Phantasm dvd movie.|
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Features • PAL In Theaters : 28 March, 1979 |
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Phantasm description Jody is the kind of guy that every 1970s teen looked up to. He's in his early 20s, has a cool car, splendid '70s hair, leather jacket, plays guitar and (naturally) snags all the girls. His little brother, Mike, in particular, admires him and emulates him at every turn. Things start to go astray, however, when the two brothers and their friend Reggie attend a funeral for a friend. Mike notices a tall man working at the funeral home; in the course of his snooping, he sees the tall man put a loaded coffin into the back of a hearse as easily as if it was a shoebox. Jody doesn't believe his little brother's stories, though, until he brings home the tall man's severed finger, still wriggling in what appears to be French's mustard. From there, the film picks up a terrific momentum that doesn't let up until the sequel-ripe twist ending. Phantasm was one of the first horror movies to break the unspoken rule that victims were supposed to scream, fall down, and cower until they were killed. Instead, Mike and Jody are resourceful and smart, aggressively pursuing the evil inside the funeral home with a shotgun and Colt pistol. Furthermore, the script has a great deal of character development, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. The film even has a surprisingly glossy look, despite its low-budget origins, and little outright gore (except for the infamous steel spheres that drill into victims' heads). This drive-in favorite was a big success at the time of its release, and spawned three sequels. Little wonder; it includes an inventive story, likable characters, a runaway pace, and, of course, evil dwarves cloaked in Army blankets. The end result is one of the better horror films of the late 1970s. Hot-rod fans take note: Jody drives a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, the pinnacle of 1960s muscle cars, rounding out his status as a Cool Guy. --Jerry Renshaw |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | a horror classic |
| I think that Phantasm was a big surprise hit back in '79 for different reasons than why it has endured as a cult movie to this day.
Sure, the special effects haven't aged as well as some, but they were remarkable for a low-budget movie made only two years after Star Wars came out. At the time, Phantasm did not come across as a low budget movie at all and I think it shocked everybody. It's taken decades and many technical developments in SFX along the way to finally make this movie's technical limitations more glaringly obvious. At the time? There wasn't a 12-year old in the country who didn't think it was impressive. Phantasm was bizarre enough and had enough shock moments to scare and thrill young viewers, and the killer silver balls were such a unique cinematic experience that nobody else has even tried to emulate them in a similar horror film. But while Coscarelli was able to brilliantly evoke and convey his unique nightmare vision of the strange tall man, the mysterious silver balls, and grave-robbing interdimensional evil cloaked dwarves, what makes this film endure is what I believe is the human element. As opposed to the shallow, vapid, teen slasher flicks to follow it, Phantasm's characters are allowed to develop into involving, three dimensional people. I believe that is what gives this movie some legs, and what has allowed for relevant Phantasm sequels (ii- iv). There is a unique, profound sadness in Mike Pearson's compulsive need to follow his big brother around after the deaths of both of their parents. And in the end, there is an even deeper sadness when the audience realizes that his big brother Jody has been dead all along as well. The characters are allowed to show and feel emotional depth-- sorrow, fear, anger, frustration. They aren't cardboard props to be slashed by the villain. They're intrepid, resourceful, and you can't help but like them and relate to them... especially when they're just sittin' on the porch strummin' the guitar and singing some tunes. Phantasm's surrealness is only reinforced when it is made the backdrop of such normal human characters and behavior. Otherwise, cloaked dark dwarves and flying silver balls would seem quite random and stupid if put in the context of your typical teen slasher flick (another sorority/campfire bimbofest, anyone?). This is where most of the low-budget cookie-cutter horror films fail nowadays. |
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