Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Favorite Movies of All Time: Phantasm (1979)

Dir. : Don Coscarelli
Starring: Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm

This is one of those movies that you have seen the cover of a million times but have never had any urge to actually grab it off the shelf. Not until my later years have I started actually picking up these familiar titles whose covers are ingrained in my head from the video stores of my youth.

My favorite genre of these lost video store memories is of course the horror genre. I don't know how many times over the years I've passed by movies like "Scanners," "Them!," "Night of the Creeps," and "Sleepaway Camp," only to find out now that all these movies are all absolutely glorious cult classic genre flicks. My favorite lost gem of them all though has got to be Don Coscarelli's astoundingly bizzare and creepy "Phantasm."

When Micheal's family dies, he finds out that his family...and all others taken to the local mortuary might not actually be being buried...rather their bodies are being used for other deeds...With the help of his older brother and the friendly local Ice Cream Man, Reggie, the three pair up to get to the bottom of what is just about the most bizarre plot you could imagine. Instead of being laid to rest Michael's family and all others taken to the mortuary are being compressed into Jawa-like hooded creatures by the mysterious "Tall Man," who then uses our dead as eternal slaves on his home world.

The most iconic image you may have seen before from this movie is "the ball," a human seeking metallic sphere deployed by the tall man that hunts down human prey, extends spikes and if it catches you, brutally drills into your brain and spews your grey matter out the other side. Sound awesome? Yes it is.

My favorite part about "Phantasm" is that much like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" one of its strongest suits is its excellent and artistic cinematography and soundtrack. While "TCM" lended itself to gritty art house like cinema, "Phantasm" exudes with abstract, disorienting sequences ala Dario Argento and all of Italian horror cinema. It's refreshing that Coscarelli put such work into this, it makes the film stand out amongst others of the genre at the time.

Although the plot may sound completely ridiculous, this is a movie I can watch over and over and still be completely sucked in and not be turned off by its absurdity. Its characters are great and completely memorable (i'll dare say The Thin Man and Reggie are two of the best horror characters ever) and while some of it is laughable, it delivers some seriously unsettling and jump worth sequences. See also the 3 sequels...which get worse as they go along but are still by all means watchable and enjoyable.