USA, 1978
88m
35mm film, Technicolor, 1.85:1
mono, English
Reviewed at The EOFFTV Review
An American horror/science fiction film directed by Don Coscarelli.
Plot Summary
Recently orphaned teenager Mike finds that a local funeral home is being used by a mysterious Tall Man who despatches flying silver spheres to transform his enemies into slave dwarves which are then shipped off to another dimension.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Copyright MCMLXXVIII [1978] New Breed Productions Inc.
Produced by: D.A. Coscarelli
Co-Producer: Paul Pepperman
Written by: Don Coscarelli
Cinematographer: Don Coscarelli
Editor: Don Coscarelli
Music by: Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave
Sound Recordist: Michael Gross
Wardrobe: Shirl Quinlan [real name: Kate Coscarelli]
Make Up: Shirley Mae [real name: Kate Coscarelli]
Special Effects Created by: Paul Pepperman
Silver Sphere Constructed by: Willard Green
Production Designer: S. Tyer [real name: Kate Coscarelli]
Locations: Oakland, California, USA; Julian, California, USA; Oakland, California, USA; San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA
Cast
Michael Baldwin as Mike
Bill Thornbury as Jody
Reggie Bannister (Reggie)
Kathy Lester (lady in lavender)
Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man
Terrie Kalbus (fortuneteller’s granddaughter)
Ken Jones (caretaker)
Susan Harper (girlfriend)
Lynn Eastman (Sally)
David Arntzen (Toby)
Ralph Richmond (bartender)
Bill Cone (Tommy)
Laura Mann (double lavender)
Mary Ellen Shaw (fortuneteller)
Myrtle Scotton (maid)
Don Coscarelli, Kate Coscarelli [funeral guests] *
Alternative Titles
Das Böse – West Germany
Fantasmi – Italy
The Never Dead – Australia
Phantasm – yön kauhut – Finland
Phantasma – Spain
Links
Sequels
Phantasm II (1988)
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
Extracts included in
Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation (2001)
The Dead Pool (1988)
The Distribution of Low Budget Films or The Gardener’s Seeds of Evil Killed My Million Dollar Dream (1980)
Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol.2 (1996)
Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol.1 (1996)
Hollywood Halloween (1997)
Phantasmagoria (2005)
The Saga of The Beastmaster (2005)
References
Periodicals
- Cinema of the ’70s no.1 (2020) pp.10-13 – illustrated article (Phantasm by Steve Gerrard)
- Screen International no.227 (9-16 February 1980) p.6 – note (US briefing)
Books
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.351
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.389
- Film Review 1980-81 by F. Maurice Speed (ed.) p.139
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.300
- Horror Films by Subgenre: A Viewer’s Guide by Chris Vander Kaay and Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay p.81
- Horror Films of the 1970s by John Kenneth Muir pp.609-615 – credits, synopsis, review
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.233-234 – illustrated credits, review
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film Sequels, Series, and Remakes by Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester pp.375-376
