Phantasm II [$5 Halloween Candy Cash Offer]

Director: Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli

Overview

The lanky ghoul with embalming fluid in his veins, "The Tall Man" returns in this graphically gory horror sequel to the popular 1979 cult film. This time the mortician-from-hell has left his cemetery haunts and is looking for living beings to enslave.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2009
UPC:	0025195053594
Original Release:	1988
Rating:	R
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:00:00
Sales rank:	43,553

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Angus Scrimm	The Tall Man
James Le Gros	Mike
Reggie Bannister	Reggie
Paula Irvine	Liz
Samantha Phillips	Alchemy
Kenneth Tigar	Father Meyers
Ruth C. Engel	Grandma
Mark Anthony Major	Mortician
Rubin Kushner	Grandpa
Stacey Travis	Jeri
J. Patrick McNamara	Psychologist
A. Baldwin	Mike
Christopher L. Stone	Composer
Fred Myrow	Composer

Technical Credits

Don Coscarelli

Don Coscarelli	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Roberto A. Quezada	Producer,Producer
Wayne Beauchamp	Special Effects
Mark Shostrom	Special Effects
Dream Quest Images	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Fans of the deliciously bizarre Phantasm need not worry: despite its bigger budget and major studio backing, Phantasm II is every bit as unusual as the first film. Once again, writer/director Don Coscarelli mines a singular combination of surrealism and shocks as he pits his beleaguered heroes against the otherworldly menace of the Tall Man. Coscarelli also includes the moments of offbeat humor that were so surprising in the first film, the highlight here being a very unusual and raucous bedroom encounter between Reggie and an oddball hitchhiker they pick up along the way. The main difference between the two films is that Phantasm II maintains a spooky atmosphere through the first half of the film as the heroes stalk their nemesis and then switches gears into a more Sam Raimi-styled action-horror mode for an eventful finale. Some might not like this tonal shift, but Coscarelli handles the mayhem with such a gleeful flair that is hard to deny. Another change lies in the casting: James LeGros steps in as Mike, replacing the first film's Michael Baldwin, but he delivers a subtle, slyly funny performance that fits the material nicely (he also has a solid level of chemistry with series regular Reggie Bannister). The end results are showier to be sure, with plenty of pyrotechnics and slick, convincing makeup effects by Mark Shostrom, but no less eccentric in tone. In short, Phantasm II is one of the more underrated horror sequels in recent memory and well worth a look to anyone who enjoyed the first film.