Phantoms (1998)

In the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado something evil has wiped out the community. And now, its up to a group of people to stop it, or at least get out of Snowfield alive.

Director:

Joe Chappelle

Writers:

Dean R. Koontz (novel) (as Dean Koontz), Dean R. Koontz (screenplay) (as Dean Koontz)

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	Dr. Timothy Flyte
Rose McGowan	...	Lisa Pailey
Joanna Going	...	Jennifer Pailey, M.D.
Liev Schreiber	...	Deputy Stuart 'Stu' Wargle
Ben Affleck	...	Sheriff Bryce Hammond
Nicky Katt	...	Deputy Steve Shanning
Clifton Powell	...	Gen. Leland Copperfield
Rick Otto	...	Scientist Lockland
Valerie Chow	...	Scientist Yamaguchi (as Rachel Shane)
Adam Nelson	...	Scientist Burke
John Hammil	...	Scientist Talbot
John Scott Clough	...	Scientist Shane
Michael DeLorenzo	...	Soldier Velazquez
William Hahn	...	Scientist Borman
Robert Himber	...	Scientist Walker

Storyline

People have vanished in a small ski resort village nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Two sisters suspect it to be the work of a serial killer on the loose in town but there is no blood near the dead bodies, no sign of struggle n how can a single serial killer kill all the residents. The sisters come across a sheriff who is a former FBI agent. The agent calls up for back up. The agents' associates gets hold of an academic who theorizes the town has fallen victim to the Ancient Enemy, which periodically wipes out civilizations including that of the Mayans and the Roanoke Island colonists.

---

Plot Keywords:

creature feature | oil | quarantine | sewer | blood splatter | 

---

Taglines:

Fear Underground

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

An adaptation of the novel was originally set to be made in the late 1980s or early 1990s by New World Pictures and Allied Vision Entertainment, but was shelved after New World filed for bankruptcy.

---

Goofs

When Flyte turns off the power in the "tank" so that they won't be overheard through the electronics, there is still one computer screen on and functioning.

---

Quotes

Sheriff Bryce Hammond: If we keep our heads straight, we'll get out of here - I promise you.
Jenny: How can you be so sure?
[Hammond shows her a candy wrapper fortune that reads "Luck is on your side"]

---

Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

---

Soundtracks

Don't Count Me Out
Performed and Written by K. Perry
Courtesy of Zomba Music Services
Published by Jim Long Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Not the awful movie everybody says

First of all a consideration: you are in a town besieged by an unknown entity, you are not a cop, but a girl. You hear a noise in a room that should be absolutely empty. Do you turn around slowly and slowly go to look what made that noise? HELL NO! You run away screaming like hell, find a fire weapon and annihilate anything you see. Said this, let's talk about movie.

The concept is really cute and the casting is good, but the characters are "thrown" in the story with no background and this can be a fault... The scaring parts are really predictable: music slowly increasing, than stops like "hm everything's alright" then "BAAAW!" someone or something pops out. I could turn the volume down every time there was a scary noise part in time :-)

The ending is also a bit poor and with the classic "I'll be back!" style.

However, not less than 6/10

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dean Koontz's Phantoms

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,065,951, 25 January 1998

Gross USA:

$5,624,282

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,624,282

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Dimension Films, Fuji Creative (FCC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1