|
Post by phanfan on May 3, 2010 22:47:41 GMT -5
Hi all,
I was 14 when I first saw PHANTASM in 1979. Like any good horror movie, it gave me a good fright! Here are some of the reasons:
(Beware spoilers!!)
1) A palpable sense of dread. The best horror movies are those that sneak up on you, and before you know it, there's no way out. Phantasm did that to me. It didn't play by the rules, so there was no telling what was coming next.
2) A scary, enigmatic villain. The Tall Man became one of cinema's greatest bogeymen, mainly because he was so hard to pin down. Who was he? What was he?
3) An obsession with death. Death terrifies most people and Phantasm took full advantage of this. A creepy mausoleum, corpses, the fear of losing a loved one---you name it and this movie exploited it perfectly.
4) Characters you care about. When I first saw the movie, I liked Mike, Jody and Reggie. When you care about the characters, you get drawn into the story. And when you get drawn into the story, you begin to feel like you're right there, battling this evil with them.
5) Awesome soundtrack. The soundtrack IS Phantasm! (See #1, then add the music as another reason for the sense of dread).
6) Effective jump scares. For many horror movies, "jump scares" is all they have. Phantasm is different. It created its mood and characters first, thus laying the groundwork for jump scares. For me, the best jump in the movie is when Reggie suddenly comes up behind Mike and Jody in the mausoleum. I think I came off my seat!
7) The chase. Phantasm really got this right, with perfect timing. When The Tall Man confronts Mike in the mausoleum, then suddenly takes off after him, it's heart-pounding. And just when you thought it was over, along come the dwarves for another chase!
How 'bout you?
Phanfan
|
|
|
Post by lmsunshine on May 4, 2010 9:57:54 GMT -5
My parents wouldn’t let me see any rated R movies when I was a kid so the first time I saw P1 was on TV. It was a Saturday afternoon and my brother calls me in the living room and says “hey, check this guy out”. It was the part where Mike is walking down Main Street. The philm music @ 0:23, TTM walking in slo-mo, the sound of his footsteps just scared the living daylights out of me. I probably had the same look as Mike in that scene. I never heard the soundtrack.
|
|
|
Post by pumpmonkey on May 4, 2010 11:38:28 GMT -5
I've never liked the "slasher" horror films. I like a good plot, storyline, etc... So, when I friend of mine recommend this to me, I had my doubts (He's into the scary-and-slashing type.) I was young at the time, and what got to me about Phantasm was...
#1) Stuff happens in the DAYTIME. (what a break from tradition~!) #2) The direction of the characters, were realistic. Especially young Mike (i.e. scripting/actions etc) were spot on. (From looking for change in a pay-phone to using a shotgun shell in a 'non-traditional way'...that character and I shared MANY similarities.) #3) It focused on the unknown *as* an unknown...not as an unknown from the "Spirit World" or "Demon Realm" etc. Even though they seemed to figure things out, (in the gate room), the ending belied our understanding. It usurped the connecting of the dots (Especially when we see Reggie get killed and then he's with Mike in front of the fire later on.)
|
|
|
Post by postmortem on May 4, 2010 14:57:30 GMT -5
Wonderful input by everyone! The one about it happening during daytime really made me nod. And Imsunshine's comments about the Main Street scene. I loved old boardwalks (the smell of the tar on hot wood reminds me of so many summers on the Jersey shoreline), and sucking on Tootsie-Pops. Just meandering along the town streets with nothing to do as a kid on summer break. But with "Phantasm," here comes this strange, tall, funereal figure loping down the opposite side of the street. And the footsteps are surreal--echoing--like in a bad, fever-induced dream. And the guy pauses, turns, obviously is LOOKING for Mike, sensing him. This scared me silly! I never doubted that the cold of the freezer was hurting (and thus deterring) the Tall Man.
What got me thinking was why NO ONE but Mike seemed to notice the Tall Man! Not even Reggie. Was The Tall Man a ghost? Something just in Mike's mind? An alien in a slightly different dimensional plan that only Mike could "see" (this ties into Jody and Mike's visit to Jeb in P4). None of it made any sense, but it got my imagination on overdrive! Definitely, it was in a league of its own, and that's what made this film so brilliant!
|
|
|
Post by phanfan on May 4, 2010 15:10:23 GMT -5
Hey Postmortem,
The scene with The Tall Man walking down the street is really creepy. There is a subtle, but spooky element added; for part of his walk TTM's gait is incorrect, i.e. left arm goes with left leg, right arm with right leg. It just adds to the dread.
Phanfan
|
|
|
Post by gopher in heat on May 5, 2010 1:11:37 GMT -5
I agree fully on the daytime comment. I love horror films that take place during the daytime. It makes it much more... real? It's just become so tired to have everything in a horror picture happen at night. This is another reason why I love a lot of DAWN and DAY OF THE DEAD.
But really I think the main thing that makes Phantasm scary is that there's no real rhyme or reason for a lot of what's happening. It's really mysterious and confusing, which is what you'd expect in real life if something crazy like this happened. Not knowing what's going on also helps us identify with the characters we grow to love because they seem so REAL.
|
|
vitaman2007
Sentinel Sphere
"Be de be de be de...f#@ you Buck!"
Posts: 698
|
Post by vitaman2007 on May 5, 2010 15:48:34 GMT -5
I saw it on HBO when I was around 11 or 12, so it was obviously the ending, with the growling and Mike's adolescent scream.
I thought he was home free! Killing off a young kid like that wasn't done too often. What a mean, mean, nasty, old man!
|
|
|
Post by postmortem on May 5, 2010 19:03:15 GMT -5
I saw it ate age 14 in a movie theatre at midnight. At the very end, when Mike gets pulled into the mirror/closet, I swear I could hear the spacegate underneath all the growls. Meaning... I never felt Mike had been killed. I always thought he'd been pulled through the closet and spacegate onto the red planet. For the Tall Man to do whatever it was he planned to do with Mike. Maybe that entailed killing/reanimating him, maybe something even more special/sinister. But certainly, it was no simple death by dwarf. So when we filmed a continuation of that scene in P2, I was a little let down. I thought, "He's still in the closet?!!!" Just goes to show that sometimes what we imagine is so much more than the reality... But do tell me. Am I crazy, is it just the ringing in my ears, or is there a spacegate hum right after "BOYYYYY!"
|
|
|
Post by lmsunshine on May 5, 2010 19:57:01 GMT -5
I always thought he'd been pulled through the closet and spacegate onto the red planet. But do tell me. Am I crazy, is it just the ringing in my ears, or is there a spacegate hum right after "BOYYYYY!" Let's all take a listen, shall we? For your convenience I attached the clip. Yes, I definitely hear it.
|
|
|
Post by Natalie on May 5, 2010 20:39:04 GMT -5
I first saw Phantasm when I was probably 6 or 7. I come from a family that loves horror films, so I always watched them. Yeah, I like how the movie has main scenes during the daytime. I view it as things are less expected during the day, whereas in night time, you can expect the boogyman to appear behind you. What really scared me was the sphere scene with the caretaker. This was a kill tactic that I had never seen before, and that was what got to me.
|
|
|
Post by gopher in heat on May 5, 2010 21:38:10 GMT -5
But do tell me. Am I crazy, is it just the ringing in my ears, or is there a spacegate hum right after "BOYYYYY!" OH. MY. GOODNESS. I can't believe I've never noticed this! This totally alters how I look at that ending! I love it so much more when I think he's been pulled through a space gate! Thank you Kristen for bringing this to my attention! It's got me all geeked, haha. ;D
|
|
|
Post by postmortem on May 6, 2010 0:29:13 GMT -5
Thank God! I thought it was this blasted tinnitus in my good ear! Thank you, Tony and Lena. I love it when people discuss "interpretations" of these films. It's such fun to see "Phantasm" through different eyes.
|
|
vitaman2007
Sentinel Sphere
"Be de be de be de...f#@ you Buck!"
Posts: 698
|
Post by vitaman2007 on May 6, 2010 12:11:13 GMT -5
You know I always heard that, but I could never put 2 and 2 together. That's pretty neat. It does give the ending a great twist.
Maybe they went after Mike because he went through the gate in the "white room" and they recognized him. ;D
|
|
|
Post by postmortem on May 6, 2010 14:57:21 GMT -5
And if you ponder it more, listen to how many seconds it takes Mike to fall... It's like he's falling a long, long way (Down a mineshaft? Through a planet's atmosphere?). And then the final slam sound. Is that Mike's body hitting the "ground" (wherever that might be)? Or is it a door slamming shut? If it's a door, could the dwarves have dragged Mike through the white room and spacegate, with the spacegate by the entrance door, which suddenly closes?
Now pull back and think about the setup a bit. I used to wonder how long was the Tall Man waiting in the room? At what point did the spacegate materialize behind Mike's closet (I'm guessing the Tall Man came through it, then left the closet door ajar) to wait over by the wall?
Back to what scared me about "Phantasm"... That slow-mo walk the Tall Man does is nightmarish, as though he's walking through molasses. Could he be in a slightly different dimension and this is how the walk "looks" through the distorted filter of our dimension (slowed down in appearance)? It really creeped me out--especially the distorted sound of the footsteps.
I saw an amazingly creepy Japanese horror movie which gave me a similar thrill years ago in the theatre. It was titled "Kairo" (Pulse). (Please, please, please do NOT watch the American remake--track down only the Japanese version.) In one scene this ghost appears out of the wall, doing a really unnerving slo-mo stride towards the hero who is trapped in the room with her. I was in my seat, paralyzed with amazement and fear--think I even stopped breathing! It was so so so SOOOOO creepy! That whole movie was creepy come to think of it. The idea that if a ghost touches you, ultimately your lifeforce fades away until you become just a black smug on the wall. (Brrrrrr.) And I never can look at red tape the same way anymore!
|
|
|
Post by pumpmonkey on May 6, 2010 17:01:08 GMT -5
Hearing the hum of the Space Gate was in the back of my mind, but I too failed in the "putting 2 & 2 together". (Nice catch!!!) And, it really does make sense and fits; especially with the GATE appearing at REGGIE'~!!! But I confess, I'm having a hard time with it. It didn't flow with the beginning in P2. If MIKE was pulled through....why are they all in the bedroom by the time REGGIE gets there? (did they bring him to the RED PLANET, and back?)Also...what about the height of the arm that grabs MIKE's head? (The arm was normal human sized, and it looked hairy...More like an arm of BIGFOOT than that of a DWARF!) Help? And... ...as for THE TALL MAN walking; another facet for me was the scene in the mausoleum where MIKE and THE TALL MAN begin walking slowly towards each other~! Every boy comes face to face with an authoritative figure; knowing full well that have been caught red-handed (yea...speaking from personal experience), and they are in trouble with a capital T. Not only are you terrified because of the figure of "authority", but this is THE TALL MAN. And the fact that THE TALL MAN waited for him to turn around, and matched MIKE step-for-step as they walked towards each other....put me on the edge of my seat!
|
|
vitaman2007
Sentinel Sphere
"Be de be de be de...f#@ you Buck!"
Posts: 698
|
Post by vitaman2007 on May 6, 2010 17:09:04 GMT -5
And if you ponder it more, listen to how many seconds it takes Mike to fall... It's like he's falling a long, long way (Down a mineshaft? Through a planet's atmosphere?). And then the final slam sound. Is that Mike's body hitting the "ground" (wherever that might be)? Or is it a door slamming shut? If it's a door, could the dwarves have dragged Mike through the white room and spacegate, with the spacegate by the entrance door, which suddenly closes? Now pull back and think about the setup a bit. I used to wonder how long was the Tall Man waiting in the room? At what point did the spacegate materialize behind Mike's closet (I'm guessing the Tall Man came through it, then left the closet door ajar) to wait over by the wall?... What amazes me most about these new discoveries is that the audio clues are just as important as the visual ones. Especially considering it's the climax of the film. Isn't that, dare I say, groundbreaking? It makes total sense, the Tall Man being a ghost in a dimension only young Mike can see. He shouldn't have been snooping around Morningside with those binoculars in the first place!
|
|
|
Post by lmsunshine on May 6, 2010 20:38:41 GMT -5
The more I watch the philms the more I noticed things. For e.g. , when TTM says “boooyyyy” at the end of P1, they reshot that scene with TTM in P2. I didn't notice that for the longest time.
|
|
|
Post by gopher in heat on May 7, 2010 1:13:42 GMT -5
iamsunshine, I think a part of the reason it was reshot is because Angus had short hair in the ending of the original, and they wanted the scene to be seamless (with the Tall Man's look) at the beginning of P2.
Back to the whole space gate in the closet thing... what if, when Mike gets pulled through (and presumably through a space gate), maybe the Mike that comes back through (the Mike we see being pulled from the closet at the beginning of P2) isn't the same Mike... sort of like how when Jebediah went through the gate, "he never did come back". Maybe this Mike is something similar to the Tall Man clones we've seen come through the gates so many times, and this Mike is the one with the sphere in his head. The Tall Man, an all-knowing entity, might have brought back this "decoy Mike" to serve a greater purpose (something we've seen in parts 2, 3 and 4 maybe?), and now the Tall Man has gotten what he's wanted, so he takes the sphere back at the end of P4. Who knows, maybe the REAL Mike is somewhere still... on the Red Planet maybe? It could be that the Mike we've seen in parts 2, 3 and 4 is NOT the Mike from the original Phantasm, despite the fact that he THINKS he is.
I don't know... I hope that made some sense, haha. It makes sense in my head.
|
|
|
Post by pumpmonkey on May 7, 2010 8:10:48 GMT -5
maybe the Mike that comes back through (the Mike we see being pulled from the closet at the beginning of P2) isn't the same Mike... sort of like how when Jebediah went through the gate. I don't know... I hope that made some sense, haha. It makes sense in my head. LOL~! I was awake late last night, wondering the same thing~!!
|
|
|
Post by lmsunshine on May 7, 2010 15:51:31 GMT -5
iamsunshine, I think a part of the reason it was reshot is because Angus had short hair in the ending of the original, and they wanted the scene to be seamless (with the Tall Man's look) at the beginning of P2. Thanks for the clarification…funny, when I created my username for the board I didn’t realize most people see it as “ I am Sunshine” it’s actually LM sunshine. And it doesn’t stand for "Little Miss" Sunshine.
|
|