It’s October, the season of dead leaves, intoxication, trick r treating and horror films. Last year I reviewed four of my all-time favourite horror films, so for this Halloween I’m going to review a series that in recent years has become a favourite of mine. The Phantasm series.

I’ve just started studying an MA in creative writing at a new university hence producing content has been a struggle recently, however I promise that by October 31^st I will’ve covered all five Phantasm films. So let’s kick off Halloween 2018 with the series’ first instalment from 1979.

This low budget indie horror centres around Mike, a 13-year-old boy being looked after by his older brother Jody along with local ice cream man and family friend Reggie. Mike approaches his friends after witnessing some strange incidents in their small American town, most of which concerning an old, menacing ‘Tall Man’. After some investigation, the trio discover that the Tall Man is resurrecting the dead as dwarfish zombies and taking them to another world. The three use everything at their disposal to stop the Tall Man, all the while avoiding his deadly silver sphere, army of dwarves and reality altering abilities.

The Characters

One of the reasons to watch this series is the characters. Mike, Jody and Reggie make up a family that was born out of tragedy. In the first act, we learn that as well as losing their parents, Mike and Jody also lost an older brother called Tommy. Phantasm spends a lot of time establishing the trio’s chemistry and relationship and you do become invested in them, especially Mike.

We see that the deaths of his parents and older brother has had an affect on him. He worries about Jody, becoming very protective of him, even going as far as spying on him. The film does a great job of introducing the characters and establishing their personalities and quirks. However, the film fails to provide them with a compelling plot

The Plot

The big weakness of the first film, which may scare off potential fans, is its pacing. In the first two acts the plot is very slow and repetitive. For example, it takes ages until Mike finally starts investigating the Tall Man. He sees a fortune teller but learns very little. After that, he continues to stalk Jody, Jody and Reggie practice their music, Mike encounters a dwarf creature, he tells Jody about it, is ignored by him and then heads over to the mausoleum.

Periods of filler and scenes of no consequence are scattered throughout the film, making it a really dull experience at times. The plot does progress, taking some cool twists and turns, making for some memorable scenes but you have to endure a lot to reach those points.

The Horror

Phantasm is a low budget horror from the 70s’, hence expecting an experience as intense as 2017’s It is unrealistic and not fair. However, it is appropriate to expect a charming and occasionally creepy experience similar to 1990’s It.

The horror ranges from quite effective to unintentionally funny. For example, one scene depicts Mike and Jody trying to kill a small fly-like monster in their house. The creature has big cartoony round eyes and giant yellow teeth. It looks like a Fraggle from Fraggle Rock. Another example are the dwarf creatures. While on paper the idea sounds hilarious, the execution in the film is actually quite well done. You don’t see them at first, just strange shapes hiding behind gravestones followed by some doglike growling, but when you do see them, they leap out of the darkness, sprinting and roaring like animals, resulting in some good jumpscares.

The greatest element of the film’s horror is of course the Tall Man, portrayed potently by the late Angus Scrimm. Occasionally, like the fly monster, he’s unintentionally amusing with the over-the-top angry faces he displays. For most of the film however his presentation is subtle and menacing. Whenever he appears, your attention intensifies. Very little information about him is given in the film hence when the plot suddenly indicates a backstory of him, you’re compelled.

In conclusion, Phantasm is mostly solid horror film despite its poor pacing. The characters and its horror make it worth watching and an essential experience for the rest of the series as all the characters and plot points in this film are expanded on in the sequels.

I give Phantasm a good 6 out of 10.

Keep your eyes on Duffhood this Halloween as our journey through the Phantasm saga continues in the upcoming review of Phantasm 2.