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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 8, 2017 15:48:35 GMT
"You think when you die, you go to heaven. You come to us!"The two brothers Mike and Jody Pearson along with their best friend and ice cream man Reggie Bannister decides to set out to do a little personal investigation, as there have been a lot weird stuff taking place at the local mausoleum during the night, but only to discover the terrifying truth of what is really been going on in their little peaceful community. If there have already been posted or created an Phantasm topic/thread, I am sorry, but I somehow could not find anyone here by using the search function, beside maybe one, but that was about the figures Pennywise and The Tall Man, I think. Anyway, Don Coscarelli's cult-classic Phantasm is probably among one of my 5-10 most treasured horror films and considering it's 250-300,000 $ budget, compared to what horror films is spending today, the 1979 movie has hold up incredible well, specially the special effects/speheres used in this movie, that still look awesome, and no 300 billion dollar budget CGI could come close to those flying monsters, chasing it's unlucy victims in a small and tight hallway that leads to hell. The Tall man is played brilliantly by the late Angus Scrimm, who just might be one of the coolest looking but also frigthening bad guys in any horror film, and I would rather have the likes of Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees or even Freddy Krueger chasing me, any day or time, than to stand face to face with the wrath of The Tall Man and his army of slaves. I know that a lot fans seem to favorize the later sequel from 1988, but as much as I like some of the sequels, none of them really come close to the creepy feel/vibe of the first one. And a lot of it has to do with the music/sound effects. The stuff used in the second one, sounds just so god damn random, like it was taken out from any other horror film made in the late 80s/early 90s, while the 1979 film has this "doomsday" nightmarish feel going, and it sets off already before the film has begun and you get this unwelcome and eerie sound greeting you, knowing well that you're in for something very special. Another thing I did not like was the introduction of a female second lead where Paula Irvine plays Mikes suddenly "love of life" romantic interest, and I felt she offers very little, and it all seemed very rushed, like someone else did push forward his or hers idea of what is a sellable product to the big masses. But what made the Phantasm series so special within the horror genre to begin with, was that it had several male leading characters, instead of the typical and tough scream queen in the slasher genre. Even though in the later ones we were introduced to some short romances that of Reggie, still it was always about the friendship and special bond between Mike, Reggie and Jody. Now suddenly we have a blond chick who wants to run the show and one that would seem like some big time Hollywood producer thought was a good idea to put in the script, so they could cash in on other 80s horror series such as Hellraiser and Nightmare on Elm Streets film, that featured these similar looking leading babes. But one the positive side, the updated version of the main theme, kicks serious ass and the chainssaw fight between Reggie and one the Tall Man's slaves, was very cool to watch. When it came to the third film, I felt the series had to stop, the whole extreme Home Alone part with that annoying little brat, was just too much for me and I went in thinking the fourth one would be another big letdown, instead I kind of liked it, almost more than the second film. I have not, however seen the last from 2016, but I feel I have to do something about that very soon.
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Post by alpha128 on May 8, 2017 23:27:05 GMT
I have not, however seen the last from 2016, but I feel I have to do something about that very soon. I loved the first two, thought the third one was decent, but was disappointed by the fourth. I have not seen the fifth film either.
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Post by lostinlimbo on May 11, 2017 11:36:46 GMT
Excellent indie horror. Loved the whole uncanny dream logic to its storytelling. Making it atmospheric and really unpredictable. The performances are naturally good. It's one of those films that manages to be creepy even during the daytime sequences, thanks namely to that chilling score and Scrimm's presence.
I found "Ravager" to be a shadow of the previous films. Serviceable, yet not essential. Somewhat of a cross between 3 & 4.
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hairbox
New Member
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Post by hairbox on May 11, 2017 23:02:12 GMT
Phantasm is one of my favorites. 70s horror was a great era, and this movie, albeit at the end of the decade, has an intense 70s vibe. While this movie barely makes sense, it's got a LOT of heart, and that's why I love it. It's the little scenes in between that make this movie. My favorite scene is where Reggie and Jody play their song.
I was fortunate enough to meet a few of the cast and crew at conventions, including Don Coscarelli, Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, and David Hartman. All very cool people, who are very appreciative of the "phans". I wish I could've met Angus Scrimm, but he did wheel past me in his wheelchair. I stood within 5 feet of The Tall Man once!
I'll agree that the sequels aren't as good, and they went for a more adventure-y vibe, whereas I prefer the surreal, creepy mood of the original. With that said, the sequels are still a lot of fun.
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Post by fangirl1975 on May 12, 2017 17:52:04 GMT
It's the most surreal horror movie I've seen next to John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 13, 2017 9:23:19 GMT
6/10 Pretty good.
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Post by The Social Introvert on May 15, 2017 7:51:31 GMT
BOOOOOOOOOOOY!
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Post by profondorosso on May 15, 2017 17:21:42 GMT
When I watched "Phantasm" for the first time, I was disappointed. I expected it to be something different. It took me some time to realize how awesome this movie actually is. And I fell in love with the main theme.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 15, 2017 17:35:13 GMT
Thanks, profondorosso for posting that incredible spooky/haunting, but very beautiful piece of music. I used to prefer the theme from the sequel, but there is something about the original that it just cannot beat. I went in buying the Anchor Bay 2007 DVD version, and I was maybe not "blown" away, but I knew I enjoyed the vibe/tone of the film, and it was very unique, considering I thought it was gonna be just another slasher film. But the sound I thought was at times very poor, so I had to get a hold of the UK region 2 cut, which came with subtitles, as I usually enjoy watching a film with subtitles, as so many films sadly gets drowned with high noises/sounds, and for me, Phantasm deserved a second go/chance, and this time I felt I were ready. And it sure did delivers.
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Post by wmcclain on May 20, 2017 0:52:15 GMT
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Post by MrFurious on Jul 17, 2017 18:49:36 GMT
Just recorded it off the Horror channel at the weekend. Looking forward to watching it in October
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jul 18, 2017 13:40:15 GMT
After browsing through some random titles on Amazon.com I stumbled upon a new Blu-ray release of all the films, titled Phantasm 1-5 - Limited Edition Blu-ray Collection and was relased in April by Arrow. Looks like a great complete set of the franchise.
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efb
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Post by efb on Jul 19, 2017 18:41:34 GMT
Love the film, like the sequel even more, 3 and 4 are pretty good, and need to see the 5th.
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