Rank The Phantasm Films

[ravencraft]

Are there any other Phantasmopliles out there?:D

[Red1332]

*raises hand* I own all of 'em.

[Yellow Jacket]

I think you'll find a ton of Phantasmophiles here. And yes, I'm one of them.

[crabapple]

I love Phantasm, the whole world of Phantasm, it is one of my favorite things in horror. I am always trying to spread the news about the coolness of Phantasm.

Down the street from me in Alhambra, CA, is Fosselman's Ice Cream, where the Phantasm production filmed a scene. You can see the inside of the ice cream parlor in the deleted scenes footage. The damn place is still there and looks ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME, and no one working there has any idea about this.

[DP McCoy]

How can anybody not love Reggie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvZQKoC3vc&feature=related

[Marya Zaleska]

Oh yes!

I love the Phantasm movies.

Trying to collect them all!


http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff213/buckybeau/CharleysGrandmotherEnjoysPosingF-8.jpg

All I can say is that Tall Man better not fool with me! I'll hit him with my purse! Lol!

Countess Marya

[Elvis_Christ]

I'm a huge fan of this series.... its so completley fuckin' cool. I've got the Tall Man action figure that came out a year or so back.

[Femme Fatale]

Phantasm is a classic horror series. How does it get any better than the Tall Man? BOY!

[VampiricClown]

Indeed.
I am also one.

[Angelakillsluts]

I LOVE phantasm, tall man is the scariest character ever.

[Geddy]

I love Phantasm! I've only seen the first one but I loved it and hope to get the sequels soon.

[Charley Brewster]

I'm a huge fan of this series.... its so completley fuckin' cool. I've got the Tall Man action figure that came out a year or so back.

an action figure of Tall man??!! who makes it? I love the McFarlane horror figures.

[stenchofdeath]

I love the Phantasm movies, i haven't seen the 4th one, i'm pretty sure that there are 4. Somewhere along the way the last dvd didn't show up here. There is a really cool set you can get, that is basically the sphere. I meant to chase the last movie but got sidetracked. The Tall man is easily the best villain ever in my books.

[paws the great]

I love the Phantasm movies, i haven't seen the 4th one, i'm pretty sure that there are 4..

1. Phantasm (1979)

2. Phantasm 2 (1988) - My favorite!

3. Phantasm: Lord of the Dead (1994)

4. Phantasm: Oblivion (1998)

[Keith Stryton III]

I'm really getting into my horrors at the moment. This one I watched by way of a recommendation from Clive. The 'Tall Man' is a suitably eerie villan, and I like the bald guy Reggie, who has kind eyes. It doesn't really make sense, but that's OK because life doesn't always make a lot of sense. Think about that. It doesn't, does it? Somedays I have a relative grip on things, other days, well, it's like nothing I do can change or alter circumstance. It's frustrating, particularly if you're like me and you have everything you want to do in 24 hours carefully mapped out in your head. Anyway, back to the film and yes I did like this one, but there was a scene in the film that shook me up far more than any other. Do you remember the bit when Mike sees the Tall Man in the old photographs, and the Tall Man turns his head to growl at Mike? That frightened me. It made me dig up some of my own old photographs, I don't know why. Maybe Clive had set this up all along, but there I go again looking too deeply into things. So there I was by lamp light, thumbing restlessly through my old albums. I came upon one of dear old papa, dressed in a sombre suit and cravat, his upper lip decorated with a fine handlebar moustache. Those were the days, I thought, wistfully: The days of batten burg cakes and fine ales and pipes and gentleman talk of golf and cigars around blazing wood fires. My father spoke to me through his picture, then, and we spoke of those good old days, and of that awful tragedy when the mines collapsed, trapping dear old papa in the dark and the dust and the poisoned earth. Only yesterday did Clive tell me about the murder of many teenagers in the area by the collapsed mine. The killer wore a gas mask and had crawled and slithered out of the ruins of the mine and then, to my horror, I knew it was papa. As I looked up at his picture, I saw the photo had changed. Now papa wore a gas mask. I ran, panicked, to the bathroom, and lifted the sheet and stared hard into the mirror. I had a gas mask on now. And in my hand a hatchet. It was time.

[Dream Warrior]

F-U-C-K-I-N-G hell, Your either incredibly stupid or incredibly smart. :confused:

[La Chat Noire]

You're a fantastic writer.

[Painfulldeath]

Another Epic post. Bravo! :)

[freddy69]

phantasm is the best horror flick:D

[Elvis_Christ]

Its definatley one of them thats for sure. Phantasm is great stuff.

[Phalanx]

Haven't seen it yet...although downloaded it recently just to see what it was all about.

[urgeok2]

dont you guys call it : "the Ne-vah Deed" ? :)

[Elvis_Christ]

dont you guys call it : "the Ne-vah Deed" ? :)

That's all John Holmes' fault! The producers didn't want it confused with Fantasm.

[urgeok2]

how does one confuse a spiked metal sphere hitting you in the forhead with a big fleshy dick hitting you in the mouth ? :)

[Angra]

phantasm is the best horror flick:D


You need to watch more horror movies, dude.

[Doc Faustus]

He makes a good argument. I believe that was from Harold Bloom's book of Phantasm criticism.

[freddy69]

geez guys , what is a good horror flick name some u like.:o

[Angra]

geez guys , what is a good horror flick name some u like.:o


We already have. Several times.

[Papillon Noir]

I could never get into the Phantasm movies, and I like weird movies. I don't understand the appeal.

[Elvis_Christ]

I could never get into the Phantasm movies, and I like weird movies. I don't understand the appeal.

Drills going into heads, a totally killer villain, great naturally acted well written characters that are really likable, an original story that was well executed for its small budget (a true testament of the greatness that can be done with DIY independent horror films), I could go on and on....

I can see why people don't enjoy it (its quite confusing in parts but like Urge (I think it was him?) mentioned its a case of style over substance.

Phantasm II was the first film of the series I saw and it totally blew me away... perhaps that's a better one for people to start with.

[The_Return]

Phantasm II was the first film of the series I saw and it totally blew me away... perhaps that's a better one for people to start with.

Anyone know if there are any plans yet to release that one in R1?

[urgeok2]

You need to watch more horror movies, dude.

why ? he's right ..

phantasm IS the best horror flick.

[Angra]

why ? he's right ..

phantasm IS the best horror flick.



You CAN'T be serious, Urge! :confused:

I know you have a weird taste in movies, but that's just sick. ;)

I'm not saying Phantasm is a bad movie, but there's nothing in it to make it into ANY horror fan's top 3 list.



********SPOILER ALLERT***************************************


First of all, it's neither scary or funny to make it work well.

Second, the main evil in Phantasm is a tall man... Uuuuhhhh, that's scary. It's not that he's creepy looking really, he's just old and tall. And his repeated 1 word line "boiiiii" (boy) is just plain goofy. Sounds like a crackhead from the ghetto or a hillbilly.

Third, many of the scenes are ridiculous. Like, how many times do we get to see poor Michael running scared? A lot.

The many scenes where jody tells Michael to wait or to go some place else. Everytime they end up together within a few minutes.

The scene where Michael is being locked in his room by jody. Notice how the door is being opened from the inside after he removes the screwdriver. Stupid. You can't help but to feel that the director in many occasions is using every trick in the book to make the movie last longer than the story alows.

The scene where Michael is locked in the car with the tall man driving it is also retarded. Michael finds a gun in the car and what does he do. No, he doesn't start by blowing the tall mans head off. Instead he shoots a hole in the window to jump out of and then he uses a bullet on one of the tires so the car crashes. Brilliant..


The 3 things that works for this movie is, like Elvis said, the decent acting, the story and most of all the music score. The music really helps building up the atmosphere and creates a tension again and again that really isn't there.


*********************** END OF SPOILER**************************






Angra has spoken.

[hacelikewhoa]

I own Phantasm but I would never put it in even a top ten favorite horror movie list. The idea of it is cool but most of it is just weird. It's a decent movie but I don't see how one could call it THE BEST.

[Phalanx]

Ok, so I've now seen 1-3.
All d/l'd not purchased...hadda at least check 'em out right?
Interesting films so far...they do "eerie" and headfuck you quite well.
I haven't seen 4 yet but I will be having a look at it soon.
Memorable villain,I like him - similar to pinhead and kruegar, but a whole thing of his own.
I love shit like this.
Think I'm actually out to buy the sphere boxset.

[DeVuL]

phantasm is the best horror flick:D

I was just telling my boyfriend how much I want to see Phantasm again... I can't find it anywhere, and if I do.. its usually the 2nd or 3rd one.... blah

[zwoti]

I know you can get the Phantasm films in a collection pack, but are there any 'Special Editions' that I should know about before I decide to go for the obvious choice?

http://www.anchorbay.co.uk/phantasm/images/PhantasmSphereClosed.jpg

[Phalanx]

I hear if you stab someone in the face with that, the drill really goes in...:confused:

[Elvis_Christ]

Haha I bet there's a bunch of people who tried that and broke their set :)

[Phalanx]

"Just throw it, it'll look like the movie!"

[daninsky]

Phantasm is one of my absolute favourites. It's a great movie!
I watched the first and the second one again the other day and the second one is really great aswell. I am going to watch the third and fourth tomorrow.
I have the "Ball box" from Anchor Bay and also the first one on a separate DVD and the three first on a VHS box and the first and second one on Laserdisc and the first and second one on seperate VHS. Great movies!

[Phalanx]

Here's something I thought I'd throw out there...

*You guys think Phantasm 5
a: Will happen as rumoured?
b: Will be any better'n 4? (Only one I didn't like)

Also, I was wondering...the second through fourth installments used footage that MUST have been taken shortly after the time of the first, eg, the kid was still young at the time.
Does anyone know how this came about? Were the sequels originally planned a lot sooner? Was it cut scenes (kinda like the one at the beginning of #2 COULD have been) or just "let's shoot this" stock footage that never got used?
I just find it hard to imagine anyone having the foresight to do this.

[stenchofdeath]

The Phantasm movies are great for their time. Best horror of all time, no a great story though. The tall man is scary, he looks scary and sounds scary. How many people his age do you see that would scare you like that?. I mean what the hell is he really? a spirit, an alien, does anyone here know?, because i don't. I think that is the appeal of the movies, so many questions and hypotheticals that you ask yourself after seeing it.

[daninsky]

People who get upset about the story are people who want everything to be perfectly understandable. They don't want to think on their own.
The whole story (even though it has some unlogical things in it) is great. Mysterious and fascinating. Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man is perfect, what a great character! I watched the third movie yesterday and it's really, really good. Not as good as the first one but I think it might be as good as the second one!
One of the reason I like ot so much is because A. Michael Baldwin is back playing Mike and Bill Thornbury is back playing Jody! I really didn't like James LeGros playing Mike in the second movie.

[Plaguewind]

Well, I do love the Phantasm series... Though I must say I didn't like the fourth movie THAT much.

Just one curious thing... Is it just my bad memory (after all, I haven't watched the movies in... Well... Ages) or is it really only in the fourth movie that Michael starts to wonder why the hell the tall man does all the things he does?

[Jigsaw Killer]

Hello all, I've had an account here for a while but for some reason forgot to post until I looked through my e-mails and saw I had a membership here, so I decided to drop by. Any fans of Phantasm here? It's my favorite Horror series and one that never gets the recognition it truly deserves. Rank all four movies of this series in your order of preference.

My ranking:


Phantasm II
Phantasm
Phantasm IV: Oblivion
Phantasm III: Lord Of The Dead


I love them all very much though, a very rare series where every entry is really good.

[crabapple]

Mine:
Phantasm
Phantasm II
Phantasm 3 + 4 = TIE

I thought 3 was way too goofy but had some cool stuff. I thought 4 had a good tone but it felt rushed and slapped together.

[Jigsaw Killer]

The fifth one might finally be made this year, hope it happens. There's been articles floating around online about it.

[Elvis_Christ]

1. Phantasm II
2. Phantasm
3. Phantasm III
4. Phantasm IV

Waited ages to see the fourth film but it was pretty disappointing definitely agree with the sentiments of it being rushed and slapped together.

There's been talk of the fifth film for awhile now but I think it's dead in the water.

Really great series of films. The second film is one of the seminal flicks that made me delve into horror in a big way.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Actually, there was news just very recently on a fifth movie happening, right here: http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61233

[_____V_____]

II
I
IV
III

...in that order. I thought III was a letdown.

[cheebacheeba]

...You just posted a link to this thread...

I only saw all of these about 3-4 years ago.
Very strange movies. Cool musical score and they were quite atmospheric, very dream like (no pun intended).
Honestly some of the weirdest horror films I'd ever seen, though always with a pretty interesting storyline and "villain".
Was #4 the time travelling type one where you saw the tall mans past?
Yeah I didn't much go in for that.
I think they were all pretty decent though.

It's too bad if there isn't/won't be a fifth...the old guys clock has to be ticking away...

[Jigsaw Killer]

My bad, I was multitasking and must've gotten the links mixed up, here's the correct link: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/56209/exclusive-phantasm-5-reality

You're correct about 4, that was the one. I quite like that entry, even though it is definitely strange.

[Fearonsarms]

2
1
4
3

Agree it was a great series of films hope a fifth one does get picked up by someone.

[horrorwarehouse.com]

The original Phantasm will always be a favorite of mine. When the Tall Man is chasing after Michael spooks me out everytime.

[Jigsaw Killer]

2
1
4
3

Agree it was a great series of films hope a fifth one does get picked up by someone.


there's been talks recently about it, I think :)

[Fearonsarms]

Are these definite or rumours? I don't want to get my hopes up but that would be amazing if it's true.

[Jigsaw Killer]

nothing seems overly concrete from what I read last time but it seems Coscarelli and co. definitely want to try to get it made.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Does anyone else agree this movie is the best of the Phantasm series? It's my personal favorite Horror series and while I love all four of them, I think 2 is easily the best. It's just like how Aliens compares with the first Alien movie, it's a wild and inventive action ride in the same universe of the original movie. I've seen this movie countless times and it's always manages to be incredibly entertaining and rewatchable. It's probably my favorite Horror movie ever and I've seen tons of them. It never gets old for me and you can tell that with the bigger budget he was given, Don Coscarelli was able to take his creation to new heights and explore it in ways he couldn't in the original due to the small budget he had. I can't wait for the Blu-ray coming out next month, it sounds like a true dream come true.

Who else agrees it's the best of the series? As I said before, I adore all four movies and with all due respect to the original which is a classic and a staple of 70s Horror, I always felt Phantasm II was the crowning achievement of not only the series, but also Don Coscarelli's career.

[Straker]

Phantasm I is the best of the series for me, easily. Second movie is great fun and its easy to see it had the budget that the other movies lacked, but if I'm being totally honest, Coscarelli seems like he's at his best when he has less of a budget to swing around. He gets more creative and and the story often shines through more. Phantasm II is awesome and great fun and definatley the easiest of the 4 to watch, but for me the first will always be the best movie, followed by both the second and fourth... and the 3rd, well, that is in a league of its own.

[Fearonsarms]

Does anyone else agree this movie is the best of the Phantasm series? It's my personal favorite Horror series and while I love all four of them, I think 2 is easily the best. It's just like how Aliens compares with the first Alien movie, it's a wild and inventive action ride in the same universe of the original movie. I've seen this movie countless times and it's always manages to be incredibly entertaining and rewatchable. It's probably my favorite Horror movie ever and I've seen tons of them. It never gets old for me and you can tell that with the bigger budget he was given, Don Coscarelli was able to take his creation to new heights and explore it in ways he couldn't in the original due to the small budget he had. I can't wait for the Blu-ray coming out next month, it sounds like a true dream come true.

Who else agrees it's the best of the series? As I said before, I adore all four movies and with all due respect to the original which is a classic and a staple of 70s Horror, I always felt Phantasm II was the crowning achievement of not only the series, but also Don Coscarelli's career.

I agree although I actually prefer Alien to Aliens for Phantasm I prefer Phantasm 2 to the first film for the same reasons as you say. I was a lot more shocked and entertained by what happened in Phantasm 2, it really piled up all the horrors in such a way as to be breathtaking and astonishingly dark.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Phantasm I is the best of the series for me, easily. Second movie is great fun and its easy to see it had the budget that the other movies lacked, but if I'm being totally honest, Coscarelli seems like he's at his best when he has less of a budget to swing around. He gets more creative and and the story often shines through more. Phantasm II is awesome and great fun and definatley the easiest of the 4 to watch, but for me the first will always be the best movie, followed by both the second and fourth... and the 3rd, well, that is in a league of its own.


I actually like 3 a lot although I agree it's the weakest. For me it's issues were too much comedy and being a little too much like the second movie, and also Mike being underused. There's no bad movie in the series at all to me, I think all four are great in their own way.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Just a reminder that on March 26th Phantasm II is hitting Blu-ray, can't wait :cool:

[Jigsaw Killer]

Picked up the new Blu-ray and checked out all of the features sans the commentary, great disc.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Giving this a small bump if that's okay, hope to see other fans here.

[Anthropophagus]

I`m a fan,i think my avatar indicates this quite conclusively.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Definitely makes it clear :cool: How do you rank them in order?

[AmIDreaming]

Definitely makes it clear :cool: How do you rank them in order?

I know your question was not directed at me but can you really choose a favorite its like choosing a favorite child you just don't do it you love them all equally.

[Jigsaw Killer]

I know what you mean, I feel the whole series is great. I still wish a fifth would get made, the series deserves a proper finale.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Phantasm II is turning 25 tomorrow, anybody else going to try to watch?

[Anthropophagus]

Ok you asked and i shall deliver my verdict.

Quite a simple vote for me.

Phantasm. The reason being that it was different to anything else at that time,revolutionary and groundbreaking in vision and style.

Phantasm 2. A worthy sequel with more emphasis on action and more in depth storyline but not as good as the first.

Phantasm 4
Phantasm 3. Both very similar but 4 just edges it because this time we go back in time to see the Tall Man before he became the man we all love now.

[LastNightOnEarth]

Phantasm & Phantasm II. The others not so much. Don Coscarelli is a great guy btw, very friendly, met him at Fangoria Radio awhile back. Would love to see him re-visit this franchise and re-introduce it to a new generation of horror fans. Most kids are unfamiliar with The Phantasm movies and think they would really enjoy it. Especially if Mike and Reggie are back on the road in the '71 Cuda!

[Jigsaw Killer]

Nice to see the love for the series here. I just wish we'd finally get a fifth already.

[Jigsaw Killer]

I'll be marathoning the series today, anyone else doing it this Halloween or plan to?

[Sicknero]

I watched part 1 yesterday ... must admit I spent a lot of the film wondering what on earth it was all about, but it was pretty good fun. I'll be watching the rest when I get around to it.

[Jigsaw Killer]

the sequels are definitely worth your while if you liked the first.

[TastingIntellect]

Phantasm 3
Phantasm
Phantasm 2
Phantasm 4

That would be my order. I grew up on the 3rd one. I didn't watch the others until later in life. So I'm biased but I love the cheese in it.

[urgeok2]

after all these years, Phantasm is still my favourite film.

I've med Don 3 times now - got to ride to the airport in a limo with him (and the Buseys!!) the second time we met .. he's a genuinely nice guy.


I also got to meet and shoot Angus Scrimm doing set photography in LA

[Jigsaw Killer]

He seems very nice and every interview and commentary track he does is usually very entertaining.

[Anthropophagus]

I also got to meet and shoot Angus Scrimm doing set photography in LA



You shot the Tall Man.You are truly a doomed man.::stick out tongue::

[urgeok2]

so far so good ...

[simonleezombie]

Phantasm may have inspired me more than anything. I'll rank 'em in the order I saw them.

Phantasm II: Always will be my favorite. Saw it when I was 10, way too young for it, and it scared me so much I kept changing the channel. It seemed terribly evil and mean spirited but then it had these awesome heroes who could actually take care of themselves! A real shocker for a horror movie. The ending seemed mean to a 10 year old who didn't understand it was a bigger story. I thought it was just a single entry with random characters thrown in, no continuity from movie to movie.

Phantasm: When I saw this years later as a 16 year old I started grasping the great mythology behind the series, the characters were bigger than the things that happened in the second film. It was kind of an epic journey and not really a slasher film at all (which had really been my only exposure to horror at this point in my life).

Phantasm III: So glad to see Reggie bouncing around, didn't care much for this one.

Phantasm IV: I have to say this is equal to the first one for me, though not quite as good as the second. I didn't like Oblivion when I first saw it, the ending felt like another cheap cliff hanger in a film that promised to be the end.

Spoilers for Oblivion:

But upon further viewings I have come to believe Michael is dying at the end, those last good memories leaking out of the hole in his head, and Reggie's futile hunt after the Tall Man will never end. Even Michael's last memory seems to echo this, almost as if Reggie gets caught in a loop of time only to live out his unending hunt for the Tall Man again and again as his friends are taken. It's incredibly sad in this lens.

Sorry for the long post, I just never found a place to vent my Phantasm love. No one gets it!

[ozzy554]

I am a big fan of the phantasm movies and have seen them all multiple times. I can't wait for raVager.

Phantasm 2
Phantasm
Phantasm 4
Phantasm 3.

My least favorite is the third one because i'm not a big fan of the horror-comedy approach to it.

[Jigsaw Killer]

I have a feeling Ravager will be my third favorite after the first two when it's finally out.

[Jigsaw Killer]

At a recent convention, Ravager was confirmed for a 2015 release by Don Coscarelli. Can't wait, hope it turns out good.

[Jigsaw Killer]

News has been pretty quiet so far on Ravager. Hope we get a release date soon.

[vampyd1977]

phantasm 2 is my fave, i love that movie.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Mine as well. I have a feeling Ravager will be the best since 2, though I do have a lot of love for 3 and 4 as well.

[Jigsaw Killer]

S3ih-H62oIg

[anglewitch]

I rank Phantasm1 10/10

[Jigsaw Killer]

Have you seen the others?

[Jigsaw Killer]

I wonder when the release date for 5 will finally be announced? All that's known is it's coming out sometime this year for sure.

[Arseface]

Phantasm 2 - I'm on the line to whether it's better than the first movie but I find it to have better rewatchablity.

Phantasm - Despite the acting being pretty bad it makes up to it with pure originality. Particularly liked the ending.

Phantasm 3 - This is where the series started to get bad. It started off alright but when they brought the little kid into it, It lost alot of appeal for me.

Phantasm 4 - Shit.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Still no word on the fifth one's release according to those who were at the recent Texas Frightmare convention and asked Don Coscarelli about it. Hope we get some information soon.

[simonleezombie]

Still no word on the fifth one's release according to those who were at the recent Texas Frightmare convention and asked Don Coscarelli about it. Hope we get some information soon.

Can't believe I only just heard about this movie. But Coscarelli isn't directing right? He has found someone else? This is crazy. I can't believe Angus can still pull it off.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Yes, David Hartman is directing. But Coscarelli is still heavily involved.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Two great bits of news for any Phantasm Phans here:


1. None other than J.J. Abrams (who's a big phan and named Phasma in The Force Awakens after the series as a direct homage) is assisting with a 4K restoration of the first film (no word if he's also going to help do the same with the sequels, hopefully he does after the first is finished).

2. Ravager is said to finally see released sometime within the first or second quarter 2016.


2016 is looking to be the year to be a fan of the series.

[Repo'd]

Ah, Jigs, when we finally are gifted with Phantasm Five I am going to howl at the fucking moon! So many delays and false release dates, it's been torture. I know that kind of thing usually signals trouble and possibly some bad product, but it looks like most of the holdups have been caused by distribution disputes and Coscarelli's unwillingness to prostitute himself and his work to make a few extra bucks.

I need this damn sequel!

Anyway, my Phantasm rankings are..

1--Phantasm
2--Phantasm IV
3--Phantasm II
4--Phantasm III

Truth be told, I see all four as a whole piece and I'm madly in love with every installment of the franchise. The Phantasm universe isn't for all fans, but those of us who have fallen into the Tall Man's snare will always be loyal and fervent.

Bring the ball back! ::devil::

[Jigsaw Killer]

Angus Scrimm's passing still hits me hard :( I'm just glad he got to do a final film before he passed and hope it's a damn good finale.

[Lord Voldemort]

I've never seen a single one. My best mate has been trying to get a hold of the first movie but is having a bugger of a time. All the sequels are available but the Phantasm 1 is out of print, on DVD and Blue Ray. He can't even find it online to watch? From what I've heard about it I wouldn't mind giving it a go, myself.

[Anthropophagus]

Phantasm is readily available here in Blighty,not sure why you are having trouble obtaining it.

[Lord Voldemort]

I live in The States bruv. It's not available on this side of the pond. ::big grin::

[cheebacheeba]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Phantasm-DVD-2007-Anchor-Bay-Collection-Oop-/321984144677?hash=item4af7c02525:m:m-X_vBSw974uOleUxtBMEwA

[Sculpt]

I thought this was a funny short review of Phantasm 2, by Roger Ebert, from 1988. (in quotes below)

Despite my hobby-study of symbolism, the subconscious and horror, I've never seemed to enjoy much "dream surreal horror" -- the 'not making sense', without much of anything else of interest, burns me up, basically. There's certainly some I have liked, including the original Phantasm, but films like "The Beyond" just leave me shaking my head.

I haven't seen Phantasm 2, but from most reviews I've read, I doubt it will ever hit the top of my "to see" list.

1/4 stars | Roger Ebert | July 8, 1988


The silver sphere is about twice the size of a billiard ball. It has a couple of very sharp hooks built into it. It flies through the air, attaches itself to your forehead and digs in. Then a drill comes out and pierces your skull right above the bridge of the nose, while blood spurts out the other end.


The sphere is the property of the Tall Man. He is an evil mortician who lurks in the ghost town of Paragore, where all of the houses seem empty and most of the graves seem robbed. "When you die," he tells one of his luckless victims, "you don't go to heaven. You come to us."

Who is us? Or, to phrase the question more elegantly, what's going on here? After having paid close attention to "Phantasm II," I am not sure I can answer that question. "This time, I'm going to get him," Mike vows early in the film. But unless you have seen "Phantasm," a low-budget horror film released nine years ago, the reference is likely to be lost. I did see the original "Phantasm," but the details do not exactly leap into my mind with crystal clarity.

There is a sense in which Mike's history is not so important to this film -- a sense in which the plot itself is expendable. "Phantasm II" is like an extended dream in which characters appear and disappear according to no logical timetable and a wide-angle lens makes everything look distended and nightmarish.

The images are of corpses and graveyards, spurting blood and severed skulls, rotting flesh and faces filled with terror. Sitting through a film like this, which contains so little of genuine interest, I found myself meditating on such images, wondering who they would appeal to, and why.

The target audience for "Phantasm II" obviously is teenagers, especially those with abbreviated attention spans, who require a thrill a minute. No character development, logic or subtlety is necessary, just a sensation every now and again to provide the impression that something is happening on the screen.

But why would images of death and decay seem entertaining to them? For the same reason, I imagine, that the horror genre has always been attractive to adolescents. They feel immortal, immune to the processes of aging and death, and so to them these scenes of coffins and corpses represent a psychological weapon against adults. Kids will never die.

Only adults will die. Kids, of course, eventually become adults, but there is always a new generation of kids, and perhaps there we have our answer to the question of why anyone would have wanted to make a sequel to "Phantasm." Those aren't my views, entirely, but that is really funny. ::big grin::

[Kat]

I have all of them. They're in a Sphere.

[Jigsaw Killer]

After seeing Ravager, my revised ranking:


2
1
4
3
5


I didn't hate 5 but it's definitely the weakest, IMO.

[anglewitch]

After seeing Ravager, my revised ranking:



I didn't hate 5 but it's definitely the weakest, IMO.


http://www.horror.com/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif
I haven't seen it yet.
The trailer made it look so good.

[socio-zombie]

I love all of the Phantasm films. And I really enjoyed part 5! For me it's great to see all of the characters again.

[Lord Voldemort]

Ah, Jigs, when we finally are gifted with Phantasm Five I am going to howl at the fucking moon! So many delays and false release dates, it's been torture. I know that kind of thing usually signals trouble and possibly some bad product, but it looks like most of the holdups have been caused by distribution disputes and Coscarelli's unwillingness to prostitute himself and his work to make a few extra bucks.

I need this damn sequel!

Anyway, my Phantasm rankings are..

1--Phantasm
2--Phantasm IV
3--Phantasm II
4--Phantasm III

Truth be told, I see all four as a whole piece and I'm madly in love with every installment of the franchise. The Phantasm universe isn't for all fans, but those of us who have fallen into the Tall Man's snare will always be loyal and fervent.

Bring the ball back! ::devil::

Just saw the dvd for Phantasm 5, last night. And a buddy told me they re-released the first one on Blu-Ray!

[idoneus1957]

On the subject of this movie, a discussion of this movie in some magazine said that is has enough satisfying surprises for 3 horror movies and not enough logic for one.
I was posting to some forum a few years ago, and some idiot said he could not see the appeal of this movie. Well, the first half hour is pretty slow. But the payoff in this movie is when the door flies open and there's the Tall Man, big as life and twice as ugly. He growls out "Boy-y-y-y!" And Michael starts to run, and the Tall Man chases him, and that eerie music starts up again, and we are right back in the middle of a classic nightmare: being chased by the Bad Man.
If you leave the theater 5 minutes too early, you miss the twist ending.
I didn't think the sequel so much. The director seems to think that if one blood-sucking sphere is scary, then 3 are scarier. Not true. They made the same mistake in the sequels to Aliens.

[idoneus1957]

I loved it, even tho it seemed to me that the director, after some good ideas in Phantasm, spent the rest of his career trying to exploit those same ideas. It's a common mistake horror film makers make: if one flying blood-sucking steel sphere scary, then three must be three times as scary. I mean Silver Sphere. I thought it was witty when the critic, when the movie came out, said that it had the best flying blood sucking sphere so far that year.

I think I read this review in Castle of Frankenstein. The guy wrote that Phantasm has enough satisfying surprises for three horror movies, but not enough logic for one.

Here's what's the pay-off for me: When the door bursts open and there's the Tall Man, big as life and twice as ugly. He growls out "Boy-y-y-y!" and starts to chase Michael, and Michael starts to run, and that eerie music starts up again, and there we are, right back in the middle of a classic nightmare: being chased by the Bad Man.

The first half hour of the movie was slow. but the rest of the movie makes u for it.

And, of course, if you think the movie is over and leave a couple of minutes too soon, you miss the surprise ending.
What ever happened to Angus Scrimm?

[Jigsaw Killer]

What ever happened to Angus Scrimm?


He sadly passed away back in 2016.

My ranking for the series is still the same:


2
1
4
3
5


The series deserved a much better finale than 5. What a disappointment.

[BudMan]

All but II are showing on Shudder. Giving them a re-watch.....its been many years/

Just finished 1. Doesn't particularly age very well. Kudos for originality but some of the acting was sub par and overall the story was a tad weak. I'm not a big fan of remakes but I would welcome one for this.

[Elvis_Christ]

All but II are showing on Shudder. Giving them a re-watch.....its been many years/

Just finished 1. Doesn't particularly age very well. Kudos for originality but some of the acting was sub par and overall the story was a tad weak. I'm not a big fan of remakes but I would welcome one for this.

It has it's flaws but for the budget it's pretty impressive. Up there with Evil Dead in that respect. I think a remake would be tricky as Scrimm's performance and presence is too iconic... look at the reception to the Elm Street remake.

[cheebacheeba]

Jeremy Irons

[Sculpt]

Irons would make a good Tallman

[BudMan]

Ok...finished 2— story was a bit more cohesive and perhaps a bigger budget so as to add some of those practical puppet effects so commonly found in movies of the genre in the late 80s. A new Michael added to the cast a la James Le Gros. He was fine but still not overjoyed by the movie as a whole.

On the part III SOON

[cheebacheeba]

I remember #3 being more memorable to me.
4 was kind of a let down...but interesting in it's own way.

Have never seen the last one they did a few years back...largely because of the horrendous reviews, that and I'd like to see if I can get the entire collection on BluRay to kind of soften the value-hit if it's not up to scratch.

For as much as #4 and #5 have got crap - at least I know they haven't sunk to the depths of most of the Hellraiser subtitle-sequels.

Irons would make a good Tallman
and Mads Mikkelsen would make a good Krueger.
and Greg Kinnear would make a good Riddler.

[Elvis_Christ]

I was disappointed by III and IV. They did add some interesting backstory to the overall plot.

I should watch these again but I've still got shitloads of stuff I haven't watched before to get thru.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Phantasm II
Phantasm
Phantasm IV: Oblivion
Phantasm III: Lord Of The Dead
Phantasm V: Ravager


What a disappointment Ravager was. 18 years of waiting for that.

[16Bitnights]

This series bears a nostalgic feel in my heart, the soundtrack was amazing as well.
I think the first part was my fav but I enjoyed them all even the last one.


RIP tall man

[TaeKwonZombie]

first is the best of course, i dont care for the other ones really, none of them feel right to me so they are all in 2nd place

[Jigsaw Killer]

My ranking is still the same:


2
1
4
3
5


I love the series so much but it's such a shame the fifth wasn't a better finale :/ I'm glad it got made at all, but still.

[Jigsaw Killer]

Hard to believe the original will be 45 this year. Still my all-around favorite Horror saga.

[Peter A]

They were all good until that fifth movie came out and they just screwed up the franchise. And that put the final nail in the Tall Man's coffin.

It looked so cheap, and the plot was a mess. It was apparently completed from footage that was intended as a pilot for a web series that never was. But it was great how the original cast all returned, including the lady from the opening in the original film. The Tall Man appears as the Lady in Lavender, or whatever her credited name is.

Rocky has a really pointless brief came, what? So Reggie the bald ice-cream vendor turned dwarf slayer can get laid, or something?

[Peter A]

I meant to say cameo. But he jizzed all over her fanny and probably inside her, too.

I always make typos. Always! Maybe I work for this tall undertaker as well. Eh?

[Jigsaw Killer]

The fifth was definitely not the best series finale for sure.