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Phantasm | 
| Director: Don Coscarelli
Actors: David Arntzen, Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Cone, Lynn Eastman
Studio: Anchor Bay
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 17.97
Buy New: CDN$ 11.27
You Save: CDN$ 6.70 (37%)
New (16) Used (3) from CDN$ 11.27
Rating:  131 reviews
Sales Rank: 1235
Format: Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: ANBD15081D
UPC: 013131508192
EAN: 0013131508192
ASIN: B000MV8ABS
Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1979
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
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From Amazon.com
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.p IPhantasm/I 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. I--Jerry Renshaw/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 126 more reviews...
 low budget, but unique entertaining horror classic (3.5/5) February 27, 2008
falcon (canada)
after watching phantasm,i can say there is no other movie quite like br /it in the horror or any other genre.i really enjoyed it.it wasn't scary br /per Se but it did have some suspense.the acting was good and i actually br /cared about the characters,which is rare in many movies."the tall br /man"was(and still is)a very unique and creative character.Angus Scrimm br /plays the tall man and makes him very menacing,yet also humorous at br /times,as evidenced by some of his one liners.it's refreshing to see an br /actor really get into his/her character and enjoy themselves.this is by br /no means an academy award calibre movie,but it doesn't aspire to be.the br /director knew what he wanted,and didn't try to make it more than it br /is.this is what makes this movie successful and enjoyable.and of course br /there a few quasi-gory scenes for those that enjoy that sort of br /thing.all in all a fun movie which stands the test of time.so sit back br /and enjoy 3.5/5
 Dark dreams are made of this... May 25, 2004
Wing J. Flanagan (Orlando, Florida United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If good films are like waking dreams, then good horror films are like waking nightmares. Few can match the power of Phantasm in this regard. Masquerading as a B-shocker, it gradually develops a kind psychological depth shared only by the best in the genre - films like The Exorcist and Silence of the Lambs.pTo begin with, the story is frankly outrageous: after the death of a close friend, two brothers (Mike and Jody, played by Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury) discover some strange things about the Morningside Funeral Home where their friend - and their parents, who died two years earlier - are interred. It seems the dour funeral director (a character known only as The Tall Man, indelibly rendered by Angus Scrimm) is not quite human. He's able to lift fully occupied coffins by himself, as the younger Mike secretly observes; he bleeds yellow blood; he has a strange reaction to cold; and he is aided by small silver spheres that roam the halls of the mausoleum, doing unspeakably gruesome things to intruders. It seems his main activity, though, involves a novel use of the corpses of the dearly departed - a use we learn in the striking left-turn the film takes in the third act. pSomehow, what could have been a very silly film takes on an unnerving, Lynchian kind of surreality, thanks in large measure to a well-developed subtext about abandonment, isolation, despair, and guilt. These are the anxieties that drive nightmares, and - despite the frequent humor throughout - writer/director Don Coscerelli infuses the proceedings with a poignant sense of sadness and dread. Like Herzog's Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, or Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Phantasm isn't just a scary film; it has the authentic texture of a dark, disturbing dream. pAnd this, in a film where a major sequence involves a large, obviously rubber insect flown around on a fishing line! It could have been a real Ed Wood moment, but instead, we buy into it somehow. Amazing.br brIn The Tall Man, Angus Scrimm has created a classic horror film villain, in the Frankenstein's monster/Dracula/Wolfman/Mummy sense, rather in than the Freddy/Jason tradition. There is no sense of irony in his conception or performance. No camp. No winking, wisecracking, or self-aware irony. Just a powerful, implacable, evil presence. pReggie Bannister rounds out the cast as a musician/ice cream vendor (!) who assists the brothers in their quest to rid the world (or at least their town) of the evil that has descended.pThe performances (a couple of minor characters notwithstanding) are remarkably skilled, walking that fine line between believability and exaggeration virtually demanded by the genre.pThe DVD is crisp and well produced. There is a delightful introduction by The Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm, to get things rolling. There is a good deal of supplemental material to be found on the disc, and a thorough commentary track by Coscarelli, Scrimm, Baldwin, and Thornbury.pAll told, an excellent addition to any horror fan's collection.
Beware the Tall Man, Booooyyyy! April 15, 2004
Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead. Or so goes one of the taglines used in the promotions for PHANTASM, the 1979 low-budget film from auteur Don Coscarelli that has become a much-loved horror classic. By today's standards, the film doesn't quite reach the level of fright promised by that slogan. But PHANTASM is nonetheless a well-made indie flick that has always been a real crowd-pleaser due to its enigmatic, unpredictable script; the ingenious and effective low-budget special FX; excellent directing and cinematography by Coscarelli; good acting, especially from the four principals; and a very memorable, haunting score.pPHANTASM follows precocious 13-year-old Michael (Michael Baldwin), his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury), and friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) as they investigate the enigmatic goings-on at the creepy nearby funeral parlor. Just who or what is that terrifying Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) that seems to have the run of the place? What is his part in the recent disappearance of corpses at the mortuary, and what is his relationship to the elfish eidolons lurking in the graveyard shadows?pPHANTASM's script is loosely structured and rather weak in spots, but this actually heightens the unpredictability of the plot and thereby gives the film an unnerving surrealistic quality. And when combined with bizarre imagery (e.g., an airborne chromed sphere drilling into a human head); gloomy, atmospheric sets and on-location sites; and a genuinely creepy, inscrutable antagonist like the Tall Man, the movie transcends the script and evolves into a 90-minute spine-tingling nightmare-on-film.pThe excellent musical score also adds much to the nightmarish quality of PHANTASM. Composed by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave, it is stylistically reminiscent of John Carpenter's score for his groundbreaking film HALLOWEEN, released a year earlier. But unlike Carpenter's one-man synthesizer score, Myrow and Seagrave's music is performed on multiple instruments, delivering a rich, three-dimensional sound that makes PHANTASM's aural atmosphere seem much more ominous than that of HALLOWEEN.pThough it has been over 20 years since its initial release, PHANTASM has aged surprisingly well. As with its aforementioned predecessor HALLOWEEN, the gore is minimal, especially when compared to the wave of bloody horror films that splashed up on the cinematic shore in the 1980s and beyond. But the eerie, surreal ambiance of PHANTASM can still make a viewer's skin crawl, and the malignant Tall Man, with all his accursed accoutrements and paranormal paraphernalia, is still pretty damned creepy. Yes, PHANTASM has a certain ineffable 1970s drive-in quality that identifies it as a product of its era, but rather than being an annoyance, this seems to add yet another layer of otherworldliness--at least from a contemporary standpoint.pMGM's DVD release of PHANTASM offers the film in a non-anamorphic letterbox format in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The digital transfer is pretty clean, with only moderate filmic and digital artifacts sometimes apparent. Colors are bright and vivid, though darks are a bit on the muddy side. Soundtrack audio options include a new Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound remix, which sounds good, or the film's original 2.0 mono.pThe supplements on MGM's DVD release of PHANTASM are outstanding. First off, the disc comes packaged with a very nice booklet that contains a note from writer/director Don Coscarelli, as well as a myriad of interesting tidbits about the film and its stars. On the disc itself, a really cool alternate audio track offers a feature commentary with Coscarelli and the film's principal actors. Also included are outtakes, deleted scenes, trailers and TV spots, TV interviews with Coscarelli and Angus Scrimm, and much more! These extras alone are worth the very reasonable retail price, but buyers get the cool film, too!pTo recap, PHANTASM is a minor cult classic that both ardent horror fans and casual viewers alike will find genuinely enjoyable, and the loaded-with-extras DVD from MGM is nothing short of Phantastic!
Boooooy! This film is good April 7, 2004
Tony R. Tucker (Crewe, VA United States)
One of the hardest parts about writing a review of a film I love is conveying my feelings into written words. Why does the music in this movie haunt me? Why do the characters seem so real and why does the Tall Man seem so scary? He is just a tall, older man, but he is creepy to the extreme. I can't tell you why, but I know these things to be true. pPhantasm has a wildly imaginative story; one of the most original ideas for a horror film in ANY decade. Two brothers and their ice cream vending friend face down a tall, gaunt, creepy, mortician and his army of hooded dwarves (called Jawas by many because of their resemblance to the Star Wars critters, even though the Phantasm creatures were actually designed first). The Morningside Funeral Home is creepy in itself (the house they used is the same one featured in Burnt Offerings). The Tall Man's arsenal also includes the infamous Spheres which fly thru the halls of the funeral home, guarding against intruders and viciously eliminating anyone who gets in the way. What at first looks like another undead movie turns into more of a sci-fi premise when the origin of the Tall Man is partially revealed (the full origin has still only been hinted at after 4 films). pThe name Phantasm hints at the dream-like unreality that saturates the story, music, direction, and cinematography. By the end you are left not knowing exactly what was real and what was a dream as the red lettering of the credits appear.pPhantasm's synth score adds so much to the film. I cannot stress this enough. Even in scenes not actively trying to scare you, the haunting music carries you along, never letting you lose the uneasiness the movie has already built up.pThe special edition DVD is a great package with a commentary track featuring the director and 3 primary actors, PLUS Angus Scrimm (the Tall Man) is in the commentary too, even though he is not listed for some reason. Scrimm also introduces the movie in a rather hammy chat with the audience. Special features also include trailers and an extensive gallery of promotional materials from it's theatrical release. I hate to mention interactive menus because I don't see them as an actual feature, but the menus on the Special Edition DVD are fantastic. Accompanied by the great music of the film, the menus are easy to navigate and have an interesting design. Chapters are presented inside graphics of the spheres and are animated to you can see the exact scene as it plays out. The 4th Phantasm film, Phantasm: Oblivion, used a lot of deleted scenes from the original movie in it's time hopping sequences. This DVD includes even more deleted material not shown in the past-scenes of the 4th movie. They must have cut a ton of stuff from this. Most of the scenes are character scenes and give you more reason to like the characters. Well worth a look.pAmazon lists this DVD as out of print. If you don't have it, find it any way you can. Maybe it will be released again in a new form, but I can't see them improving on this great DVD.
 ehh...it's not bad but I've seen better March 26, 2004
Jose Angeles (Chazzwuzzles USA)
Giving this movie 5 stars seems too generous for me. I save 5 for all the better top notch stuff. And there are a lot of movies way better than this. The movie is suppose to be scary but ends up unintentionally humorous. The most gore you'll see is when some flying ball with a spike hits some guy in the face, that's pretty much it. So all you gorehounds can move along now if that's all you were interested in. pThe story is about a kid and his older brother with his friend that owns an ice cream parlor. They break into some funeral home and try to figure out what exactly is going on. Mysterious stuff happened like midgets come out of nowhere (they look like Jawas from Star Wars) and some tall guy (Tallman) picks up a casket with ease. The movie really revolves around the kid and his brother working together as a team to solve all the questions they have. There's an ending that doesn't make sense at all and comes out of nowhere (no, it wasn't shocking, just strange). Mild violence and a fun adventure, not bad. It's okay for a few laughs, very cheesy.
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