Phantasm (1979)

Director: Don Coscarelli

Starring: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister

A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.

‘Phantasm’ is about…uhm, well, it’s about…

The film starts with a guy being killed by a woman in a cemetery after having sex with her, but then her face is replaced by The Tall Man (who turns out to be a mysterious character). This opening scene was confusing. Did the guy actually have sex with The Tall Man and imagined it to be a sultry woman?!!

Yup, and this was only just the beginning of how this film makes any sense… or not! The film then continues with a young boy, Mike, noticing someone (The Tall Man) stealing coffins. The rest pretty much plays like a fantasy or dream world – a nightmare! But little here makes sense. And this was my biggest issue with ‘Phantasm’: the narration. The film doesn’t give us a clear indication what The Tall Man’s motive is. (As it turns out, he steals corpses and turns them into dwarves sounding like animals, for world domination). This is what I read, but it makes even less sense. Why turn them into dwarves? Who is the Tall Man and where does he come from? No information is given on this character, making him an antagonist for the sake of being an antagonist, and not a very interesting character.

A. Michael Baldwin stars as Mike, and was only 15 at the time. He carries the film, together with his mature friend, Jody (Bill Thornbury). Being pursued by The Tall Man when Mike breaks into the funeral parlor, Mike slams The Tall Man’s hand in the door, and then cuts off his fingers. He takes a finger as evidence to show Jody, and soon thereafter the finger turns into a bug!! Weird. Very, very weird movie…

There are a few nicely done action sequences, and atmospheric scenes, but alas, not nearly enough to keep me interested. It honestly is so vague what this movie is trying to convey.

‘Phantasm’ grossed nearly $12 million on a $300,00 budget. It also spawned several sequels – none of which were as successful.

Would I watch it again? No.