Phantasm (1979)

Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Written by: Don Coscarelli
Starring: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister
Release date: 3rd May 1979
Runtime: 1:31
BBFC certificate: 15 for infrequent bloody horror

Summary: Thirteen year-old Mike (Baldwin), his older brother Jody (Thornbury), and their friend Reggie (Bannister) face off against the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), a mysterious mortician.

Review: I've been meaning to watch this movie for ages. It's far from perfect, but it's entertaining and is certainly deserving of its status as a classic.

It starts off quite dull. It's not boring, but not much happens until about forty minutes in. Mike is a bit whiny, but he's nowhere near as annoying as your typical horror film kid. The late Scrimm is perfectly cast in the role of the Tall Man. He's creepy, but has a strange charm about him at the same time.

The effects are good in some scenes and silly in others, but nothing too distracting. The blood looks like ketchup, but that's expected of a low-budget movie from the late '70s. The whole film has a dreamlike atmosphere and it's executed really well. The scene where Mike goes to the cemetery and the Tall Man runs after him especially stood out to me.

I really like the last twenty minutes. The movie goes from a surreal daydream to a really trippy nightmare. Phantasm is overall a very good film.

Trivia: Don Coscarelli got the idea for this movie from a nightmare he had as a teenager.