Review of Phantoms (1998) by Eric M — 09 Dec 2009

PHANTOMS.

As a mystery thriller this tale of good versus evil has elements of both science fiction and horror. It did have its scary moments, although in places I found it to be downright flat and the story lame. I suspect a combination of factors at odds with one another. The special effects were pretty good on the whole. I liked the music. It was dark and foreboding and set the mood from the very outset of the film. However, the title does not fit. It is a misnomer and an annoying distraction. I would never recognize the movie by this title and in fact kept wondering about it as I watched the action unfolding. I think that a better title would be ?The Ancient Enemy,? since that is the name given to the evil force in the movie.

The casting was decent. Peter O?Toole was dignified and righteous as the tabloid journalist hot on the trail of his arch rival and nemesis, an age-old demon which he has referred to in his reporting as The Ancient Enemy. This malevolent spirit has apparently shown up before at certain critical junctures in human history to threaten mankind?s existence and has now morphed once again as a powerful bio-toxic entity in its latest attempt to take over the world from a small and remote mountain village way up in the Colorado Rockies. Rose McGowan and Joanna Going were credible in the roles of two sisters caught up by surprise in the confusion and mayhem stemming from a mass murder and supernatural happenings around them. Ben Affleck was good as the young sheriff in charge of the ensuing criminal investigation on all fronts, haunted himself by his own personal demon, just trying to do his job and keep his head clear under difficult circumstances. Liev Schreiber was highly effective as the creepy deputy. Bad language, violence and such should be considered in context and were not overly excessive.