Director Don Coscarelli’s horror vision spans two decades, with Phantasm in 1979, Phantasm II in 1988, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead in 1994 and Phantasm IV: Oblivion in 1998. It’s quite an achievement of persistence and determination, regardless of what you may say about the quality of the final product.

For one, the series has a very curious time-capsule quality, in which we see the various details of the years each film was shot it. We also see how the main characters/actors age, more or less gracefully. But who are they? There’s Mike (played by A Michael Baldwin in all but the second film, where James LeGros steps in), a young teen whose parents were recently killed and is being raised by his brother Jody (Bill Thornbury). Helping Mike through the years and on the road is former icecream vendor and muscle-car driver Reggie (Reggie Bannister), with his iconic four-barrel shot-gun and balding ponytail.

It is mainly Mike and Reggie who trawl a desolate, intimidating and dying inland USA in search of the eerie and superbly-executed figure of evil, the Tall Man. Angus Scrimm brings us the walking dead with a sterile unearthliness reminiscent of Max Schreck in Nosferatu, and that’s quite an achievement. The Tall Man is an undertaker who tours small towns and drains them of life, finding an ingenious use for the bodies (and minds) of the formerly deceased.

It is pointless to review the films individually, much like it would be pointless to watch just one, then stop. As a whole, Phantasm works, and works well. It’s got the rough, low-budget schlock so endearing (it came at the tail end of the 1970s) yet so lacking in many newer films. There’s a definite evil and the good guys’ pursuit of it, plus lots of gore (the flying spheres are infamous and really sneak up on you!) and suspense.

I also liked the humorous jibes, either incidental—like the cremated ash tagged as Sam Raimi—or enduring—Reggie’s horns are always cut in the most imaginative way. It’s interesting that given the vast time-span the productions cover, continuity is largely credible. There is also a lot of beautiful gothic photography and you realise how timeless mortuaries can seem, with their tall, marbled silent solitude.

It’s all a bit trippy, with dimension-crossing and shape-warping, so I advise you not to take it too seriously. I had never heard or seen much of the films, so they were a very welcome revelation. I am sure to fanboys and girls, there is nothing new in what I write. For everyone else who has ever flirted with the horror genre, this is a must! You will most likely love or possibly hate it, but it’s hard to stay indifferent about Phantasm. There’s also a nice pay-off at the end—something to do with the wind and related to the box young Mike sticks his trembling hand into in the first film. I am quite excited to hear rumours of a possible fifth instalment, featuring the characters in some capacity.

It’s a bit of a downer that the discs have virtually no special features. A commentary from the filmmaker or actors would have been very interesting. The audiovisual transfer is not the cleanest around either. Even so, entertainment aplenty. 

Felix Staica