Review of Phantasm (1979) by David L — 05 May 2010
Even when it's bad, it's just so good. Cheesy yes, but cheetos are tasty. This film deserves its status in the cult favorite hall of strange. The freaky music, never leave your brain visuals, and a story daring to reach beyond the average bad dream into a zone where years worth of nightmares are cross connected in an insane maze.
The ball, and the tall man, and the graveyard, and the box, and the hallways of the mortuary, get into your head in a way few scary movies are able to tap, like images that have always been there, but were waiting to be found again.
I liked the heroes as orphan brothers and their friend, the ice cream man. Campy doesn't work much better than this. When I saw it as a child it scared me, now it amuses me, but I still enjoy the passionate well expressed themes, of dueling with death as it takes away our loved ones, of being alone. This is a dreamworld far more effective in its touchstone symbolism than anything Nightmare on Elm Street ever conjured.
This review of Phantasm (1979) was written by David L on 05 May 2010.
Phantasm has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
