly, why does the tall man have to transform into a woman to stab people in the cemetery? If he is super strong and has those silver balls, he really does not have to be very sneaky about the whole ordeal, does he? But these are issues that can always be addressed in sequels.

Some of the acting is cheesy -- people deliver their lines in a way that sounds forced, and Jody (the older brother) looks like he belongs behind the wheel of the General Lee. And Michael spends half the film looking like a girl. (I have met the entire cast, and I can assure you that Baldwin grew out of this phase.)

But, seriously, check this film out. Created roughly in the same time period as "Halloween", you are left with a similar feeling. Only this one is more light-hearted and "feel good" and less "the embodiment of evil". I suppose it depends on your personal taste or your mood for the day. Myself, I like a little bit of the unusual thrown in to a movie just to keep me guessing. And, edging out "Halloween", this may be the longest-running horror franchise, running from 1979 through 2016 (37 years!).

Over the years, "Phantasm" has been released in a variety of ways, but I think the definitive release finally exists thanks to Well Go USA. I asked Coscarelli why he went with Well Go (known for their martial arts movies) rather than Arrow Video or Scream Factory, and his answer was quite simple -- they had the most enthusiasm. And they have put together a nice package, too. The remastered Blu-ray looks sharp. WGN host and super-phan Nick Digilio screened it in Chicago in August 2016 and audiences were shocked to see individual raindrops. The new scan is better than the original print. The disc also contains a vintage interview with Coscarelli and Scrimm circa 1979, and an episode of "Graveyard Carz" where Coscarelli and Baldwin drive around in a Barracuda tribute car.