6.8/10
27,534
276 user 205 critic

Phantasm (1979)

R | | Horror , Sci-Fi | 28 March 1979 (USA)
Phantasm Poster
Trailer
1:53 | Trailer

Watch Now

From $1.99 (SD) on Prime Video

ON DISC
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 | See full cast & crew »
72
Reviews
Popularity
4,445 ( 555)
2 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

See all 2 videos  »

Photos

See all 70 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Phantasm II (1988)
Action | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

Mike, now released from a psychiatric hospital, continues his journey to stop the evil Tall Man from his grim work.

Director: Don Coscarelli
Stars: James Le Gros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm
Next »
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
Action | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

Mike and Reggie continue to hunt the mysterious Tall Man, discovering along the way that the invasion has already begun.

Director: Don Coscarelli
Stars: Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury
Next »
Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

Mike travels through time and dimensions to find the Tall Man's origins.

Director: Don Coscarelli
Stars: A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury
Next »
Phantasm: Ravager (2016)
Action | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.1/10 X  

The final installment of the long-running Phantasm series.

Director: David Hartman
Stars: A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Dawn Cody
Next »
Re-Animator (1985)
Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.

Director: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton
Next »
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Comedy | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis (Bruce ... See full summary »

Director: Don Coscarelli
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy
Next »
The Howling (1981)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.

Director: Joe Dante
Stars: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan
Next »
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.

Director: Wes Craven
Stars: Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Robert Houston, Martin Speer
Next »
Hellraiser (1987)
Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld.

Director: Clive Barker
Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
Next »
Black Christmas (1974)
Horror | Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.

Director: Bob Clark
Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder
Next »
Creepshow (1982)
Comedy | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

An anthology which tells five terrifying tales based on the E.C. horror comic books of the 1950s.

Director: George A. Romero
Stars: Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau
Next »
From Beyond (1986)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.

Director: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
A. Michael Baldwin ... Mike (as Michael Baldwin)
Bill Thornbury ... Jody
Reggie Bannister ... Reggie
Kathy Lester ... Lady in Lavender
Terrie Kalbus Terrie Kalbus ... Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
Kenneth V. Jones ... Caretaker (as Ken Jones)
Susan Harper Susan Harper ... Girlfriend
Lynn Eastman-Rossi ... Sally (as Lynn Eastman)
David Arntzen David Arntzen ... Toby
Ralph Richmond Ralph Richmond ... Bartender
Bill Cone Bill Cone ... Tommy
Laura Mann Laura Mann ... Double Lavender
Mary Ellen Shaw Mary Ellen Shaw ... Fortuneteller
Myrtle Scotton Myrtle Scotton ... Maid
Angus Scrimm ... The Tall Man
See full cast »
Edit

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.

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

fellatio | hot woman | breast | c cup | feminine hair | See All (255) »

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for nudity, violence, and intense scenes | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1979 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Morningside See more »

Filming Locations:

16232 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, California, USA See more »
Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,988,469
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Breed Productions Inc. See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo (Visurama)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 1h 22 mins) In the final scene where the Tall Man says the line "Boooy" his hair is cut significantly shorter than it was previously in the film. See more »

Goofs

(at around 36 mins) When the door slams on The Tall Man's fingers, you can clearly tell that no fingers are really sticking out of the door. See more »

Quotes

The Tall Man: You think when you die, you go to heaven. You come to us!
See more »

Crazy Credits

With the exception of the title Phantasm appearing on-screen, there are no opening credits. See more »

Alternate Versions

In another deleted scene Mike and Jody go to Reggie's Ice Cream Shop were they have an ice cream fight. Mike and Jody are drunk. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Silent Night, Deadly Night V: The Toy Maker (2015) See more »

Soundtracks

Sittin' Here At Midnight
by Bill Thornbury
Thornbury Music
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is "Phantasm" based on a book?
Q: What does the title mean?
Q: I heard there is a three hours director's cut. Is that true?
See more »

User Reviews

 
A Weird and Original Cult Movie
23 December 2012 | by claudio_carvalho – See all my reviews

After the death of Tommy (Bill Cone), who was stabbed by a woman at the cemetery, Jody (Bill Thornbury) and his friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) attend the funeral at the Morningside funeral home. Jody is followed by his teenage brother Mike (Michael Baldwin), who has just lost his parents and is afraid of losing his big brother that intends to travel.

Mike snoops around the cemetery and sees the mortician known as The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) carrying Tommy's coffin alone without any help. Mike breaks in the mortuary to investigate the mystery and discovers weird dwarf creatures with yellow blood and dangerous flying spheres that protect the location. When he is chased by The Tall Man, he cuts his finger and brings it home to show Jody to convince his big brother that there is a dark secret in the mortuary. Jody, Reggie and Mike discover that The Tall Man is from outer space and is transforming dead bodies in dwarfs to work as slave in his world. Now they decide that The Tall Man must be destroyed. Will they succeed in their intent?

"Phantasm" is one of the most weird and original cult movies that I have ever seen. The surrealistic and dreamlike story entwines horror with sci-fi with many twists and bizarre characters and situations.

I saw "Phantasm" for the first time on VHS in the early 80's and I have just seen it again on DVD and surprisingly the film has not aged, only the clothing, the hair style and the special effects. But for fans like me, it is still attractive and entertaining. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Fantasma" ("Phantasm")
12 of 15 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 276 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Popular Action and Adventure Titles With Prime Video

Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed