Phantasm
This was the first horror movie I rented from the video store and it’s still an awesome movie. It’s a difficult movie to pigeon hole as it has elements of fantasy, science fiction and of course horror and on the whole it’s just plain bizarre! It was never classed as a video nasty but it did belong to that classic genre of early horrors that all of us kids wanted to see. How could you resist habit shrouded dwarves, over-sized killer house flies, a creepy mortuary, a scary as hell Tall Man and a cranium drilling telepathically operated silver sphere? Oh, and don’t forget, possibly the coolest car ever to be seen in a movie, a 1971 Plymouth Hemicuda (although, if I’m not mistaken it was a modified Barracuda, but I could be wrong!)
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| The Original tagline was much cooler:- "If This one Doesn't Scare You Then You're Already Dead" |
Plot line: Erm, plotline? Well, there was a plot line but it’s a little on the oddball side which makes Phantasm such a trip but here goes. Jody Pearson and his brother Mike live in the small town of Morningside and are mourning the recent death of their parents. Jody and his friend Reggie attend the funeral of one of their pals who has recently died too, believing he was killed in a car accident. Younger brother Mike spies on the proceedings from the trees surrounding the mortuary and witnesses a strange Tall Man carry his brother’s friend’s coffin back to a hearse and to the funeral parlour.
Later Mike visits an old fortune teller who asks him to place his hand in a black box that mysteriously appears on the table. When the box clamps around Mike’s hand and refuses to let go the old lady tells him (via her granddaughter as she is mute) not to be afraid and that fear is a killer. The box releases from Mike’s hand after he relaxes.
Mike decides to investigate the mausoleum at night (of course) where he is chased by a floating silver sphere complete with razor sharp spikes and an inbuilt drill bit. In the movies’ most celebrated scene the local mortuary care taker is dispatched in bloody fashion by taking the black & decker straight to the head. After being chased by the Tall Man and some bizarre hooded dwarves Mike escapes to explain to his Brother Jody about the strange goings-on up at Morningside.
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| Coolest Movie Car Ever? |
Mike awakes the next day in his home with Reggie who tells him he has been dreaming and is traumatised after the death of his brother Jody in a car accident. Reggie tells Mike to pack his gear as they are going on a road trip and Mike runs to his room. There the Tall Man appears and a dwarf smashes through the wardrobe mirror to pull Mike inside.
So there you have the plot line! Did you get it? Well, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that Phantasm is a classic horror movie and one that found fame simply because of the time it was released. Had it been ten years later the film may well have fell by the wayside but being at the forefront of the video nasty era it became an instant playground hit. It is low budget and most of that money must have been spent on the special effects for the silver sphere (what I wouldn’t give for a real one of those) and that classic muscle car, the Plymouth Hemicuda. Full marks have to go to the film’s music composers too for coming up with a top score which almost seems too good for a low budget horror!
It’s not a video nasty but the head drilling scene is graphic and bloody although the X certificate was actually given as the care-taker pees himself as he lies twitching and dying. Good on the censors from saving us from the horrors of taking a leak in one’s own pants.
There are no hidden metaphors in this film, it’s pure entertainment and although a bit wacky, it’s a classic.
Splatter score
Gore 4/10
Shocks 4/10 (6/10 for ‘Boyyyyy’)
Overall 6/10
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