Phantasm II

I can't say I really liked Coscarelli's follow up to "Phantasm" much, at least I can't say I enjoyed the first hour a whole lot. Where the original film is like a waking nightmare, this is a pretty routine horror action flick filled with weird plot gaps and silly ideas. But then the last half hour happened, and I have to say I begrudgingly endorse this flick ... but only for the gleefully outrageous gory climax.

This was a rather good movie and when it came out there was quite the advertising campaign for it. One that horror movies rarely got back then. The first one though was still better, this one sort of picks up where that left off as there is some backtracking, but I actually liked the way the first one left off. It had a good spooky finish and this movie sort of ruins it. Angus Scrimm is good as the tall man and the guy who played Reggie is back as well. Jodie, however, is played by a different guy, though it doesn't detract to much from this one as he was a kid in the first so you don't really notice. However, when they switch back to the original kid in the next one it is a bit noticeable. Here we have Reggie and Jodie going after the tall man. He has basically wiped out both of their families so they now have nothing left to lose. They get themselves an arsenal that includes two shotguns secured together that for some reason would become popular. So popular in fact that they would return in the next movie even though it was clearly dropped and left behind in this one. The tall man has his weapons two as he has three spheres of doom here. In the next movie they would pretty much be the main focus, but here they are still just a weapon used by the tall man. He also has his dwarfs and his creepy morticians. This one is a bit more action oriented than the first and not as creepy, but it does work rather well and is entertaining.

It's been many years since the events of the first film, and the now grown Mike (James Le Gros) reunites with old friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) to wage war against the otherworldly Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his plot to harvest the dead for nefarious purposes. Mike is also aided by psychic girl Liz (Paula Irvine), with whom he has a mental connection.

In the 9 years between the first and this sequel, Phantasm had developed quite a cult following, and with the horror market booming, Universal gave director Coscarelli a much larger budget to work with. The result is an entertaining, if derivative, continuation. The narrative is much more linear but no less outlandish, as the Tall Man and his minions lay waste to entire towns. This being an 80's film, stuff has to blow up real good, with several giant fireballs exploding into the air, as well as a fetishistic weaponry montage. There's also some gratuitous nudity on display, and inventively gory effects from Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman, among others. Coscarelli had obviously watched Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films a few times, as this lifts some camera shots from those, as well as emulating their horror-meets-black-comedy tone. Still, as far horror sequels go, this is one of the better ones, in my opinion, and it has developed its own cult following, as well as influencing future efforts from others (Eric Kripke, the creator of the long-running TV series Supernatural, borrowed a few things from this.

I saw "Phantasm II" before watching any of the other Phantasm movies, and despite its shortcomings, it converted me into a fan of the series. While it has an effective atmosphere and an interesting array of characters, the plot certainly could have been more carefully written. There is one part where Mike risks his life handling a very dangerous flying sphere and uses it as a key to open some weird door, but the movie fails to show the purpose of opening that door. Sure, it shows you what lies behind the door, but that's it! Mike and his friends don't really do anything in there! Also, the Tall Man goes through the trouble of luring Liz into a trap, but he just throws her against a wall once he catches her. If Liz was such a threat to his evil plans (as the plot asserts), then wouldn't the Tall Man want to make sure she's dead? Still, when you have a couple psychics, an ex-ice cream vendor, a mysterious hitchhiker, an army of dwarves, flying spheres and a rather omnipotent--and scary-looking--old guy called the Tall Man rolled into one picture, the movie promises to be interesting, and it delivers for the most part.

Compared to the other Phantasm movies, I liked "Phantasm II" better than "Phantasm III" and "Phantasm: Oblivion," but it's not quite as good as the original Phantasm.

WELL.... You GET.... What You PAY for!

You will HAVE TO INVEST an Hour and a 1/2 of Your life in PHANTASM II.... I would say.... OK... Fair Enough!

BUT BEFORE DIVING IN....

FIRST... Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context:

When I saw PHANTASM in a theater in 1979, I liked it so much (9*), I went back a week later and saw it again! I missed Phantasm II while I was living in Colombia, So I decided to take a delayed-by-25-years look! My psyche was all set to enjoy PHANTASM II to the max! I hadn't seen much in the horror/terror genre in recent years, because I really don't like the direction the genre has been going in throughout the past 1/4 century. 8 to 9* was what I was hoping for...I was somewhat disappointed, but will give it 7.5*.

Let's talk about P-2 for a moment...The whole film is based around sustaining a mood of imminent danger, a foreboding atmosphere. If you agree to go along with it, providing suspension of disbelief, you'll probably get a nice kick out of P-2. IMHO elements of the film, music, sound effects, lighting, pacing, etc., all contribute well to that end. So if you are genre-friendly , let's bump my 7.5* UP to 8*! If the horror/terror genre usually isn't your cup of tea, well let's round DOWN to 6*...Fair enough? In this case, I'd say having seen the original PHANTASM would add tend to add a Star to rating P-2, so it does help, but isn't absolutely indispensable.

I really had forgotten how much gruesome gore there was in the original. There's probably even more here, but a lot less than in recent offerings, undoubtedly influenced by PHANTASM 1 and 2, like the SAW franchise (YECH!) As is typically the case in "B" movies, the acting and dialog usually leave a lot to be desired, but, hey, we don't watch these scouting for potential Oscar-nominees, now do we?!?

Bottom-line: ALL of you who are, or have been horror/terror film buffs; a semi-cult classic you won't want to miss, or that you'll want to REDUX! If not in the above group...MAYBE NOT!

In either case...ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!