Phantasm DVD happenings

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

For horror fans, Phantasm has always been considered a classic. Anchor Bay, which has released DVDs of Halloween and Dawn of the Dead, officially includes director Don Coscarelli's 1979 film in that scary company with a new DVD out today.

Several facets of the film make it a cult classic: the touching portrayal of two brothers in danger, an iconic villain in The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and a floating metallic sphere that's a death-dealing weapon.

A modest theatrical hit — the film cost about $300,000 to make and made about $20 million in North America —Phantasm found its way into homes of horror fans on videocassette. "Viewers were drawn to its bizarre story line," says Jovanka Vuckovic, editor in chief of Rue Morgue magazine.

"People didn't know what to make of it, and couldn't explain why they loved it, but they did."
After seeing the casket of a dead friend taken by The Tall Man, the brothers (Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury) and another friend (Reggie Bannister) investigate. "I realized it is important to have realistic characters you care about (and) can relate to in a horrific situation," says Coscarelli, who wrote and directed.

His choice of a funeral home for the setting allowed Coscarelli, now 53, to address "the icons of what I call 'the American way of death.' "

"When you look at it, it's a very strange and bizarre world. You have this grand procession, and it's overseen by this mysterious fellow, often wearing a black suit, the undertaker, who takes the corpse away and does things to it. This is the kind of thing that could really cause nightmares and does cause nightmares."

Anchor Bay is releasing Phantasm and Phantasm III (1994) with improved video and soundtracks and new commentaries ($20 each). Coscarelli hopes to regain the rights to 1988's Phantasm II and get it re-released soon.

He's working on Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She-Vampires, a sequel to 2002's supernatural comedy Bubba Ho-Tep. But a final Phantasm film is possible.

"I'm still friends with these actors," Coscarelli says. "We're always conspiring how we are going to make the next one."