Amazon.com: Jody is the kind of guy that every 1970s teen looked up to. He's in his early 20s, has a cool car, splendid '70s hair, leather jacket, plays guitar and (naturally) snags all the girls. His little brother, Mike, in particular, admires him and emulates him at every turn. Things start to go astray, however, when the two brothers and their friend Reggie attend a funeral for a friend. Mike notices a tall man working at the funeral home; in the course of his snooping, he sees the tall man put a loaded coffin into the back of a hearse as easily as if it was a shoebox. Jody doesn't believe his little brother's stories, though, until he brings home the tall man's severed finger, still wriggling in what appears to be French's mustard. From there, the film picks up a terrific momentum that doesn't let up until the sequel-ripe twist ending.
Phantasm was one of the first horror movies to break the unspoken rule that victims were supposed to scream, fall down, and cower until they were killed. Instead, Mike and Jody are resourceful and smart, aggressively pursuing the evil inside the funeral home with a shotgun and Colt pistol. Furthermore, the script has a great deal of character development, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. The film even has a surprisingly glossy look, despite its low-budget origins, and little outright gore (except for the infamous steel spheres that drill into victims' heads). This drive-in favorite was a big success at the time of its release, and spawned three sequels. Little wonder; it includes an inventive story, likable characters, a runaway pace, and, of course, evil dwarves cloaked in Army blankets. The end result is one of the better horror films of the late 1970s. Hot-rod fans take note: Jody drives a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, the pinnacle of 1960s muscle cars, rounding out his status as a Cool Guy. --Jerry Renshaw
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - BOYYYYYY!!!!!.......is this a cool movie!
Phantasm is a late '70s supernatural fantasy horror movie that does a great job of combining atmosphere, creepy nightmares, flying sphere-violence, location, characters, events and scares into one great, big bundle of nightmarish joy.
As an artist with a love of all things odd, unusual, beautiful, surreal, spooky and fun, this movie delivers all that and a bag of evil chips from another dimension.
Let me describe the highlights and joys of this movie:
The creepy, old cemetery setting.
The mystical, surreal hallways under the morgue.
The flying spheres with daggers ... Read More
Rating: - 5-Star Independent Classic Horror. See it, it's good for ya.
Don Coscarelli's intensely dreamlike "Phantasm" is a very original and startling horror film from the late 70's. A lot of horror classics were produced in the 70's, but this one in particular stands out because it is the only one that does not hearken back in some way to earlier established archetypes. All the details are more or less original, so you are not looking at a retread of the conventional Frankenstein/Dracula/Zombie stories. The main baddie is an exceptionally tall undertaker from another planet, for starters. His dwarf slaves are essentially zombies (reanimated dead people he has crushed ... Read More
Rating: - Peew!
I saw this movie when I was 15 or 16 in 1979 and it scared me to pieces. It scared me so bad that I made the guy who took me to this movie stay on the phone with me all night after he dropped me off at home. I woke to the sound of his snoring on the other end. I couldn't look at, let alone buy, a full length mirror for years. But seeing it again in 2008...wow, what a bad film! Maybe I've gotten jaded by today's horror films because the effects in this one are horrible.It's good for the nostalgia and camp: a movie to watch with your friends, drink a few beers, while each and every one of you proclaim ... Read More
Rating: - Difference between horror and horrible?
Is this movie.
It's not often I give a horror movie 4 stars,but this one has a likability and freshness that makes it watchable.
Unlike other horror films(i.e. Jeepers Creepers)this one is genuinely not stupid or cliche.
For what it is,I have no major dislikes.
Rating: - this movie rocks
I like so much the atmosphere of this movie. It is not a movie for everybody because it is movie weird movie. But if you are open, you will enjoy this movie I tell you!!
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