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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

Rank The Phantasm Films
 

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.

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.

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

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.

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

II
I
IV
III

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

...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...

My bad, I was multitasking and must've gotten the links mixed up, here's the correct link: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/562...tasm-5-reality

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

2
1
4
3

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

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

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

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

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

Phantasm II
 

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

how can you choose?
 

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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