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IMDbPro

Phantasm

  • 19791979
  • RR
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
38K
YOUR RATING
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
Trailer 3
Play trailer2:00
3 Videos
72 Photos
HorrorSci-Fi
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
38K
YOUR RATING
    • Don Coscarelli
    • Don Coscarelli
  • Stars
    • A. Michael Baldwin
    • Bill Thornbury
    • Reggie Bannister
    • Don Coscarelli
    • Don Coscarelli
  • Stars
    • A. Michael Baldwin
    • Bill Thornbury
    • Reggie Bannister
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 370User reviews
    • 238Critic reviews
    • 72Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos3

    Phantasm
    Trailer 2:00
    Watch Phantasm
    Phantasm: Remastered
    Trailer 1:53
    Watch Phantasm: Remastered
    Phantasm
    Trailer 1:44
    Watch Phantasm

    Photos72

    A. Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Susan Harper in Phantasm (1979)
    A. Michael Baldwin in Phantasm (1979)
    Kathy Lester in Phantasm (1979)
    Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
    Phantasm (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    A. Michael Baldwin
    A. Michael Baldwin
    • Mike
    • (as Michael Baldwin)
    Bill Thornbury
    Bill Thornbury
    • Jody
    Reggie Bannister
    Reggie Bannister
    • Reggie
    Kathy Lester
    Kathy Lester
    • Lady in Lavender
    Terrie Kalbus
    • Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
    Kenneth V. Jones
    Kenneth V. Jones
    • Caretaker
    • (as Ken Jones)
    Susan Harper
    • Girlfriend
    Lynn Eastman-Rossi
    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
    Angus Scrimm
    • The Tall Man
    Dac Coscarelli
    • Funeral Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Kate Coscarelli
    • Funeral Guest
    • (uncredited)
      • Don Coscarelli
      • Don Coscarelli
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Don Coscarelli rented all of the filming equipment used to make this movie, always on Fridays so he could use it all weekend and return it on Mondays, all the while only actually having to pay one day's rental on the equipment.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      The Tall Man: Boooy!

    • Crazy credits
      The remastered version begins with the Bad Robot logo appearing in one of the Tall Man's spheres.
    • Alternate versions
      New Line/Image Collector's Edition laserdisc features a separate section with one deleted scene (struck from a what appears to be a work print as there is no music and sound is limited to dialogue only). The scene has Mike telling big brother Jody about weird goings-on he has witnessed at the cemetery. Jody then gets Mike drunk and takes him to Reggie's ice cream parlor, where they start a food fight. Then it cuts to a scene the next day where Jody stops by the bank where he works and visits his girlfriend.
    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: Boulevard Nights, Phantasm, Last Embrace, Voices, Get Mean, The Great Bank Hoax (1979)
    • Soundtracks
      Sittin' Here At Midnight
      by Bill Thornbury

      Thornbury Music

    User reviews370

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    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.
    helpful•43
    22
    • jaywolfenstien
    • Sep 15, 2004

    FAQ17

    • What does the title mean?
    • Is "Phantasm" based on a book?
    • Where can I get a copy of Kate Coscarelli's novel?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 28, 1979 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Dunsmuir House & Gardens - 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • New Breed Productions Inc.
      • Bad Robot
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 29 minutes
      • Mono

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