Phantasm.

Review #1459: Phantasm.

Cast: 
Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man), A. Michael Baldwin (Mike Pearson), Bill Thornbury (Jody Pearson), Reggie Bannister (Reggie), Kathy Lester (Lady in Lavender), Bill Cone (Tommy), Mary Ellen Shaw (The fortune-teller), and Terrie Kalbus (The fortune-teller's granddaughter) Written and Directed by Don Coscarelli.

Review: 
"I had no plans, when I made the first Phantasm, to create a myth. I was only trying to make an effective low-budget movie, which might propel an audience member or two out of their seats on occasion. If anything, it was the fans who elevated our little tale into myth."
Sometimes there is nothing better than an ambitious horror film to watch, particularly ones with a small budget and an interesting perspective in mixing fantasy and the supernatural to make for a cult favorite and a shining achievement for writer-director-editor-cinematographer Coscarelli. This was the third film of his career, which had started at a young age with a liking for cameras and filmmaking. At the age of 18, he started production on his first film in Jim the World's Greatest (which he co-directed and co-wrote with Craig Mitchell), which he help sell to Universal Pictures at the age of 19 for release in 1975. The next year came Kenny & Company, which was also a family film (both being dramas, with the latter verging into comedy). Each had actors that would appear in this film, such as Baldwin, Bannister, and Scrimm. All in all, Coscarelli has directed ten films (with one being direct-to-video) while being involved in all five films of the Phantasm series, which had its last film (not directed by him) in Phantasm: Ravager (2016).

The idea for the film came to Coscarelli in a dream, one where he had to escape never ending marble corridors with a sphere of chrome and needles chasing him. There are plenty of little things that made for a quirky classic, such as its interesting editing that make for a disjointed haunted feel, done to turn its initial cut of three hours (with plenty of subplots and character development) into a faster paced 89 minute film, made on a budget around $300,000 (with his father being the primary producer) over the course of two years with shooting done on weekends with a rented camera that could be used for 20-hour shoots. The result is a weird but ultimately involving film that rises above its low-budget trappings to make for a worthwhile experience, moving and interesting with its family story and style for a jumble of scares worthy of a curiosity (with a recent restoration on Blu-ray being the best way to seek it out). It isn't exactly a film for the acting to levy much praise, but Scrimm is certainly the one to fit the role. Scrimm was a journalist and liner note writer (where he won a Grammy for Best Album Notes - Classical in 1975) before he took on acting, which he would cultivate a niche for appearances in films from time to time over the next few decades (including all five Phantasm films) prior to his death in 2016. It isn't hard to see why he has a status of his own in cult followings, since there is something quite unnerving about his presence, one where he doesn't have to speak much in order to raise a scare by being oneself. Baldwin and Thornbury make for a curious pair, bonding in the inevitable path from figuring out what they are dealing with fair candor and timing. Bannister, an actor alongside flower delivery man and club worker (who has starred in all five films) proves a fun-loving presence with plenty of resourcefulness and charm. The film achieves a middle ground between making compelling chills and gore (the spheres appear just twice but prove effective) contrast with the shift in reality in our understanding of its main threat, where following along is only half of the battle. Combined with a creeping music cue from Fred Myrow and Malcolm Segrave, this turns out to be a weird but ultimately satisfying film with delving into death and dreams to make a worthy cult classic to check out and follow along with as a film of its era in horror.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.