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Phantasm (1979)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
28 March 1979 (USA) moreTagline:
If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead! morePlot:
A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
1 win & 1 nomination moreNewsDesk:
(75 articles)
Satan Hates You. And You. And You Over There? Yeah, Especially You. (From Twitch. 11 June 2009, 1:58 PM, PDT)
The 'Satan Hates You' Trailer!
(From Icons of Fright. 11 June 2009, 10:00 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
This gives new meaning to the word "BOOOYYY!!!" moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| A. Michael Baldwin | ... | Michael 'Mike' Pearson (as Michael Baldwin) | |
| Bill Thornbury | ... | Jody Pearson | |
| Reggie Bannister | ... | Reggie | |
| Kathy Lester | ... | Lady in Lavender | |
| Terrie Kalbus | ... | Fortuneteller's Granddaughter | |
| Kenneth V. Jones | ... | Caretaker (as Ken Jones) | |
| Susan Harper | ... | Girlfriend | |
| Lynn Eastman-Rossi | ... | Sally (as Lynn Eastman) | |
| David Arntzen | ... | Toby | |
| Ralph Richmond | ... | Bartender | |
| Bill Cone | ... | Tommy | |
| Laura Mann | ... | Double Lavender | |
| Mary Ellen Shaw | ... | Fortuneteller | |
| Myrtle Scotton | ... | Maid | |
| Angus Scrimm | ... | The Tall Man |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
88 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
UK:15 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (video rental version) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:(Banned) (2002) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Italy:VM14 (new rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) (VHS) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | USA:RFilming Locations:
Dunsmuir House & Gardens - 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, California, USA moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
Title was changed to "The Never Dead" for Australian audiences as not to confuse it with the popular Aussie sex comedy Fantasm (1976). moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: In the car chase, Mike shouts that there is no one driving the car behind them, however some poor lighting reveals a tall man driving the car. moreMovie Connections:
Featured in The Distribution of Low Budget Films or The Gardener's Seeds of Evil Killed My Million Dollar Dream (1980) (V) moreSoundtrack:
Sittin' Here At Midnight moreFAQ
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Written, directed, photographed, produced and edited by Don Coscarelli, this doesn't make much sense but it's still a great bit of fun to watch with the lights turned out. This kid named Mike convinces his older brother Jody that there is something weird going on at the local cemetery. So he and Jody break into the old mausoleum and find out that it's actually some kind of factory where people are killer by a flying metal ball, crushed down to a height of about 3'2", dressed up like little monks and packaged up into round metal garbage cans and shipped off for use as slave labour in some other dimension. A dimension ruled and resided over by the mortician (known throughout the entire ordeal as just simply "The Tall Man") working at this cemetery. Then The Tall Man kills another friend of theirs, and they decide to put and end to him, or at least try to.
This movie has many different layered meanings, over the years some people have said that it's a reference to corporate America coming in (in the form of The Tall Man) and killing off everyone (by turning everything into a 'business') and some have said that this movie is also about a kid's loss of innocence and fears about everyone around him leaving (or in this case dying) Whatever the hell this movie is about it's still great fun followed by a couple of really disappointing (and belated) sequels.
***1/2 out of ****