A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Kathy Lester

Mike cannot decide what is real and what isn't, and is plagued by vivid nightmares. He gets the shock of his life when he watches, with binoculars, the conclusion of the funeral of his older brother's...( read more  read more... ) friend--the mortician (the Tall Man), by himself, lifts the casket into the back of a hearse. Mike heads to the grounds of the mortuary, which is home to very bizarre happenings, including a unique security device. Enlisting the help of brother Jody and ice cream salesman Reggie, Mike attempts to vanquish the Tall Man.

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70% liked it

18,170 ratings

Critics

64% liked it

36 critics

R, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Don Coscarelli

Release Date: March 28, 1979

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DVD Release Date: August 14, 2001

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Stats: 1,074 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,074)


  • September 29, 2009
    Not quite sci/fi & not quite horror. It?s an odd film that makes very little sense, has very bad acting and isn?t scary! Not sure why it?s a classic really!?
  • August 2, 2009
    Two brothers investigate seriously strange happenings at a nearby funeral home run by the mysterious Tall Man, who also appears in the younger brother's nightmares. Highly atmospheric, with ahead of its time effects and terrific atmosphere; unfortunately, poor characterization a...( read more)nd amateur acting hold it back from being the classic it could have been.
  • December 3, 2008
    Very nightmarish. Effectively pulls off what few outside of Wes Craven are capable of.
  • October 30, 2008
    Phantasm is Don Coscarelli's acid trip on the dark side. His low-budget film is just a bit dated in the special effects department, but remains a scary, bizarre trip centering around Morningside Mortuary.

    While some of the effects are low-tech, they play on the absurd terror ...( read more)of the situation, and the eerie, almost dreamlike situations that reveal more of the Tall Man's nature. Sometimes the film seems to be all over the place with one random thing after another, but deserves its' status as a cult-film for bringing new ideas to horror. One of the many movies I saw at the drive-in which surely added to its charm for me.
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  • August 29, 2007
    Two orphaned boys, Mike (Michael Baldwin) and Jody (Bill Thornbury) notice some strange things happening at Morningside Mortuary. Bodies are disappearing from coffins; a lady in lavender has sex with men in the graveyard and then stabs them to death; little midgets in brown cloak...( read more)s (making sounds like lions) are roaming about and there's a flying silver orb with spikes that embeds itself in people's heads! And then there's the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) overseeing it all...Soon Mike, Jody and their friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) are fighting for their lives...

    The story is pretty thin (and REALLY out of whack at the end), the acting dismal, there's no characterizations or depth and some of the special effects are horrible but...this is STILL a classic horror film. It takes a while to get going (nothing much happens in the first half hour), but when it does there's scarcely a letup. Action leaps into high gear, there's some fairly graphic gore (including the now infamous flying sphere killing), there are plenty of scenes guaranteed to make you jump and the music score is very spooky...right up there with "Halloween". Also some of the special effects are impressive (considering there was no budget). Also Michael Baldwin was a VERY attractive man and there's gratuitous male and female nudity. What's even more surprising is Don Coscarelli wrote, produced, directed AND edited this at the age of 24! He's never matched it since and all the sequels really suck...but this stands alone as a classic. A must-see for all horror fans. Also Scrimm is EXCELLENT (and damn scary) as the Tall Man.

    Trivia: This was awarded an X rating FOUR TIMES because of the sphere killing...Coscarelli went all the way to the head of the ratings board who overturned it and gave it an R--a rare occurrence that the ratings board kept in a gore scene!
  • November 12, 2009
    Very low budget, but there is something about this movie. I wish there was an available soundtrack for this movie.
  • October 28, 2009
    genial pelicula de terror que aun asusta
  • October 24, 2009
    What is The Tall Man? He?s no mere serial killer, he?s not a vampire, he doesn?t really appear to be an alien, and he?s not any kind of ghost I can readily identify. I can?t really put a label on what The Tall Man is, he doesn?t fall into any existing horror movie trope, and th...( read more)at?s the main thing that makes this movie special; it?s original. The fact that Angus Scrimm is a very creepy presence also helps, and so does the really gory death scene midway through the movie. What do no help are the poor performances by everyone involved other than Scrimm, nor do the film?s occasionally shotty production values. Don Coscarelli does not strike me as a master filmmaker, and I don?t think he?s really able to make this film everything it could have been, but for the aspects that work it is worth a viewing.
  • October 19, 2009
    scary music and scary things in 3 o 4 scenes but the movie is a weird and slow, i like to know if the other parts are better because i like Don Cascorely films.
  • October 11, 2009
    I love the Phantasm films....tho the acting is wooden,the films are cheap,but i say give them all a watch....

Critic Reviews


October 31, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Benefits from repeated viewings full review

View more Phantasm reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • itbegins2005
    April 5, 2008
    ... Aliens? Really?

    I was expecting so much more...
  • julito32
    December 2, 2007
    can anyone upload the real movie poster? Cuz this aint it.

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Phantasm Trivia


  • Which was the only animated Batman film to appear in theaters?  Answer »
  • What is the name of the loomy, shadowy character that haunts the children in the movie 'Phantasm'?  Answer »
  • What horror movie featured killer flying metal orbs?  Answer »
  • The animation film 'Mask of the Phantasm' is sometimes considered to be the best Batman feature length film. Who voiced the character of Joker?  Answer »

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