OctoBOOOOOOY - Phantasm (1979)

Seriously, if anyone has a better overall title for this, I'm open to suggestions.

This particular entry took a bit longer than I intended it to. Phantasm is a tricky movie for me to nail down in a straight-up review format. It's a rough, messy movie in a number of ways-and if we're being perfectly honest, that's a big part of what works about it for me.

As for why, that comes down to a number of things, the biggest being that this is the kind of movie that came at the right moment in Don Coscarelli's career as a director. Yes, the story jumps around, with twists that seem to come out of nowhere and events that contradict themselves, as well as some genuinely bizarre sequences and revelations. From a seasoned professional, this would give an impression of 'What the Hell happened to this movie?' From a still up-and-coming Coscarelli, it shows the marks of a director feeling out what they can and can't do, and getting bolder with their voice and ideas. Even if it doesn’t always work, it's the kind of ambition that is admirable in a new director, doubly so when it's something like this made on a shoestring budget (even by the standards of 1979.)

The other big reason the weird, nonlinear narrative works is thanks to the movie's use of dreaming as a narrative element at several points. With a story that slides between dreams and reality, this allows for sequences that would be harder to justify in a straightforward narrative – up to and including showing the death of a character, only for the next scene to show them alive and explaining how another character we'd previously seen survive is now gone.

At the risk of a possible hot take moment, I'd be willing to
argue this movie does a better job with employing dreams
in its narrative than the Nightmare on Elm Street series did.

Some of this is done by design – Coscarelli has discussed in commentary how some of the scenes were set up either as individual ideas that interested him to play around with, or sometimes toying with things he wanted to see in horror films that he hadn't seen done before. Some of it is accidental – said commentaries also discuss how some of the holes in the story are consequences of scenes that were filmed and subsequently cut. Whichever reason, both feed into the shifting dreamlike feel of the story and the idea of a reality that can seemingly, violently shift at a moment's notice.

And that's even before getting into the actual nature of the horror in this movie – an alien mortician harvesting the dead to reanimate as a workforce toiling in an alternate dimensional Hellscape.

What? You thought the dream stuff only covered loose continuity?

Those weird elements are what makes this movie so memorable, and what makes the shuffled narrative stick. Even in just this first movie, Coscarelli introduces a number of strange creatures and concepts that will become keystones of the overall series – space gateways, hooded zombie dwarves, and the lethal silver spheres that will become one of the series' most iconic creations.

A flying silver sphere that drills into a human skull -
hitting that perfect nexus between batshit craziness
and memorable simplicity.

Incidentally, credit where it's due – for a film made on a low budget, many of its effects have aged quite well. The insect puppet, while an interesting design, is really a pretty silly creation. But others like the space gate and sentinel spheres stand the test of time.
(This is as good a moment as any to comment on/plug the recent Blu-Ray release of this series. It features the new 4k restoration of the first movie, and it’s a good showcase for the film’s effects. Despite what one would expect of a low budget low budget film in high definition, many scenes in this-most notably the famous sentinel sphere kill- actually look quite good cleaned up and in HD.)

At the center of all of this weirdness is the most iconic part of the movie (alongside the aforementioned spheres) Angus Scrimm, the mysterious villain simply called The Tall Man. Known largely for stage work at the time, this would become Scrimm's breakout role and his most remembered through the rest of his life – and for good reason. His presence is a BIG part of what makes the character so memorable. Partially this is due to his imposing size and ability to look dour, but also in how he carries himself. In the later films, as the character became more fleshed out, Scrimm's performance would be marked by a malevolence that danced between amusement and annoyance towards those who opposed him. In this first movie, the character feels strangely off at points, with bizarre gestures and some strange line reads that have gone on to gain quotable status (“The funeral is about to begin...sir.”) Given the character's alien origins, it makes Scrimm's performance in this first movie an interesting spin – he acts more like an alien wearing a human form that he then grows more accustomed to in later entries.

From the file of 'Things I've Said That Led to My
Being Legally Banned From Coaching Little League'

The other main players of the movie, meanwhile, help provide a sort of welcome grounding point amid all of this batshit insanity. A. Michael Baldwin as young protagonist Mike Pearson isn't delivering one of the all-time great child performances, but there's still an earnestness to his work that really helps you feel for the kid, in particular with regards to his connection with his older brother. As said brother, Jody, Bill Thornbury has a role that could have landed flat in different hands – Jody is written almost as an ideal of a big brother in some regards, as Coscarelli himself has noted on a few occasions. The movie makes this a major point in the dynamic between the two, as it helps add to the sense of fear by Mike of his brother leaving him.

Rounding out the trifecta is Reggie Bannister as Reggie, Jody's friend who also serves a bit as a second brother figure to Mike. Like Scrimm's performance, Reggie's in this first one is interesting lined up with what comes later, particularly given how he ascends from supporting character in this movie to lead for many of the sequels. Here, he's friendly and likable, but for most of the movie is never quite as close to Mike as Jody is, often the “third man” of the team. It's not until the final scenes that he starts to form into the character he would later become – a flawed, but ultimately loyal protector to Mike.

Potentially awkward nerd admission -
In terms of fictional inspirations for the kind of parent
they'd like to be, Reggie at the end of this movie was always
kind of a reference point for me.

In a way, it's the balance between these two major elements that's one of the big reasons Phantasm still holds up for me. You have an otherworldly old undertaker who bleeds yellow blood and has an army of zombie dwarves and killer spheres, and this strange fever dream narrative weaving around them where things are often not what they first appear as. But amid this storm of weirdness is a surprisingly earnest human element in our three heroes and the friendship that ultimately draws them into this mystery.

It's also in the middle of these two elements that the movie has endeared itself to many of its viewers, who have found all manner of interpretations within the surreal narrative to themes of grief and loss, many of which Coscarelli has admitted to not quite intending, but being impressed with all the same. It's an aspect that has allowed it to endure even outside of its overall franchise status for its ability to connect with some of its audience on that particular emotional level and engage them in the process.

Again, it's the kind of film that really could only be done right by a director still finding their footing and willing to take a chance on some of the strange places it goes. As Coscarelli got more stable footing, the latter films were never quite as openly bizarre as the first jaunt, and that's probably for the best. To be able to pull off a movie this strange, but with a heart at the center of it, is a tricky project to get right one time – even more so on a low budget – to expect to repeat it multiple times would be, at best, some painful optimism.

"...A little help here?"

It would be another nine years before Coscarelli got the chance to revisit this setting and its characters – and its fairly famous cliffhanger ending - with Phantasm II. As the highest budgeted entry into the series, it marked a big shift in the overall tone, and while I'm glad for that tone in some ways – which I'll get into next time – it does also make me further appreciate the particularly unique beast this movie turned into. As the first in what would be a thirty-seven year, low budget, labor of love for everybody involved, it still stands out on its own, both in the franchise, and in the horror genre.