Phantasm (1979)
Directed By: Don Coscarelli
Where to get it: Anchor Bay
The Prologue
As I’ve stated with very few films before, only a small group of movies are what I’d really consider to be scary. And this usually goes back to when I was a kid and I’d come across a movie or two that literally freaked me out. The Phantasm series was something that freaked me out. The series started with the original Phantasm in 1979. Now obviously I wasn’t even born yet, so I never seen it til I rented it many years later, but it is one of those movies I’d call actually horrifying. And as weird as the first movie is, I think it also packs what it needs to freak someone out.
The Movie
Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, is afraid to lose his brother. This fear causes him to follow his brother to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lift a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate and discovers a horrible world where the Tall Man, along with his flying spheres, shrink the to half their normal size and reanimate them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.
One thing you might notice about this film is the fact that it seems the acting at times is a little off. As much as I do like the film and think it’s scary, I can’t help but notice at times people just come across flat or off in the delivery. It’s almost as if they learned to act as the making of the film went along. Things are on the upward swing as the film does reach it’s ending, but most might notice that even The Tall Man doesn’t seem to be in the rhythm of his usual gimmick very early on in the movie. Still the film is so odd and creepy it makes you look over that fact and holds you in.
The film came out in 1979, so we still have that 70s vibe going. This means that the film does seem a lot like an acid trip on screen at times. Terrible things happen only for the film to renege on it moments later by having someone wake up. It confuses the viewer, but it’s just so unique and different that you want to see to it’s end, regardless of how odd and confusing things might get. It doesn’t pack the most gore of an Phantasm film, but the iconic spear does make a small appearance but a memorable and bloody one.
The movie packs an ending that seems to be a love it or hate it type deal. I grew up during a time when the sequels were out already, so I can imagine how people felt originally when it was still a long ways off before they got a sequel, leaving them with just what the film gives them at the end. And oddly enough, it’s in the movie’s last few scenes that The Tall Man seems to finally get on the path he is still known for today. The closing moments also are foreshadowing of our dear Reggie being more than just some hippie-ish ice cream man. The movie doesn’t always make sense, it isn’t always well acted, but perhaps it still holds up extremely well when compared to the others to come on pure eeriness alone.
The Conclusion
I know this movie may be a bit confusing in some areas to some people, but I still really dig Phantasm. I will be watching all of the movies in the next few days and while some may be a little more current with the gore and such, it’s always hard to top the original. So if you check out Phantasm, and you should, start with the original.
The Rating (7.5/10)
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