The Good

A very fan friendly release that highlights what a special film Phantasm is.

The Bad

I just wish there was more "Behind The Scenes" stuff because everything about this DVD is so good.

Phantasm sets the stage for the ultimate battle of good and evil when Michael Pearson (Michael Baldwin) and his brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) discover that not everything is as it seems at their local mortuary. It turns out that they have stumbled upon a grave robber known as the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm in a career defining performance). It all begins when Michael watches the Tall Man put a coffin into a hearse by himself. He begins to investigate and uncovers a world of killer dwarfs and a flying ball that kills people. Realizing he is in over his head, Mike enlists the help of his brother and Reggie the Ice Cream Man (Reggie Bannister), and together the three of them go up against the Tall Man.

This might not sound very scary but from the opening strains of Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave's score, Phantasm is about as creepy as it gets. Taking place in the suburbs only adds to the immediacy of this classic horror movie. However, it never becomes creepy for creepy's sake nor does it employ any real red herrings. It simply takes elements from suburban culture and twists them up in ways you wouldn't believe.

Features

Featurettes

There are a bevy of extra looks at this film and thankfully none of them play like the EPKs we have come to see in most horror films. The following featurettes on this disc are:

- Phantasmagoria

- Phantasm : Behind The Scenes

- Phantasm : Actors Having A Ball

- Phantasm :TV Interview

I don't usually say this but if you can you should watch all this stuff. Chances are if you bought this DVD that is your intention, but let me make it plainly clear, this is fan features that are made by fans. We find out how this movie came into existence, where Director Don Coscarelli got his ideas, and how his fascination with the American way of death spawned this franchise. Should you want to hear anecdotes from the actors on specific scenes, wardrobe or other props the Phantasm: Actors Having A Ball and Phantasm: TV Interview pretty much take care of that. It isn't that these things are overly comprehensive (even though they are), and its not that they are redundant (which at times they are), these things are just well done. I never felt like I was watching something that was simply thrown together to be an extra on this Special Edition DVD.

Commentary Track

Don Coscarelli, Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm and Bill Thornbury are on hand to discuss this movie. Normally, it would seem like a walk down memory lane but with horror films being a hot commodity and genre conventions abounding, these guys seem like they have become even more well versed in Phantasm because they haven't ever stopped talking about it. Coscarelli discusses wanting to employ "payoffs" in the movie, how making an earlier movie with some scares in it was what inspired him to make a horror film like Phantasm, and how easy it is to pull off building a graveyard. He leads this commentary as all the actors seem content on offering information when they can, but I got the feeling that if they had their own separate tracks they could probably each fill one up. This was highly informative to me but truth be told I didn't know a lot about this film in the first place. Some of my favorite moments were when Coscarelli and the others alluded to the bigger themes being presented, and then compared Phantasm against some of today's horror movies.

Deleted Scenes

Angus Scrimm Convention Appearance

Angus Scrimm seems to have a great sense himself and the Tall Man. He stands in front of the crowd making jokes, delivering Tall Man lines, all the while knowing that the audience is going to love it. However, he is so kind and gracious towards these people who have chosen to spend a few minutes of their time with him. While this video footage seems like it's about the fall apart, it plays really nicely as a timepiece and as a way for fans who weren't at this convention to connect with other fans.

Video

Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1). Enhanced for 16x9 TVs. I was astonished by how great Anchor Bay made this movie look. I had only originally seen this film on VHS and that was many years ago. Still, I can't imagine Phantasm looking any better than it does here. The colors all seem to have been brightened and this film just played really well. There isn't a lot of unnecessary cutting and while the effects might not that amazing, I don't know that they need to be. This film is moody in all the right ways and because of that it creates a lot more horror than people probably think it can.

Audio

Dolby Digital. DTS 5.1. Dolby Digital 5.1. Dolby Surround 2.0. As I mentioned, Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave's score is probably 70% of why this movie is scary. I mentioned about how the effects don't look that great, but the score to this movie gives it an almost gothic feel. In fact, incorporate the Tall Man into that and you get an almost Vincent Price feeling the minute you see him. Add to this the noises that he makes and the other ambient sounds and Phantasm plays as the kind of film that could play very well as background music at a Halloween party.

Package

Thankfully, they haven't changed the original cover artwork that was employed for the Phantasm VHS release (heck, it might have even been used theatrically). As I have stated, Anchor Bay really has a sense of what to give the fans and I don't know any horror buffs that wouldn't appreciate this. The back cover features three shots from the movie, a description of what Phantasm is about, a Features list, a cast list and some technical specs. I could lament that maybe they should have done more with this packaging, but I think the embossed, vinyl, cardboard cover they have put over it is enough.

Final Word

I have seen this movie 3 times now. The first time I saw Phantasm was when I was very young and my friend recommended it to me. He thought the movie was horrible and he was basically trying to play a joke. Well, I watched the film once and I didn't like it. I figured maybe I missed something so I watched it again. I still didn't like it. I was about 10 then and my love for horror movies and all things from the past hadn't yet fermented. 23 years later I put on this movie and I remembered nothing yet it was like being visited by a long lost friend. I found this film to be both chilling and inspired.

I didn't realize at such a young age just what Phantasm was doing. It is a suburban frightmare. It takes our expectations of the genre and it completely turns them inside out. This film also subverts the genre expectations of a horror medium. I never felt like I was watching a typical horror film, yet at the same time I was always scared.

Even when I was 10 and didn't get this film at all.

Phantasm was released March 28, 1979.