Phantasm (1979)
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A teenager and his brother investigate a mysterious mortician and a series of supernatural occurrences in a small town.
The story
In a small Oregon town, a teenager named Mike, his older brother Jody, and their friend Reggie investigate strange occurrences at a local funeral home operated by a mysterious mortician known as 'the Tall Man.' After a local man is murdered by the mortician in a supernatural disguise, Mike begins to witness unsettling events, including a flying silver sphere and a mysterious hooded figure. As the brothers and Reggie delve deeper into the mystery, they are confronted by supernatural entities and a series of terrifying, dream-like encounters that blur the lines between reality and nightmare.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While having sex in a cemetery, a man named Tommy is killed by the local mortician disguised as 'The Lady in Lavender.' At the funeral, Jody Pearson and his friend Reggie believe it was suicide, but Jody's younger brother Mike sees the 'Tall Man' moving the coffin with ease. Mike encounters a flying silver sphere and a hooded figure, eventually escaping with a moving finger from the Tall Man. The finger transforms into an insect, convincing Jody and Reggie of the danger. They discover a re-animated, shrunken Tommy in an ice cream truck. After a series of attacks by hooded dwarves and the Lady in Lavender, Mike is hidden while Jody attempts to kill the Tall Man in a mausoleum. Mike eventually encounters the Tall Man, who kidnaps him in a hearse; Mike escapes after the hearse explodes. Jody destroys the silver sphere, and the trio enters a room with a portal to another world where dwarves are slaves. A power outage occurs; Reggie is killed by the Lady in Lavender, and the mausoleum vanishes. Jody traps the Tall Man in a mine shaft, burying him under an avalanche. Mike wakes up and is told by Reggie that Jody died in a car wreck a week prior and his experiences were a nightmare. However, as Mike packs, the Tall Man appears and pulls him through a mirror.
- First release year
- 1979
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Don Coscarelli
- Writers
- Don Coscarelli · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Baldwin · Mike Pearson; Bill Thornbury · Jody Pearson; Reggie Bannister · Reggie; Kathy Lester · The Lady in Lavender; Angus Scrimm · the Tall Man
- Genres
- supernatural horror; fantasy; independent; science fiction horror
- Themes
- mourning; loss; sibling relationships; death; dreams; surrealism; coming of age
- Tone and mood
- surreal; creepy; idiosyncratic; dream-like; existentialist
- Premise and plot tags
- supernatural; horror; brothers; death; nightmares; surrealism
- Source material / true-story basis
- A nightmare had by director Don Coscarelli as a teenager, influenced by 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' by Ray Bradbury.
- Franchise connections
- Phantasm
- Content notes
- gore
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics but became a cult classic with a devoted following, praised for its visual elements, unique screenplay, and surrealistic qualities.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- The film was shot over the course of a year, mainly in and around Chatsworth, California.; The Tall Man character was inspired by the director's fear of a flying chrome sphere drilling his brain out.; The film was released in Australia under the alternative title The Never Dead.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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