Phantasm |  | Director: Don Coscarelli
Actors: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Terrie Kalbus
Studio: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $3.65
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You Save: $11.33 (76%)
New (43) Used (23) Collectible (7) from $3.65
Seller: goHastings
Rating:  201 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D15081D
UPC: 013131508192
EAN: 0013131508192
Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1979
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
After their friend is murdered, two brothers begin a hunt in search of the killer. Their investigation leads them to the discovery of a startling and hideous secret.
Amazon.com
Jody is the kind of guy that every 1970s teen looked up to. He's in his early 20s, has a cool car, splendid '70s hair, leather jacket, plays guitar and (naturally) snags all the girls. His little brother, Mike, in particular, admires him and emulates him at every turn. Things start to go astray, however, when the two brothers and their friend Reggie attend a funeral for a friend. Mike notices a tall man working at the funeral home; in the course of his snooping, he sees the tall man put a loaded coffin into the back of a hearse as easily as if it was a shoebox. Jody doesn't believe his little brother's stories, though, until he brings home the tall man's severed finger, still wriggling in what appears to be French's mustard. From there, the film picks up a terrific momentum that doesn't let up until the sequel-ripe twist ending. Phantasm was one of the first horror movies to break the unspoken rule that victims were supposed to scream, fall down, and cower until they were killed. Instead, Mike and Jody are resourceful and smart, aggressively pursuing the evil inside the funeral home with a shotgun and Colt pistol. Furthermore, the script has a great deal of character development, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. The film even has a surprisingly glossy look, despite its low-budget origins, and little outright gore (except for the infamous steel spheres that drill into victims' heads). This drive-in favorite was a big success at the time of its release, and spawned three sequels. Little wonder; it includes an inventive story, likable characters, a runaway pace, and, of course, evil dwarves cloaked in Army blankets. The end result is one of the better horror films of the late 1970s. Hot-rod fans take note: Jody drives a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, the pinnacle of 1960s muscle cars, rounding out his status as a Cool Guy. --Jerry Renshaw
Stills from Phantasm (Click for larger image) Beyond Phantasm 
Phantasm III | 
Phantasm IV | 
More from Anchor Bay - Re-Animator |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 201
 TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE February 24, 2010
Zaren Jaede (Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA)
The first one scared me, at times, when I was a kid, even though I thought it was silly (even back then). I hated the ending, and all of the directors cheap tricks in his efforts to scare us. There are great directors, some even make horror movies, but not this guy! The sequels get ever worse. The concept of exactly what is happening wanders aimlessly at the speed of plot. Imagine sequels worse than the 4th and 5th in the Planet of the Apes series! The flying steel orbs worked well in the 70's, but there must be new material to pitch at us 30 years later. Anything dredged up out of "Saw" would be an improvement. Basically there is nothing, and no one to route for. The tall man hopelessly overpowers the ice-cream man and the little brother, who seek to thwart his nefarious schemes to, um, destroy the world? um, use our dead as slaves? um, create a diversity of ever more boring flying steel balls of death? um, surgically implant more steel orbs into the ample breasts of women? The villain wins in ever movie, even after they think they have destroyed him. The chances of these guys actually winning are more hopeless than a character surviving a Lovecraft story, except Lovecraft stories are well-written.
There are truly scarey movies out there. Try "The Ring" or even the more recent "Paranormal Activity". But the Phantasm movies deserve to be forgotten, and left in some 70's archive.
Buy something else!
 BOOOOOOY!!!!! January 26, 2010
Toby L. Weaklend (USA)
Phantasm, the first in four scary sequels. This is a really good scary movie to watch by yourself in the dark. I was eight years old when I first saw this movie and it scared the crap out of me. But I still love it.
Made in 79' The movie is about two brothers Mike and Jodi that live alone because there parents were killed. Strange things happen at the Morning Side Cemetery. Bodies come up missing and there is one guy that is taking them and turning them into little demons. The person behind it all. The Tall Man aka Angus Scrimm.
This is a real good underated movie. Check this movie out and if you like it. look for the other sequels that go with this movie. They are just as good as the first. Pick it up at amazon
A Classic November 7, 2009
M. Herzog (chicago)
Becoming a "classic" horror movie is very difficult. Mainly because each generation becomes more desensitized to violence, and more used to horror conventions. As such, they come to expect the gore and monster jumping out of nowhere tactics. This is why Phantasm's ability to achieve classic status, especially given its modest budget and production value is such a feat. Unlike most, I did not see this movie until very recently, meaning I've seen a very large amount of horror flicks prior to this so did not expect to find anything new in an old low budget horror flick. How wrong I was.
Phantasm is a creepy, scary, psychological movie. The movie is more interested in playing with your mind than with a body count, which is the way I prefer it. There's an air of mystery throughout the movie, some of which is not resolved. I liked that a horror movie, especially one from a few decades ago, found ways to surprise me and keep me on the edge of my seat. Sure the effects and makeup is a bit dated, but that doesn't stop this from being a classic movie. If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend giving it a chance.
The Anchor Bay Edition September 23, 2009
Gregory Holmes
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
PHANTASM has fared pretty well on home video over the years with 3 VHS editions that I am aware of, 3 laserdisc issues and so far two (region 1) DVD releases (where's the bluray?). This latest version from Anchor Bay is the first time we have gotten an anamorphic release and it sure is nice to have it. Anchor Bay generally does an amazing job at putting together all sorts of cool extras and animated menus for their releases and they do a fairly good job here. The anamorphic transfer on this DVD does not seem to me to be the same print used for the MGM and laserdisc releases. I think this transfer looks a little more grainy and the color a little more off than the previous DVD. It looks okay but it isn't remarkable in any way. I suppose this could be because I'm now watching on a large HD screen and flaws are more apparent than before. It is difficult to compare this print accurately with the previous non-anamorphic ones. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack sounds the same as the previous releases and it is quite good however this new DVD DOES NOT include the original mono soundtrack that was provided on the MGM release. There are a couple of new extras exclusive to this Anchor Bay edition. There is a short version of the PHANTASMAGORIA documentary and some interview segments called ACTORS HAVING A BALL. Those are the only features that are exclusive to this release. The commentary track is the same one I have been listening too since the collectors edition LaserDisc. Strangely, there are things MISSING from this Anchor Bay DVD that were on the LaserDisc and MGM DVD. There are ten minutes of deleted scenes on the MGM and only 8 minutes here (2 deleted scenes are missing). Angus Scrimm in australia doing his tall man schtick is not included on this release. The Coscarelli/Scrimm TV interview is here though, as are cleaned up versions fo the trailers and TV ads. There are NO radio spots included on this one, also gone is the Angus Scrimm introduction to the film (an especially sad ommission by Anchor Bay). The stills gallery is not included and neither is the complete version of "Sittin Here At Midnight" by Bill Thornbury, or the "Disco Phantasm" music tracks. We do get the Fangoria convention footage. One big improvment is the restoration of the original poster art for the front cover. This is also a two sided DVD cover in a transparent keepcase that has cool inside cover photography and a disc that looks like a silver sphere. This is a far from a definitive video release of PHANTASM but the anamorphic transfer makes this the best edition we have gotten so far. And by the way, I think PHANTASM is the greatest horror film ever made.
Scary in 1979, hilarious now, but still a treasure June 5, 2009
Roberto Gonzalez Rivera (SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie is a classic. I am sure it scared the heck out of the viewers the first time it was released. It is funny for us now in 2009, but it is still a treasure for collectors of movie memorabilia. I collect horror movies from the original "Nosferatu" until the stuff like "Drag me to hell". It is not that I like to be frightened, but it is exciting to scream and laugh afterwards because of how silly was what got us scared. Excellent movie to see the traditional middle 70s to middle 80s horror movies.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 201
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