Phantasm (1979)

Director:

Don Coscarelli

Writer:

Don Coscarelli (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

If you're looking for horror that's got balls...IT'S FOUND YOU.

Plot:

A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.

Plot Keywords:

Tall Man | Funeral | Ice Cream Man | Fear | Young Boy

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

A. Michael Baldwin	...	Michael 'Mike' Pearson (as Michael Baldwin)
Bill Thornbury	...	Jody Pearson
Reggie Bannister	...	Reggie
Kathy Lester	...	Lady in Lavender
Terrie Kalbus	...	Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
Kenneth V. Jones	...	Caretaker (as Ken Jones)
Susan Harper	...	Girlfriend
Lynn Eastman-Rossi	...	Sally (as Lynn Eastman)
David Arntzen	...	Toby
Ralph Richmond	...	Bartender
Bill Cone	...	Tommy
Laura Mann	...	Double Lavender
Mary Ellen Shaw	...	Fortuneteller
Myrtle Scotton	...	Maid
Angus Scrimm	...	The Tall Man

Also Known As:

The Never Dead (Australia)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (video rental version) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:(Banned) (2002) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Italy:VM14 (new rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) (VHS) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dunsmuir House & Gardens - 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, California, USA

Company:

New Breed Productions Inc.

Trivia:

The theme song is also played by the Hungarian black metal/thrash band "Tormentor", in the title track "introduction" of their album, released in August 1988.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the flying sphere hits the caretaker in the forehead, you can see wires in the front that's holding it up. Don Coscarelli says in the DVD commentary that it was a reverse shot where the ball was actually pulled away, thus revealing the wires.

Quotes:

Jody: What's out there?
Mike: I don't know. It was little, brown and low to the ground.
Jody: Ahh, it was probably just a gopher in heat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fear Itself (#4.4)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Sittin' Here At Midnight

In it's own way, a horror classic

Two orphaned boys, Mike (Michael Baldwin) and Jody (Bill Thornbury) notice some strange things happening at Morningside Mortuary. Bodies are disappearing from coffins; a lady in lavender has sex with men in the graveyard and then stabs them to death; little midgets in brown cloaks (making sounds like lions) are roaming about and there's a flying silver orb with spikes that embeds itself in people's heads! And then there's the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) overseeing it all...Soon Mike, Jody and their friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) are fighting for their lives...

The story is pretty thin (and REALLY out of whack at the end), the acting dismal, there's no characterizations or depth and some of the special effects are horrible but...this is STILL a classic horror film. It takes a while to get going (nothing much happens in the first half hour), but when it does there's scarcely a letup. Action leaps into high gear, there's some fairly graphic gore (including the now infamous flying sphere killing), there are plenty of scenes guaranteed to make you jump and the music score is very spooky...right up there with "Halloween". Also some of the special effects are impressive (considering there was no budget). Also Michael Baldwin was a VERY attractive man and there's gratuitous male and female nudity. What's even more surprising is Don Coscarelli wrote, produced, directed AND edited this at the age of 24! He's never matched it since and all the sequels really suck...but this stands alone as a classic. A must-see for all horror fans. Also Scrimm is EXCELLENT (and damn scary) as the Tall Man.

Trivia: This was awarded an X rating FOUR TIMES because of the sphere killing...Coscarelli went all the way to the head of the ratings board who overturned it and gave it an R--a rare occurrence that the ratings board kept in a gore scene!