Well folks, there you have it. The entire “Phantasm” series review.
I seriously enjoyed looking back over this under-rated series and it is that, under-rated.
When it comes to villains Tall Man is up there with the best, he’s creepy, scary, has some amazing lines and also one of the best weapons. That Sphere terrified me for a long time, I used to vision it zooming round a corner and coming straight at me. But even with all this he has the one thing that makes a great character, fantastic on screen presence. Every scene he’s in is great, kudos to Angus Scrimm for never putting in a bad performance. Same goes to the rest of the cast, especially Reggie Bannister who plays ‘Reggie’ (who else?!), another character I feel is overlooked in the genre.
One great thing the film has going for it is it’s effects, they maybe simple and not exactly over the top but it works so well in this series. That added with great direction and writing from Don Coscarelli and a fantastic score makes it all a great package. It’s a very strong franchise which is why it surprises me it’s not bigger than it is.
As a sequel to the movie series, an official Phantasm comic book was released, edited by Xmachina. It featured a script written by Stephen Romano and artwork, coloring and visual effects by Mike Broom, Noah David Henson, and Ricardo Bernardini. The first issue was available only in a limited edition of 2000 copies, all of them autographed on the cover by Don Coscarelli.
As for the future of the “Phantasm” series it remain unknown, since the last release 15 years ago in 1998 there have been many, many rumours but nothing more than that. I actually did a post last year called “Phantasm V: Will It Ever Happen?” which can be read HERE.
If you haven’t watched any of them yet then I suggest you go get all 4 films and have a movie marathon night, I highly doubt that you’ll be disappointed.
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