Phantasm
Phantasm

Phantasm

1979
Movie
89 min
English

A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.

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Insights

IMDb6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes72%
Metacritic61/100
Google Users80%
Director: Don CoscarelliGenres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Plot Summary

After attending a funeral, teenager Mike experiences increasingly disturbing events, including encounters with a mysterious mortician known as the Tall Man and his deadly silver spheres. As Mike investigates the mortuary, he uncovers a disturbing operation involving the reanimation and repurposing of the dead, drawing him and his friends into a nightmarish battle for survival.

Critical Reception

Phantasm was met with a positive critical reception, praised for its unique blend of surreal horror, dreamlike atmosphere, and unsettling imagery. While its narrative can be ambiguous, audiences and critics alike were captivated by its originality and the chilling performance of Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man.

What Reviewers Say

  • Praised for its unique and terrifying imagery.
  • Applauded for its unsettling atmosphere and dreamlike quality.
  • Angus Scrimm's performance as the Tall Man is frequently highlighted as a major strength.

Google audience: Audiences generally appreciate Phantasm for its inventive scares and memorable villain. Many viewers find the film's surreal and bizarre nature to be its strongest asset, though some note its plot can be confusing.

Fun Fact

The distinctive, levitating silver spheres used by the Tall Man were famously created by Don Coscarelli himself, who fashioned them from bowling balls and attached small propellers and lights.

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My Review

TMDB Reviews

2 reviews
simest

simest

PHANTASM is an uneven work, too fantastic to be genuinely scary but ferociously unique and fascinating on numerous levels. I think at the forefront there was a desire here to create a warped and entirely original Universe where nothing i...
Cat Ellington

Cat Ellington

There are tall men, and then there's the "Tall Man". I actually saw the trailer, or preview, if you like, for Phantasm while awaiting the start of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in December of 1978. And I remember the trailer quite well, co...

Youtube Reviews

6 videos