Movie Info
Movie Name: Phantasm II
Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): July 8, 1988
MPAA Rating: R
You think when you die you go to Heaven…you come to us!!!
Mike Pearson (James LeGros) finds himself released from an institution after years of trying to make others believe in the existence of the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). When the family of Reggie (Reggie Bannister) are murdered by the Tall Man, Reggie and Mike set out on the road to stop the Tall Man and his plans once and for all. Mike finds he has been sharing dreams with a girl named Liz Reynolds (Paula Irvine) who has also been the victim of the Tall Man…and with Reggie and Mike, Liz is going to have to face the horror of her nightmares if she hopes to ever end the terror!
Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, Phantasm II is a horror science-fiction movie. A sequel to Phantasm from 1979, the movie did poorly at the box office and faced criticism for the violence of the film despite being highly edited to receive an R-Rating. The movie gained a cult following since its release.
Oh look…Freddy! Or not…
Phantasm II was my first introduction to Phantasm. I was too young to even remember Phantasm when Phantasm II commercials started airing (“The ball is back!”), but I had to see it as a fan of horror movies. I went back and rented the bizarre Phantasm and then saw Phantasm II when it was released on VHS…though Phantasm was much more creative and fun, I still enjoy Phantasm II for its very ’80s feel.
Phantasm II is bigger and badder than the original film. The movie (despite only a $3,000,000 budget) was a much bigger budget than the original Phantasm. The studio wanted a more linear story to compete with some of the other popular horror films like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Phantasm II still has a lot of unexplained weirdness with people changing sex, floating balls with lasers, and weird other dimensions. This movie does little to explain it, and I kind of like it for that reason.
Eat your heart out, Bruce Campbell!
The movie unfortunately only brought back Reggie Bannister as ice cream man Reggie. Reggie isn’t the best actor, but like The Evil Dead’s Bruce Campbell, it works here. Mike Baldwin was replaced with James LeGros as Mike Pearson under pressure (Brad Pitt famously applied for the role). Baldwin returned for the sequels, but is only seen here in the Phantasm flashback scenes at the beginning of the film. The obvious star of the movie is Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man (aka Lawrence Rory Guy)…the thin man maintains his creep position with his booming voice and presence (“You think that when you die, you go to Heaven…you come to us!”).
This is going to be worse than when the ladies spilled the punchbowl
This film has a bit of a different look than the original film. The first film was gritty and obviously low budget. Here, the movie is cleaned up a bit, but stylistically is also more adventuresome. Sam Raimi is a friend of Don Coscarelli and you can see a lot of Evil Dead 2 in Phantasm II (with a direct reference including a bag of ashes with the label “Mr. Sam Raimi”). Much like the “evil” view in The Evil Dead, you get a firsthand perspective from the ball and you also get some chainsaw jokes…fortunately you also get gross out stuff throughout the movie (I always felt Phantasm was a bit more scary and dangerous than The Evil Dead).
Phantasm II is definitely worth seeking out if you like ’80s horror and just out and out weird horror. The movie doesn’t make much sense, but you do need to see the first Phantasm (which also doesn’t make the most sense)…just remember “It’s only a dream!” Phantasm II was followed by the straight-to-video Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead in 1994.
Related Links:
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
