Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, is afraid to lose his brother. This fear causes him to follow his brother to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lift a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate and discovers a horrible world where the Tall Man, along with his flying spheres, shrink the to half their normal size and reanimate them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.

Phantasm (1979)
  • Rating: (11,864 votes)
  • Taglines:If you're looking for horror that's got balls...IT'S FOUND YOU. » This ball wants to play with you...for keeps! »
  • Runtime:88 minutes
  • Director: Don Coscarelli
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Mike (as Michael Baldwin)
    A. Michael Baldwin
    Jody
    Bill Thornbury
    Reggie
    Reggie Bannister
    Lady in Lavender
    Kathy Lester
    Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
    Terrie Kalbus
    Caretaker (as Ken Jones)
    Kenneth V. Jones
    Girlfriend
    Susan Harper
    Sally (as Lynn Eastman)
    Lynn Eastman-Rossi
    Toby
    David Arntzen
    Bartender
    Ralph Richmond
  • Genres:Horror, Sci-Fi
  • Producers:
    Dac Coscarelli
    producer (as D.A. Coscarelli) 
    Paul Pepperman
    co-producer  
  • Plots: Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, is afraid to lose his brother. This fear causes him to follow his brother to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lift a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate and discovers a horrible world where the Tall Man, along with his flying spheres, shrink the to half their normal size and reanimate them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man. Written by Chris Nickerson <cnicker@bgnet.bgsu.edu>
Phantasm
  • User's comment:Another Horror Classic, And With Good Reason by gavin6942

    A teenage boy (Michael Baldwin) stumbles upon a plot by a very tall mortuary worker (Angus Scrimm) to steal dead bodies and turn them into midget slaves for an alien world. With the help of his brother (Bill Thornberry), the boy hopes to cut the tall man down to size.

    Many years later, Don Coscarelli is now seen as a master of horror and Angus Scrimm somewhat of a horror icon (though to a lesser degree than, say, Robert Englund). While the plot I have outlined above may sound silly, the actual execution of this idea makes it clear why this film has really lodged itself in horror history and spawned numerous sequels (all starring Scrimm).

    This film captures the feeling of the late 1970s and early 1980s horror with the young boy stumbling upon a plot of large, sinister proportions. Horror geared towards the youth of a generation who have parents who may not believe them (or in this case, an older brother). I really like this theme, much like "The Goonies", "The Monster Squad" and "Lost Boys" -- a kid's film without being childish.

    "Phantasm" has become known for the silver balls, and believe me -- when Angus Scrimm puts one of his balls in your face, you won't be happy about it. A bloody mess is all you will get! I really enjoyed the effect of this (remember, this is 1979 when effects still took some creativity).

    Now, some things I did not understand. For example, why are the midgets bleeding macaroni and cheese instead of blood? And more importantly, why does the tall man have to transform into a woman to stab people in the cemetery? If he is super strong and has those silver balls, he really does not have to be very sneaky about the whole ordeal, does he?

    Some of the acting is cheesy -- people deliver their lines in a way that sounds forced, and Jody (the older brother) looks like he belongs behind the wheel of the General Lee. And Michael spends half the film looking like a girl. (I have met the entire cast, and I can assure you that Baldwin grew out of this phase.)

    But, seriously, check this film out. Roughly in the same time period as "Halloween", you are left with a similar feeling. Only this one is more light-hearted and "feel good" and less "the embodiment of evil". I suppose it depends on your personal taste or your mood for the day. Myself, I like a little bit of the unusual thrown in to a movie just to keep me guessing.


  • Quotes: Reggie: Okay. I see it, I see it all now. What we gotta do is we gotta snag that tall dude and stomp the shit out of him, and we'll find out what the hell is going on up there. Yeah! We lay that sucker out flat and drive a stake right through his Goddamn heart! Mike: You gotta be shittin' me, man! That mother's STRONG! Jody: Now, remember: you don't aim a gun at a man unless you intend to shoot him. And, you don't shoot a man unless you intend to kill him. No warning shots. Hey, you listening to me? No warning shots. Warning shots are bullshit. You shoot to kill, or you don't shoot at all.
  • Also known as: Fantasma (Mexico), Fantasma (Portugal - imdb display title), Phantasm (France), Phantasm (Italy - video box title), Φαντάσματα από άλλη Διάσταση (Greece), Das Böse (West Germany), Don Coscarelli's Phantasm (Australia - video title), Fantasmata apo alli diastasi (Greece - DVD title), Fantasmi (Italy), Fantazma (Hungary - imdb display title), Manyak (Turkey - Turkish title), Mordercze kuleczki (Poland - imdb display title), Phantasm - skräck i natten (Finland - Swedish title), Phantasm - yön kauhut (Finland), Phantasm I (Australia - cable TV title), Phantasma (Spain), The Never Dead (Australia), To fantasma (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title),

What do you think of this movie? Leave a comment.