Phantasm (1974)
I should preface this by saying that this is probably one of the most bizarre movies I’ve ever seen. We’re not talking something like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs or In Bruges, something that maybe plays with you a bit but still clearly has rules. I’m talking full-blown abandonment of reason.
Released in 1974 and directed by Don Coscarelli (who only had two dramas under his belt), Phantasm follows a young boy who is convinced that the local mortician, a tall statue of a man, is doing something with the local bodies. While this premise seems fairly normal on its surface, I can’t even begin to tell you how little that actually clarifies the plot of this movie.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing,
In actuality, I thought Phantasm was stellar (no pun intended). The Tall Man joins the Candyman in my list of above-average horror villains, easily. Not only are his powers nebulous and surreal, but he also showcases way more personality than I expected. He loves the hunt, but he respects the prey he’s hunting.
You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now… You die.
- The Tall Man
In fairness, the pantheon of great horror villains doesn’t exactly include some of the iconic ones, or even some of my favorites. All of the Ghostfaces have earthly, real reasons for their killing sprees. Michael Myers is intentionally a blank slate. Freddy is just in it for the lulz. Jason is… like, kinda mad, I think? Anyway, the point is, the Tall Man and Candyman both have an ethos that isn’t really human, but also makes a bizarre sort of sense. Candyman wants to live forever through the telling of his legend. The Tall Man collects corpses to create slave labor. Neither of these are GOOD reasons, but you at least understand them. They aren’t just killing to stack the film’s body count - they want something.
Add to that the absolutely bonkers way that reality fails to work, and you have an honestly very creepy movie. Horror movies don’t really scare me nowadays, but what this movie DID do was make me insanely uncomfortable. Not in a gross way (like say, The Rack from Saw 3), but more in a “none of this is right” kind of way. Dreams bleed into reality which bleeds into sci-fi tech, and that constantly shifting landscape leaves you without any firm ground to stand on.
That shifting landscape also lends itself to a tough ending to categorize. Without spoiling it for those who might care to watch someday, I’m torn between thinking that it’s a little unsatisfying, and thinking that it brilliantly shows the true scope of the Tall Man’s powers. I need to let it marinate for a while, but for now, I’ll say it’s interesting regardless.
Despite that potential hiccup, though, I really liked Phantasm! I’m excited to watch the rest of the series, especially since the final film came out as recently as 2016! It’ll be cool to see how technology and culture changes affect the story over the years!
