Phantasmagorical Mystery Tour

Yes, I know my substituting F for PH is getting old. But allow me some bad humor. 28 years after the first Phantasm movie was made, nothing much has changed in the fictional small town where the Tall Man started pillaging graves. Reggie Bannister hosts the feature and takes us to the house where Mike and Jodie lived (which still looks pretty much the same) to sit on the front porch and reminisce about the good times he had strumming on his guitar with Jodie. Then he visits the fortune teller's house, the graveyard (actually a park) and to place that was supposed to be the entry gates to Morningside.

Reggie's a good host and has a good memory of the stories and the history of the area. I would have liked to have seen more, like which town the filmed 'Main Street' on or the mansion that doubled as the Mausoleum (which was also Tanya Robert's house in A View to a Kill) but it's still a nice little feature.

I have been a Phantasm fan for many years now and as such i've always wanted to make a visit to the house used for the mausoleum in the film. Being that i'm a citizen of another country that's pretty difficult to arrange. The Reggie Bannister led phantasmagorical tour takes you to all kinds of locations from the first film and it's one hell of a fun ride, but they somehow miss out on that very house i so desperately wanted to see up close. Soo close, but clearly no cigar awarded. I am sure there are some damn good reasons for this but if by chance it would be due to someone having completely forgotten about that house they were going to shoot, then, well, i'd kill myself. Cause' it's not gonna get much better than the box set they've just released so there's probably no chance of ever seeing this as yet another Phantasm box set, even if released in HD is years away.

Handlebar moustachioed Reggie Bannister returns as our host for a tour of filming locations of probably my third favourite film ever, the original Phantasm.

First, we visit the fortune teller's house, located in Woodlawn Hills, and Reggie tells us that apparently the house's owners were not happy with how little footage of their home was used in the final cut of the film , before heading south, to Pacific Palisades, for a look at Mike and Jody's home, where Reggie drove up in his truck, before he and Jody had their little jam session, which Bill Thornbury talks briefly about its composition, and filming. Bannister walks up the driveway and knocks at the door, but alas, there is nobody home.

Chatsworth Park, which doubled for the cemetery grounds is next, (Reggie mentions the parking lot which was not there when they filmed. "We're older than the parking lot!" he jokes) before a visit to Cobb Estate in Altadena, home of Morningside's entrance gates, as Reggie reminisces about filming back in 1977.

Finally, a banter between Reggie, and series creator Don Coscarelli, whilst sitting on the rocks at Santa Fe dam in Irwindale, which became the Red Planet.

Phantasm Genesis is an interesting look behind the scenes at some of the stunts performed, by this has more charm of its own, doubtlessly given Reggie's likable personality.