Phantasm, Revisited

I discuss the 1979 movie again (and for the first time since 2016) due to sad reasons: 

So, I’m reviewing this movie again (and doing a longer than usual review) to discuss Reggie Bannister. Horror fans don’t need me to explain how he portrayed an ice cream man in this film, a friend to the older brother of the lead portrayed by A. Michael Baldwin. In the sequels, this balding middle-aged man became an action hero, which is low-budget greatness.

Well, just yesterday news broke that the 79-year-old actor is in hospice care; I linked an article which provides an address for people to write him if they so desire. That article also mentioned that he’s had dementia and Parkinson’s since 2016-which I don’t remember hearing about before-so my mentioning of this right away seemed necessary.

I’ve seen the film on several occasions before and reviewed it October of ’16. Yes, it is low-budget, yes the acting can be rather “unpolished” at times and yes it is total dream logic, which I don’t always love. That said, for me this first film has always been a captivating experience due to its peculiar nature and creepy story which can be interpreted in several ways… and it has by fans. Yes, I do realize that the script changed often during filmmaking so that does explain why so much is up for interpretation and why it doesn’t always feel like a polished production. That said, “death” is an obvious theme, and that has been admitted by some of the key players.

I still can’t explain everything yet it’s all about the journey and that journey always been one I’ve enjoyed taking. It is a melancholy tale over how 13-year-old Michael doesn’t want his older brother Jody to leave town. Their parents died two years previously so of course he idolizes Jody. Those two plus Reggie made for a nice trio as all the bizarre moments happened. To the movie’s favor, it has several iconic elements: the theme song (the entire soundtrack from Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave is a banger), the flying spheres, and of course Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man. He was believable as the scary-looking, otherworldly villain. 

Since that last viewing in October 2016, some things have changed. If I were to ever revisit the 2009 Star Trek and Star Trek Beyond, they may not have aged well. J.J. Abrams is not someone I’ve always loved. However, respect to him for starting off in the world of Don Dohler, respect for his love of Phantasm leading to its 2016 restoration, and respect for the Captain Phasma name, an obvious nod. A shame that character never actually did anything but now is not the time to relitigate my opinion on those sequels. In addition, now it is hysterical that I realized the movie TOTALLY ripped off the “stick your hand in the box; you have to face your fear and not be afraid” moment from Dune. 

In 2019 I reviewed Phantasm II. I also enjoyed that movie for what it was, although it was different from the original. One day I’ll discuss Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead; a funny story will be told over how I saw parts of the movie as a teen. Hopefully it’s not soon that I’ll have to mention Bannister’s passing. Mom went into hospice in 2020 and given “five days to live” and she didn’t pass away for two months. As for Bannister, I’m sure he couldn’t have predicted at the time that his friend Don Coscarelli would write a character based on him, then cast him in the part, then he’d become a cult actor. As I’ve heard he is a very nice guy, at least Reggie Bannister is a beloved figure in the horror world that has had quite a life and many will miss him.