PHANTASM

The seventies is usually revered by genre aficionados as the decade of Tobe Hooper and George A. Romero -- cemented in our collective minds as a buzz of chainsaws and chunk-blowing zombies. It was a dawn of a new age in dread, and the genre became more honest, nihilistic, and socially conscious as a result of changing cultural norms and disappointment. It was also the decade of one of our more memorable fear figures. Celebrating suggestion and mood over gore, Phantasm, directed by a young Don Coscarelli, mined the tensions of the collective unconscious and created a story of bizarre, individualistic terror-art from our cultural fear of death. A sumptuous feast of horrific images, archetypal themes, and an unapologetic expressionistic style, this fear-feast of killer dwarves, untimely mortality, and deadly flying spheres defied the naturalism that ruled in grind house horror, and evoked more meaningful (and universal fears) of death and the afterlife through its skewered combination of science fiction and the occult. More importantly was the appearance of The Tall Man, perhaps the most disturbing personification of the dreadful unknown ever committed to celluloid The newest addition to the Anchor Bay Classics collection, this essential dark fantasy has been given an impressive new transfer and extras, giving it an edge over the MGM release. Investigating the emotional and aesthetic context within which the film was crafted, these features alone make the DVD an essential addition to your library.

Written by the director during a furious period of creativity in isolation in a cabin in the woods, Phantasm reflects our communal fear not only of death but the funerary procedure itself. When Tommy, a free-ranging hippy is murdered in a graveyard by an attractive woman whose face melds into an old man's leering grin at the moment of death, we know we suspect that we're on to something . . . different. When we're introduced to the Tall Man striding down his cold, sterile mortuary, we know for a certainty. The beauty is we don't know precisely what, and the movie is careful to keep us guessing. After the funeral, Mike, the little brother of Tommy's best friend Jodie, witnesses the Tall Man throwing a coffin into a hearse -- by himself -- and malevolent dwarves crutching behind grave stones. Once noticed by the monstrosities, Mike is pursued by this phantom and his henchmen, struggling to discover the Tall Man's purpose before he (and everyone he loves) is collected by the reaper's scythe.

Examining our collective/personal fears of the primal unknown and more immediate foreboding of mortality, Phantasm stares into the very procedure of dying and subsequent preservation of the corpse. This film draws much of its power from the effect of its cold, sterile environment and menacing atmosphere. Penetrative images of funeral parlours drive the dread home into our hearts, as do countless images of embalming equipment and the very emptiness of death. The experience resonates with the loneliness of death. At the same time, these images point towards the cold, emotionless 'business' that death has become in our society, taking us and our loved ones behind the final curtain. Veils are present everywhere in this classic of discomfort -- both physical and emotional -- as people are closed off from each other by nature, emotions, and, finally, the Tall Man himself. Of course much of the film's success can be attributed to Angus Scrimm's performance, an image that would follow him throughout his career. His stride, squint, and gravelly voice lurks somewhere between shlock and genuine menace. The image he presents seeming to fit one's worse preconceptions about funeral employees. The director's self-professed fascination with the 'American way of death' inspires the central storyline while evoking the unnerving 'otherworldy' atmosphere that makes such an impression on the first-time viewer. While the script manages to play fairly straight, carefully merging moments of dark fantasy and the supernatural within believably depicted contexts of reality, the director's eccentric style injects the proceedings with unarguable surrealism. The script mirrors dread of the unknown with an individual distaste with the American 'way' of dying. We are given sneak peaks into the 'funeral people,' those who profit from our tragedies, left alone with the bodies of our loved ones where they could be doing, well, just about anything. In this case, the Tall Man is making them slaves. Here Death isn't only deadly, he has a business plan! An enterprising captain of industry, he ensures that we'll never find rest, converted into a work force! At heart, this film is most memorable for its haunting set pieces, evocative score, and dream-like structure, evoking terror by throwing characters we care about into truly creepy scenarios. This is simply the kind of movie missing in today's environment.

While MGM released an impressive special collector's edition of Phantasm a few years back, the picture source of this print is superior. The transfer -- presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen -- is clean and sharp. Colors throb with surrealistic intensity in bleeding blues and reds. Skin tones are soberly realistic even as the atmospheric surroundings drip with the illogic of nightmare. Audio tracks featured in Dolby Digital Surround Sound 2.0 and 5.1 are both commendable, free from distortion or feedback issues, although the former is a bit cleaner sounding. With its impressive balance between dialogue and effects, the audio tracks are a definitive improvement on the MGM release.

Extras are a generous if somewhat uneven feast, some original to this package while others are culled from a previous UK release. In addition, some are taken from the MGM release. Absent from this disc are a few 'Deleted Scenes' that appeared on the MGM disc, a 'TV Spot,' and the 'Angus Scrimm Introduction'. On the plus side, this marks the first US appearance of "PHANTASMAGORIA," a collection of interviews and documentary exploring the film's conception, production, and success. This is not the complete version of the UK documentary, but a minimized thirty minute assemblage of the feature-length piece that appeared in the UK Sphere-shaped box set. Regardless, this is an insightful look into the franchise, its commercial/aesthetic effects, and the role the series has played in the professional and personal lives of those talents involved both in front of and behind the camera. Interviews with cast and crew members, surprising on-set stories, and info about the characters spills over from the documentary into solid pieces as "Phantasm: Behind the Scenes" and the self-referential "Phantasm: Actors Having A Ball." The Commentary with writer/director Don Coscarelli is taken from the MGM release, is careful not only to explore the origins of the story but the delirious trip from script to screen. Revisiting certain key problems, challenges, and nuances of performances, these extras define the emotional and social context of the film. Lesser features are the Phantasm TV Interview, a Fangoria Convention Appearance by Angus Scrimm (both from the MGM disc), TV Spots, and Trailers for both the feature and Phantasm (3).

Review by William P. Simmons