Things are just not right at the cemetery. Jody and Mike attend the funeral of their friend, only for Jody’s compulsively spying little brother, Mike, to spot the undertaker lifting the 500 lb coffin with ease. Soon, hooded dwarves are coming after Mike and a living amputated finger persuades Jody that there is evil that they will have to face, evil in the form of The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm).
Phantasm is some strange hybrid of horror, old-school science fiction, and afternoon special, wrapped up in a stoner’s dream. How entertaining you find it will have more to do with how many friends you watch it with and your state of mind. I suggest high.
It starts as a horror film, but then the low budget or low talent kicks in and we drop into drama mode with the most unlikely brothers you are likely to encounter. Jody apparently learned to speak by watching a combination of ‘50s biker pictures and ‘60s hippy flicks. He likes to enunciate and over-emote. He also likes to drink beers, talk about leaving town, and instantly pick up girls at bars. He stops to play guitar on his porch with his pony-tailed, ice cream delivery truck-driving friend because… I have no idea why. They found they had extra film perhaps? Mike spends his time following Jody—really following. He runs after him down the street, which is a bit odd for a teenager. He is also friends with a psychic who has the fear/pain box from Dune, and after telling Mike that fear is the mind killer, she ceases being relevant to the film and is never seen again.
When Phantasm settles on a protagonist, it is Mike, who breaks into the cemetery ushering in the second horror section of the movie. But it is horror movie weird, not horror movie scary. Stuff happens. Some of it is amusing. Some of it would be gory if it looked anything close to real—instead it is more like a Monty Python sketch. None of it makes a great deal of sense. Yes, we get answers to the big horror/sci-fi questions, but that doesn’t help to decipher why people do what they do.
Even die hard fans admit it all falls apart at the end. Mike and Jody’s plan, and how it comes to fruition, is unlikely to put it politely. The “twist” that follows makes most of the movie irrelevant.
If I sound harsh, well, we’re in so bad it is good territory, so many of the flaws are also virtues. The iconic flying killer orbs are pretty cool if you’ve had enough beer, and The Tall Man is an enjoyable villain if looked at either through the haze of time or a haze of pot smoke. Even sober, the Goblin-inspired music is excellent, setting a tone the film can’t live up to.
Some have tried to claim the film is either a parody or an homage to ‘60s and ‘70s drive-in horror. Seeing it as a parody is reading in far too much, but it certainly borrowed liberally from earlier films.
Looking for scares or art or good filmmaking? Look elsewhere. Looking for a good party film? You’ve found it.