Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Don
Coscarelli
Starring: James Le Gros
(controversially, as I'll explain below), Reggie Bannister, Angus
Scrimm, Paula Irvine, Samantha Phillips
From: Universal
A few years ago, I watched and reviewed the OG Phantasm-of course I
had seen it before that but it had been a long while. Even via streaming
I enjoyed how the movie looked and sounded in its remastered form. As I
stated in that review, “dream logic” and that sort of jazz usually
isn't my bag as I am tried and true a logical sort of fellow... that
said, Phantasm works because its obvious low budget nature and
off-kilter style (and yeah, some bad acting performances) helps make it
an intriguing watch and this weird journey always kept your attention as
these siblings deal with all these surreal events.
The sequel is at least different and not a rehash. As many others have noted before me, this is like Aliens in that the action is pumped way up and the heroes bring it to the villains... including the usage of a flamethrower AND a specially-created quad barrel shotgun. The story at times utterly baffled me but as I've seen parts of the third one a long time ago (which is quite the story I'll tell once I review that) I know that is par for the course when it comes to the series. There's also psychic phenomena, as of course a horror film from the latter half of the 80's would have such a plot point. In addition, Reggie Bannister: Action Hero is great as he was a balding middle-aged guy at the time and in the first film his job was “ice cream man.”
Unfortunately, this was released by a major studio (Universal) and even back then there were stupid and useless “studio notes” which hampered the production. I mean, that is why this was more straightforward and not too surreal at all. The movie is watchable and at least I enjoyed the wackiness on screen but the weird magical world of the original was just not an element presented here and that did hurt. James Le Gros was fine as Mike but of course he was recast; Don Coscarelli was lucky in that he was able to have Reggie Bannister return as Universal wanted new and more experienced actors for both main roles and Bannister was a concession. At least Angus Scrimm is still a menacing figure as The Tall Man and there are other franchise hallmarks, such as the bootleg Jawas, the black Plymouth Barracuda, The Spheres and the unforgettable musical theme.
II ends up being as much of an “80's mainstream horror film” as possible for such an off-kilter franchise. It is eerie in different ways from the original, and at least it's not just a bigger budget rehash of the first Phantasm. The films after this revert to having Coscarelli having full control and doing whatever the hell he wanted, including having all the fan favorite actors reprise their roles. This was a weird detour which was a road movie, had big explosions, and unexpected moments which made me chuckle. Also, Reggie's BOOGIE DOWN trucker's hat is quite marvelous.
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