The Tall Man. The Silver Sphere.

These images have become icons of the horror industry. The original Phantasm (and its three sequels) will forever hold a place in that great big horror museum in the sky. Don Coscarelli's series is easily one of the highest pinnacles of the genre. The Phantasm films are difficult to classify and unlike any other genre film of its time. These reasons alone often manage to split fans of the genre, but not me.

Presented below is a look at the German Import Set, The Phantasm Quadrilogy. 6-Discs, 4 films, and two alternate cuts that probably shouldn't be here. It's going to be difficult to discuss the series in any detail without giving away some spoilers, so beware. If you've never seen this films or just don't want to know what happens...you've been warned.

Disc One - The first disc of this set starts us off with the original Phantasm feature film. The story should already be familiar about 10 times over. But for the sake of consistency, we'll give a brief synopsis here. Alone in a cemetery, a young man and an alluring vixen share a heated moment followed by the young mans' demise. Soon after, Jodie (Bill Thornbury) and his younger brother Mike (Michael Baldwin) return to this small town for their friend's funeral. Jodie has been taking care of Mike since losing their parents in an accident, but he dreams of moving on...alone. Mike is in turn fearful that Jodie may leave him. Mike is not only haunted by the death of his parents but also the idea of losing his brother as well. Strange things are happening around Morningside Cemetery. A mysterious 'Tall Man" (Angus Scrimm) lurks about, along with hooded dwarves who scuttle by in the darkness. There are silver flying spheres that drain their victims of their blood and odd canisters that seemingly house 'something' sinister as they sit stacked next to a portal to what appears to be another dimension. With the help of their friend and local ice cream man Reggie (Reggie Bannister) the two brothers try to get to the bottom of all of this strangeness surrounding the small town.

I'm going to assume that if you are here, then you are here for a reason and you don't need to be convinced as to why Phantasm is such a great classic horror film. Obviously the strides this film makes despite its evidently low budget is a good start. Coscarelli's unique directorial style and the way he uses his characters. The relationship between Jodie and Mike is key and of course the way that Reggie fits into the mix. The fact that the film doesn't get bogged down by clichés (too much) and almost always has something new to show or tell us. The enigmatic Tall Man played by Angus Scrimm and those pesky silver spheres. I could go on, but I'm sure you've heard it all before, so here it is.

Phantasm is presented in a fairly nice anamorphic transfer, which one-ups the older non-anamorphic Region 1 MGM release (which I believe may even be out of print at this point). While there are a few bumps and bruises along the way, this transfer is still the best I've seen to date for this film. Color reproduction seems to be a little off at times though, and I wouldn't hesitate to say that we could probably do a little bit better (maybe with the upcoming import 'Sphere Set' or a possible Region 1 upgrade). Still, when you consider this set as a whole, it's a clear winner and a slight (ever so slight) sacrifice in quality is much less of a burn. Audio options include a German 5.1 track, along with stereo surround 2.0 tracks in both German and English. Worth mentioning though is that the MGM disc included a 5.1 English option, along with the films' original Mono. So once again, there's a slight compromise in the fact that the films' original mono audio track is not included here. The faux surround track is quite nice mind you and not so obtrusive, but completists will most likely be wanting that missing mono option.

Extras on Disc One include a trailer, 3 TV spots, 4 radio spots and a still gallery.

Disc Two - The second disc of this set features the real meat and potatoes of extras for the original Phantasm. Most (if not all) of these extras are ported over from the old Laser Disc Box Set and/or MGM Region 1 DVD. First up is a (dated) feature length audio commentary with Bill Thornbury (Jody), Michael Baldwin (Mike), Don Coscarelli and Angus Scrimm (Tall Man). The audio commentary is supplemented with the following features: A 20-minute behind-the-scenes reel with commentary, A 10-minute deleted scenes reel, Fangoria TV spot, Fangoria Convention Footage (10-minutes), Australian TV spot, an interview with Angus Scrimm and Don Coscarelli from '79, audio cues including the disco version of the original Phantasm theme and the complete version of Bill Thornbury's song, 'Sittin' Here At Midnight' and last but not least...another still gallery.

Disc Three - The third disc in the set includes the feature film Phantasm II and a few extras which are then continued onto Disc 4. In this sequel, Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike (this time played by James Le Gross who replaces Michael Baldwin from the original) are hunting down The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) in a time period that begins only shortly after the original Phantasm had ended. They have since discovered that The Tall Man travels from town to town, enslaving the dead and they remain hot on his trail (or is The Tall Man hot on their trail?). With the help of a hitchhiker named Alchemy (Samantha Phillips) and a young girl named Liz (Paula Irvine) that Mike has some sort of supernatural connection with - they once again try to put a stop to The Tall Man, his evil silver spheres and dwarf minions.

While Phantasm II has its moments, it never really manages to capture what was so great about the original. The relationship between Jodie (who has since died in a car accident) and Mike is replaced with that of a love interest. The hunter becoming the hunted is a nice spin, but the film plays off as a run of the mill road movie before the shit really hits the fan. But when it hits, it hits hard and the final act is a lot of (goofy) fun. There are improved effects (amazing what can be done with a budget) and the new/improved Spheres are very cool. There's some silliness (like the whole ESP subplot) and a lot of what's here seems a little lazy. Rules are not fully explained (what powers does The Tall Man have exactly?) and at times it feels as if we are in a world in which anything can happen, even more so than in the original. Still, it's a fun 80's romp with familiar characters and a few stand out scenes. And in the end a worthy and recommendable sequel, if only for it's fun b-movie elements. Just not to be taken as the classic the original truly is.

Disc three is rounded off with some nice extras. There's a trailer, 3 TV Spots and a still gallery. The same footage of Angus Scrimm at the Fangoria Convention from 1989 (also on Disc 2) is also presented here again. But the big bonus on this disc is no less than two hours of behind-the-scenes footage!

Video quality on Phantasm II is slightly suspect as with the first. Not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but could definitely use a little work. Some scenes fare better than others, and the worst amounts too some drab or muted colors and some minor print damage. Good not great and I wouldn't hesitate to say that there might even be a higher quality version on the way. Not to mention the fact that the film begins with a full frame title sequence and then switches over to an anamorphic image of about 1.77:1 to 1.85:1. Which begs the question, are we presented with a true anamorphic image here? I have my suspicions, this may be a modified full frame transfer set as an anamorphic widescreen image, but I'm not 100% sure. Audio options include German 2.0 and 5.1 and English 2.0. Oddly enough, the 2.0 track is straight stereo, unlike the first Phantasm which was stereo surround.

Disc Four - This disc represents the bulk of the bonus features for Phantasm 2. There's about an hours worth of footage from a convention called PHANTASMANIA and about 30-minutes of footage from 'another' Fangoria Convention. Luckily, this footage is different than that of the Angus Scrimm footage we've already seen...twice. The biggest extra on Disc 4 however is a full-length work print of Phantasm 2. This print runs about 103 minutes and features longer scenes (in many instances) and all of the excised gore from the R-Rated print. Keeping in mind that this is a work print and that all of the sound effects, music etc. are not in place. Also, this print was obviously sourced from an analog master of some sort, so it looks like a 3rd generation bootleg. It's full frame and has a time code running on the bottom. That being said it's still a tremendous extra and very, very watchable.

Disc Five - Unlike the first four discs, Disc 5 represents the feature film Phantasm 3: Lord of The Dead along with the films' extras. We'll start things off with the feature itself.

Phantasm 3 is the first of the series that went straight to video; unfortunately a certain level of street cred is usually lost based on this fact alone. The story reunites Jodie (Bill Thornbury) and his younger brother Mike (Michael Baldwin) along with Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). Points are now gained for having the 4 original main players together again for the first time since the original. Let's play a little catch up. Reggie and Mike have both been hunting down The Tall Man and on the run from him (all at the same time) since Phantasm 2. As with the second film in the series (which picks up right where the first left off) Part 3 resumes right at the end of Part 2. Mike's new found love is killed in a car wreck, and his deceased brother Jodie has been transformed into one of The Tall Man's silver spheres (or something like that). Allow me to explain. One of the major plot points in Phantasm 3, concerns The Tall Man and how he transplants his victims' brains into the silver spheres. He uses these spheres to track down more victims and he apparantly has (at least) hundreds of them at his disposal. Jodie now inhabits one of those spheres, but is also able to materialize as himself and warn Mike and Reggie of impending danger.

Silly? Yes, and certainly not up to snuff with the previous two films in the series. Loyal sidekicks this go round include a spunky black chick named Rocky (Gloria Lynne Henry) and a spunky kid named Tim (Kevin Connors). I know, this has crappy sitcom written all over it. If accepted at face value (as pure fluff and a half decent time waster) Phantasm 3 has a certain amount of charm to offer. Once again however, we fall into that cinematic trap of there being no set of solid rules and in general, a lot of what's happening here just doesn't make much sense. However, Phantasm 3 does offer buckets of blood and some nudity. So at the very least, will appeal to the lowest common denominator. Keep an eye out for the scene that plays off like Coscarelli's version of a gore drenched 'Home Alone' - classy.

Quality wise, this one is the best looking of the bunch thus far with a fairly solid anamorphic transfer and decent stereo sound. Extras (all on the same disc) include the films' trailer and a full-length work print as with Phantasm 2. While the differences aren't as drastic this time around between the original cut and the work print, there are a few, if subtle additions including some extended gore scenes. But you'd be hard pressed to notice too much of a difference between the R-Rated cut and the work print, where as with the second film, there was quite a bit of an obvious difference. As with the work print for Part 2, we're talking full frame image, time code running along the bottom and 3rd or 4th generation VHS bootleg quality at best. So go in knowing what to expect here. As far as extras go, that's it for Part 3.

Disc Six - The final disc in the set also represents the final(?) film in the series. Phantasm IV Oblivion is presented in the most solid anamorphic widescreen image on the set thus far. Virtually flawless with nice color reproduction and quite a solid stereo English track as well. Part 4 is the only anamorphic image in the set that appears to be a true 1.85:1 ratio as well. This is the only film in the set that gives you a full frame option as well. The only extra however, is a lonely trailer. One can hardly quibble though, considering the wealth of extras presented on the remainder of the set.

Phantasm IV definitely represents a step up in the series from the second and third installments. As with Part 3 in the series Jodie (Bill Thornbury), Mike (Michael Baldwin), Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) all return for this, the final(?) installment of the series. Coscarelli adapts a simplistic style of storytelling, that is likely to only appeal to fans of the series and for this I am actually thankful. Finally, a sequel for the fans. Picking up exactly where Part 3 left us, Mike is on the run haunted by The Tall Man and Reggie has been left on his own, to deal with the deadly silver spheres.

I don't want to give too much away for those who may not have ventured into Oblivion's territory. But Mike is taken back to the past and Jodie makes periodic appearances as in Part 3 while Reggie is left to travel alone for most of the film. It's great to see these relationships at the heart of the film. It's one of the things that made the first film so special. Best of all is the fact that unused footage from the first film is presented here in an attempt to tie it all together. Still, there are some clueless bits and we run into the 'world without rules' territory, but this is something that each of the films in the series has suffered from, even the first film. For some, the lack of gore (except for the 'breast spheres' scene, outstanding!) or minimal appearances of the flying silver spheres may be a sore point. Some may find more solace in Part 2 or the ultra gory Lord of the Dead. For me, in the end, Oblivion is the most worthy of the series since the original. It's clever, smart and most worthy of the Phantasm name.

There you have it, a Limited Edition Set (2000 pieces) that certainly belongs in a class of its own. You'll have to do the math for yourself. While it's likely we'll see better transfers down the road, it's unlikely that the work prints will ever surface again. They probably shouldn't even be on this set to begin with (and how about that two hours worth of behind-the-scenes footage of Part 2?). Despite the quality of the work prints (or the actual films themselves for that matter), this set is still worth a purchase, particularly for Part 2 and its wealth of interesting extras. I've presented the evidence; you can be judge and jury. Myself? I'll stick with this set, and probably purchase the import 'Sphere Set' when it's released as well. I'm a glutton for punishment, how bout you? BOOOOYYYYY!

Buy it at Xploited Cinema!