You can make the argument that the 1970s were the best decade in the history of film. With the rise of Pacino, De Niro, and Nicholson on the screen and Spielberg, Coppola, and Scorsese crafting the cinematic magic from behind the camera, you could bet donuts to dollars the ‘70s were an ass-kicking great time in the history of cinema.
But it wasn’t all gangsters and misanthropes, the decade that gave us disco and punk also scared us to our core and forced us to sleep with the lights on for far more nights than we care to admit. In 1979, right towards the end of the wild decade, one more horror gem gave us a whole new reason to fear the dark; the glorious, simultaneously hilarious and horrific “Phantasm.”
No genre lends itself to sequalitis more so than horror and “Phantasm” suffered that fate as well. So if you’re familiar with The Tall Man and the hit-and-miss films that follow, fear not. The original “Phantasm” is the literal stuff that nightmares are made of. Classic horror tropes are presented in a way that not only feels fresh (40 years later) but provide an irony and a melodrama that hits you right in the feels. Funerals, sexy time, a weird portal, and creatures from beyond are presented in a mish-mash way that beautifully blends horror and sci-fi. Never too much of one or the other. The two genres blend together wonderfully like a deliciously crafted Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
The movie lives and dies on the giant shoulders of its main antagonist, The Tall Man. A mortician by trade, his speaks with menacing grins more than with words and it adds to his mystique benefits from it. The Freddys, Jasons and Michaels of the horror world get all the love but like Ash from “The Evil Dead” series, The Tall Man is a classic horror figure-albeit resigned to a lower tier than the legends.
The trio of heroes: Mike, Reggie, and Jody on the surface reek of B Movie Horror stereotypes but it’s in their bond and determination to defeat The Tall Man that the movie gets its heart from; and not a stabbed, bleeding heart. But an actual heart; and a fair amount-way more than you’d expect during the dawn of the slasher genre. In an era when scream queens did everything possible to have the bad guy kill them, these three stooges turned that trope on its head.
One particular scene of note that feels wildly out of place but is so god damn excellent is a guitar jam between Jody and Reggie. “Sitting Here at Midnight” is a beautiful melancholic little ditty. The scene – and song – come in at under two minutes but its a fantastic two minutes that add to the legend of the film.
“Phantasm” will shock you and rock you. I like the sequels but you might not. Either way, you’ll love this twisted tale of The Tall Man. Sleep tight!
