(1979) ****The first time I saw this movie Octo and I were visiting our future Step-mom and step-siblings in Virginia. I'm pretty sure the adults were not watching it with us considering the first shot in the movie is of a couple having sex.
The film centers on the creepy mausoleum/funeral home, "Morningside." After their friend Tommy gets offed in the first scene, we see Jordy and Reggie at his funeral. Jordy goes into the mausoleum to pay respects to his parents who are housed there. The inside of this place has always stuck with me. Really white marble that just goes on forever, broken up here and there by blood red velvet curtains. It's awesome.
Jordy's kid brother Mike sees some weird shit while he's tearing around the cemetary on his motorbike. Mike, in all his late 70's hair glory, decides to take a closer look inside the funeral home and gets attacked by the Creepy Tall Man and a couple of angry Jawas. One of the great things about this movie - as Octo noted in his past review - is that there is little time wasted on people not buying what is going on. Mike manages to cut off and keep a finger from the Creepy Tall Man. He tells the whole story to Jordy and shows him the finger which is still oozing yellow blood. Jordy takes one look and says, "Okay, I believe you." Ha!
Then they proceed to get lots of guns to go and "figure out what is going on." Reggie, who is always in his Ice Cream Man uniform, (pairing it sometimes with a sweater or better yet, a leather vest!) gets in on the action as well. In an incredibly easy fashion they figure out what is going on - Creepy Tall Man is from another planet and they are using the dead bodies as slaves. Once they shrink them down to about 3'2" tall, that is.
I just cannot tell you how much I enjoyed seeing this movie again! I admit to being totally freaked out by the Creepy Tall Man when I first saw this movie. The actor who plays him, Angus Scrimm was born to play this guy. He is still creepy, but there wasn't too much of a scare factor left for me. Not that I cared. This movie is just totally fun, freaky and a little gross too. It's 1979 in all it's cool cars, big guns and bad clothes glory. Yay!
Forget my hair, check out these socks!
9 comments:
Oh I love this movie, and all the sequels! I'm so glad you dug it. Gotta get back to movie watchin'.
Love Phantasm so much, this is another movie I sneaked a peak at while at the drive-in with my parents. It was of course on the screen I wasn't supposed to watch. I had nightmares about that ball and the Jawa looking guys.
Ah memories...
Gotta dock you points for not including a pic of the killer silver ball, though!
There really is nothing quite like the honky tonk horror vibe of Phantasm. Undoubtedly effective in many ways, but just so damn crazy-cheesy.
Those Jawas are so fucking pissed all the time!
Wouldn't you be pissed if you woke to an afterlife where you were a midget slave??
I ever seen or heard of this movie before. It sounds interesting.
You've never heard of Phantasm? Good lord.
Don't start!
Ooh, can I start?
Whirly, you've never heard of Phantasm before? What the hell, girl!
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