Review of Phantasm (Box set)

Introduction

Before I get into an essay about my own opinions of the `Phantasm` phenomenon, I`d like to quickly lay down a no-nonsense appraisal of this set for existing `Phans`.

Anchor Bay has managed to pull together one of the best and most thoroughly complete box sets that I`ve ever encountered. Not only do you get all four `Phantasm` movies (in great shape too), you get more features per square inch than any set
since the `LOTR` extended sets combined. This is a major improvement on the budget three-discer that has been doing the rounds. Each of the movies has been re-mastered by Director Don Coscarelli himself, and they contain previously cut or censored moments absent in many earlier editions.

The features are relevant, informative and essential for the obsessive fan - and for under thirty quid (for the digi-pack with 3D card) or circa £35 RRP for the `Phantasm Sphere` version, no fan of these movies would want to be without them.

The box contains five discs (all feature rich with the fifth disc containing a feature length documentary and more extras) as well as an informative booklet.

Good. That`s said. So now for the rest of you…the unsure, the uninitiated or the merely curious. What should you expect? Well, the unexpected is a good starting point. Evil dwarves in black cloaks, missing corpses, a flying silver sphere that drills into the forehead of its victims, the enigmatic, terrifying shape-shifting `Tall Man`, a severed finger that turns into a vicious flying insect, and …well, lots more besides.

`Phantasm` (and its sequels) may straddle the `horror / sci-fi` genres, though it`s not necessarily an easy fit. There`s a hint of David Lynch, or even Luis Bunuel in the air too.

It first appeared at the tail end of the seventies, when horror was moving away from (wonderful) Hammer ham, and nudging its nasty way towards the slasher genre, leaving much of its dark, other worldliness behind.

As a completely independent movie, it`s a wonder that `Phantasm` got made at all. Based on strands of Director Don Coscarelli`s dreams, the 23 year old raised the necessary finances (a pittance by Hollywood standards) and started work on the movie in 1977. Like so many independent movies it was a combination of make-do and sheer invention that got the movie made.

It`s almost unbelievable that the young Coscarelli wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited the movie himself.

On its release, it made a few minor ripples before sinking back into independent obscurity. But 1979 was, as fate would have it, the year that home video really took off and `Phantasm` became an early hit on the home rental market. Most `phans` of the movie would have seen it in this way for the first time, probably around 1981 in the UK.

Don Coscarelli picked his enigmatic title because its dictionary meaning is `…the delusion of a disordered mind, a phantom, a spirit, a ghost`. It`s a film full of uncertainty, where nothing is quite what it seems, and where it`s never completely clear whether the events are just the symptoms and imaginations of a disturbed mind, or whether they are a reflection of reality.

`Phantasm` starts the quadrilogy, and features an alienated teenager called Mike (played convincingly by 13 year old Michael Baldwin) trying to come to terms with the loss of his parents. He discovers some weird goings on at the local cemetery, including a `Tall Man` lifting whole coffins into his car single-handedly, and the discovery that bodies are going missing. When he wonders into a mausoleum, he also encounters the chilling steel balls that drill into the foreheads of their victims before pumping the very blood from their bodies in an efficient, almost industrial manner.

His groovy musician brother Jody, and local ice cream man Reggie, join in the investigation and it`s not long before the movie descends into an almost surreal and nightmarish battle against the unknown forces of darkness.

The repetitive but haunting score (Fred Myrow) is something more than a tribute to Oldfield`s `Tubular Bells` (a great success for `The Excorcist`), but adds to the general uneasy atmosphere and tension throughout.

Despite its deliberately confusing narrative, and low-budget production values, the film is a wonderfully engaging one …a real must-see.

But what of its sequels? Well, despite its financial success, it was ten years before a sequel was made. Reggie Bannister is back, this time in a more central role, though big bro Jody (Bill Thornbury) is absent (he died in the first movie anyway), and geeky looking Michael is replaced with a Hollywood-perfect Brad Pitt look-alike, Jamie Le Gross (pressure from the backers). The movie picks up where the other left off but soon descends into a `Deliverance` style battle. Reggie is now a gun-toting, macho vigilante and Mike a dewy eyed dreamer. There`s certainly more action in the movie, and there`s still a modicum of the mysterious magic that made `Phantasm` so good. But despite sterling efforts, it doesn`t quite get there. But there are still some great lines, like this one from `The Tall Man`: "You think that when you die you go to heaven. You come to us!`.

The movie did good box-office this time, as well as decent VHS sales, and a third film was soon in production, though peculiarly on the lowest budget yet. This saw a return of most of the original cast and picks up (literally) at the moment that the previous movie left off, making it feel more like an episodic TV series than a move sequel. Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury are back, though Reggie is still the star of the show now, taking command of the mission to destroy the alien body snatchers.

It`s in the third movie that we also get to see inside one of the spheres for the first time - revealing a throbbing brain like substance. Ugh! There are also some really gory and tasteless moments too, like a child throwing a Frisbee with razor blades around its edges, or throwing an axe squarely into the forehead of a girl. Ouch.

In 1998, Coscarelli served up `Phantasm IV: Oblivion` which avoided a fourth outing of the by now formulaic dwarf chasing and sphere dodging antics that the series had become. This was a more complex plot, with pieces cut in from the original `Phantasm`, and more exploration of the origins of `The Tall Man` too. There`s also a scene that shows a ladies breasts replaced by the killing sphere`s which may not be to everyone`s tastes, but which struck me as an inventive addition.

So, in sum: `Phantasm` brilliant. `Phantasm 2` entertaining but far from brilliant. `Phantasm 3` a low-spot. `Phantasm 4` better than 3 but not as good as 1.

But that`s just my humble opinion.

Video

All four features here have been re-mastered by Coscarelli and look better than they ever have before. It`s a sharp anamorphic wide-screen image that makes previous editions pale by comparison. However, new viewers should appreciate that the favoured stock and grading of the period means that there is a little stylised grain to the first movie of the set.


Naturally, with such a wide variety of features included, they are extremely variable, from the grainy home-movie footage of Angus Scrimm at a Fangoria event through to a very nicely presented feature length-documentary.

Audio

Plenty of options here. There`s original 2 channel stereo for the purists, or re-worked 5.1 surround and DTS mixes. The audio engineers have obviously had a lot of fun with the surround mix which is particularly lively whenever the sphere appears. (There was a time that I would have hidden behind my sofa but the rear speakers are positioned there so now there`s nowhere to hide!)

Features

Anchor-Bay have pushed the boat out with this set. It contains just about everything a fan of the movies could wish for. Here`s a brief overview…

DISC ONE: PHANTASM

There`s a very brief introduction to the movie by Angus Scrimm, sitting behind a desk. It`s a hammy delivery, but a good reminder that Coscarelli wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited the movie himself.

There`s a full audio commentary with Don Coscarrelli, Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury that is really very engaging. It`s a nice mix of anecdotal production information, as well as humorous banter from a trio who clearly had a lot of fun working on the film.

Also included are some deleted scenes, a really engaging theatrical trailer, and a very nice `Behind the Scenes` featurette that uses original 8mm film shot at the time. It`s real home movie stuff (at a time when home video cameras were not freely available) and reveals the level of creative invention used in making the movie. Fans will love this footage which includes the crew sleeping in the back of the hearse on their way to the next shot, and you`ll see the sphere literally `thrown` prior to the footage being reversed and slowed to get the flying effect! Coscarelli narrates.

There are also some text-based biogs of principal cast and crew.


DISC TWO: PHANTASM II

There`s another full audio commentary with Don Coscarrelli, Angus Scrimm amd Reggie Bannister that reveals much about this Hollywood financed sequel. It`s clear that Coscarelli still regrets the creative compromises he made to please his dictatorial backers, particularly with regard to casting.

There`s a Fangoria TV Spot of Angus Scrimm delivering a lecture in a grim looking lecture theatre, as well as US TV advertising spots, a theatrical trailer, and a photo-gallery. There are also some text-based biogs of principal cast and crew.


DISC THREE : PHANTASM III

This time there`s a Coscarelli-free audio commentary with Scrimm and Baldwin which is a lot of fun, as well as a trailer, a photo-gallery and text-based biogs.

DISC FOUR : PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION

There`s a nice audio commentary form Coscarelli, Scrimm (who really hams it up here), and Reggie Bannister, plus text-based biogs.


DISC FIVE: BONUS DISC

This has a feature- length documentary, clocking in at an 1HR 40MINS, called `Phantasmagoria`. It`s structured around talking head interviews with the original (Phantasm) cast and crew. It`s a nicely produced piece with stylish graphics, and healthy extracts, outtakes, production photos and memorabilia included. It covers the whole series of movies.

Next up is `Reggie`s Tour`, (aka `Phantasmagorical Mystery Tour`) where Reggie Banister re-visits some of the locations used for the movies. (Dur: 15 Mins).

`Phantasm Genesis` is a 20-minute piece talking to cast and crew about specific scenes with accompanying behind-the-scenes footage.

`The Gory Days` is a 21 minute look at some of the `gore` effects used, most specifically the sphere, and features prosthetics expert Greg Nicotero talking about their approach to certain effects. Fascinating stuff.

Finally, there`s an affectionate portrait of a couple of die hard `phans` (in a featurette called `Phandom`) who, not only are ardent collectors of memorabilia, but who have also been able to help out on some of the sequels. True to Coscarelli`s homegrown attitude to movie making, he has embraced these willing participants and set them to work, making real contributions to the finished pieces. There`s also some other `fan` stuff including conventions and appearances of the cast, particularly Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man, as well as nice Q & A with Coscarelli himself.

Apparently the discs also house some cool Easter Eggs which answer some of the many questions raised by the series.

Conclusion

Whether you like `Phantasm` and its three sequels or not, you can`t help but admire the wonderful job that Anchor Bay has made on this set. It`s a veritable feast for `phans` of the series, with four wonderfully re-mastered transfers, and enough features to keep you entertained throughout the entire winter period.

For the record, I loved `Phantasm`, a brilliant, surreal and unpredictable movie that poses far more questions than it answers.

Its genre-defying mix of sci-fi, horror, and surrealism is a potent formula that really worked for the first installment. But, for my money, the subsequent sequels never matched this initial brilliance, though they are thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.

`I`ve been waiting for you…` is not only a famous quote from the Tall Man, it must surely be the words of every self-respecting `Phan` of the movies on hearing of this set. Phan-bloody-tastic!