Second Viewing: Phantasm (1979)

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm. And regardless of this, I was planning on watching it sometime soon. Since I first saw it, I’ve seen it two more times. It’s a movie that leaves an impact on you. You remember the images from it, you remember the odd sensations this movie makes you feel.

And I’m all in on the Phantasm theme being considered one of the best themes in any horror movie. Everyone talks about Halloween and Suspiria and Jaws. Why not this?

Phantasm may not be a perfect movie, but it’s a wonderfully unique one. It has its own dreamlike atmosphere which I might compare to Suspiria or to the works of David Lynch. I think this is probably the best David Lynch film that David Lynch never made.

But none of that is to say that this is derivative. I’m bringing these things up as comparisons because Phantasm is kind of hard to talk about. The plot is definitely hard to talk about, anyways.

This is the type of movie that feels like a nightmare, but an appealing, beautiful nightmare. Again, a bit like Suspiria, one of my favorite horror movies and movies in general. It isn’t altogether that scary, but it is consistently creepy, and definitely enticing.

For being a very cheap independent movie, I am amazed at how professional this movie looks and feels. I think that says a lot about Don Coscarelli’s ability as a director, because he cast a lot of people who weren’t really actors. Still, the performances are pretty solid. Reggie Bannister is really enjoyable as Reggie, the ice cream salesman. A. Michael Baldwin is very believable as the young protagonist Mike. And Bill Thornbury, playing his older brother, Jody, isn’t that great on his own, but I like the relationship and the chemistry between the other two characters and actors.

And not enough can be said about Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man.

He doesn’t have a ton of screen time, but he definitely makes the most of it. He just has a perfect look for the part, and even a perfect voice. We really don’t know a whole lot about him in this movie, but he seems like he’s part of a bigger story, and that makes him so compelling.

The one thing I don’t really enjoy too much about this movie is the hooded dwarf creatures. They closely resemble the Jawas from Star Wars, and they feel like they’re a part of a different kind of movie with a much different tone. They’re the only real things in this movie that’s campy. The rest of the movie is quite serious and atmospheric, and quite frankly, thought-provoking.

Rating: 7/10