User Reviews

In the tradition of other horror movie franchises, Phantasm takes the action route for this sequel. The horror and sci-fi are still there but there's more combat, stuff blowing-up and gore than there was before. I suppose it does keep things fresh but it does get a bit too tongue-in-cheek sometimes. Kinda like Evil Dead II, I'm not sure if this really fits in with the tone set by the first film.

Phantasm II begins right after where the first film left off. The freaky dwarfs have invaded Mike's home and Reggie must foil the Tall Man's attempts at kidnapping him. Flash forward seven years and Mike is in a mental institution. He is released upon admitting that the whole Phantasm experience was made up only to find that in his absence the Tall Man has been plundering many of America's small towns and thousands of graves are empty.

After the Tall Man kills Reggie's family in a gas explosion, Reg teams up with Mike to hunt him down and kick his head in...again. All they have to do is follow the trail of dead people, right? And this time they are ready for whatever outlandish tricks he's ready to play on them, armed to the teeth with quadruple-barrelled shotguns, flame-throwers and chainsaws. Complicating matters are Mike's inexplicable visions of the future and psychic connections to a mysterious girl he has never met before.

As before, the Tall Man is the best thing in the film. Angus Scrimm is so wonderfully silent and unholy that no matter how slick and entertaining the rest of the film is he'll come out on top.

Don Coscarelli was given a budget 10 times that of the original by Universal, but they did interfere with production quite a lot, much to his annoyance. They said that only one of the original cast members could return, so he chose Reggie Bannister and re-cast Mike with James LeGros (after turning down Brad Pitt!). It does kind of ruin the continuity a bit but it's not terribly distracting.

They also demanded a more simple and linear story, so don't expect any of the bizarre dream sequences and flashbacks. If you're a big fan of the first this might seem disappointing but you know how studios love to think less of their audiences.

The higher budget helps Phantasm to have a bigger scope than the original. The first half of the film feels like a road movie with lots of pretty scenery while the rest is kind of like a low-rent Ghostbusters/Lost Boys clone. Which sounds like a negative point, but the hokey tone of the film vanishes when it heads off into HP Lovecraft territory.

If you're looking for answers as to what the first film was all about then you won't find many. In fact it raises more questions than anything else. But it's still a fun ride. I'm just kind of annoyed that the music took the more generic synth approach that was common in the 80's instead of the funky 70's beats we got before. The main Phantasm theme is still there for your enjoyment however and gets a great finish on the end credits.

It's been many years since the events of the first film, and the now grown Mike (James Le Gros) reunites with old friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) to wage war against the otherworldly Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his plot to harvest the dead for nefarious purposes. Mike is also aided by psychic girl Liz (Paula Irvine), with whom he has a mental connection.

In the 9 years between the first and this sequel, Phantasm had developed quite a cult following, and with the horror market booming, Universal gave director Coscarelli a much larger budget to work with. The result is an entertaining, if derivative, continuation. The narrative is much more linear but no less outlandish, as the Tall Man and his minions lay waste to entire towns. This being an 80's film, stuff has to blow up real good, with several giant fireballs exploding into the air, as well as a fetishistic weaponry montage. There's also some gratuitous nudity on display, and inventively gory effects from Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman, among others. Coscarelli had obviously watched Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films a few times, as this lifts some camera shots from those, as well as emulating their horror-meets-black-comedy tone. Still, as far horror sequels go, this is one of the better ones, in my opinion, and it has developed its own cult following, as well as influencing future efforts from others (Eric Kripke, the creator of the long-running TV series Supernatural, borrowed a few things from this.

A Michael Baldwin wasn't in this movie as Mike for some reason the part was given to another actor however A Michael Baldwin returned for the third and the others that followed in my opinion A Michael Baldwin is 'Mike' like christopher reeve will always be superman.

WELL.... You GET.... What You PAY for!

You will HAVE TO INVEST an Hour and a 1/2 of Your life in PHANTASM II.... I would say.... OK... Fair Enough!

BUT BEFORE DIVING IN....

FIRST... Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context:

When I saw PHANTASM in a theater in 1979, I liked it so much (9*), I went back a week later and saw it again! I missed Phantasm II while I was living in Colombia, So I decided to take a delayed-by-25-years look! My psyche was all set to enjoy PHANTASM II to the max! I hadn't seen much in the horror/terror genre in recent years, because I really don't like the direction the genre has been going in throughout the past 1/4 century. 8 to 9* was what I was hoping for...I was somewhat disappointed, but will give it 7.5*.

Let's talk about P-2 for a moment...The whole film is based around sustaining a mood of imminent danger, a foreboding atmosphere. If you agree to go along with it, providing suspension of disbelief, you'll probably get a nice kick out of P-2. IMHO elements of the film, music, sound effects, lighting, pacing, etc., all contribute well to that end. So if you are genre-friendly , let's bump my 7.5* UP to 8*! If the horror/terror genre usually isn't your cup of tea, well let's round DOWN to 6*...Fair enough? In this case, I'd say having seen the original PHANTASM would add tend to add a Star to rating P-2, so it does help, but isn't absolutely indispensable.

I really had forgotten how much gruesome gore there was in the original. There's probably even more here, but a lot less than in recent offerings, undoubtedly influenced by PHANTASM 1 and 2, like the SAW franchise (YECH!) As is typically the case in "B" movies, the acting and dialog usually leave a lot to be desired, but, hey, we don't watch these scouting for potential Oscar-nominees, now do we?!?

Bottom-line: ALL of you who are, or have been horror/terror film buffs; a semi-cult classic you won't want to miss, or that you'll want to REDUX! If not in the above group...MAYBE NOT!

In either case...ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

This was a rather good movie and when it came out there was quite the advertising campaign for it. One that horror movies rarely got back then. The first one though was still better, this one sort of picks up where that left off as there is some backtracking, but I actually liked the way the first one left off. It had a good spooky finish and this movie sort of ruins it. Angus Scrimm is good as the tall man and the guy who played Reggie is back as well. Jodie, however, is played by a different guy, though it doesn't detract to much from this one as he was a kid in the first so you don't really notice. However, when they switch back to the original kid in the next one it is a bit noticeable. Here we have Reggie and Jodie going after the tall man. He has basically wiped out both of their families so they now have nothing left to lose. They get themselves an arsenal that includes two shotguns secured together that for some reason would become popular. So popular in fact that they would return in the next movie even though it was clearly dropped and left behind in this one. The tall man has his weapons two as he has three spheres of doom here. In the next movie they would pretty much be the main focus, but here they are still just a weapon used by the tall man. He also has his dwarfs and his creepy morticians. This one is a bit more action oriented than the first and not as creepy, but it does work rather well and is entertaining.

Phantasm II lacks everything that made the first one great. It has no humor and leads The Tall Man down the same road that Pinhead and Freddy traveled in their respective sequels. The bottom line is that Phantasm II is a lame sequel that lacks all the elements that made the first one a horror classic. To fill those holes Phantasm II relies on a quadruple barrel shotgun and a meaningless chainsaw duel. Reggie tries his best to save the flick, but it just goes no where. And the new Michael didn't help much either.

While it isn't the iconic horror film it's predecessor was, Phantasm II is backed by better production values, a cool apocalyptic premise and a stand-out improvement in James LeGros replacing Baldwin. There is a reason why LeGros has appeared in a great deal more than Baldwin (including a hilarious parody of Brad Pitt in Living in Oblivion) and shows it here in spades. Frankly I feel this was as good or better than the first but the required shock ending that punctuates each of the films in this series has grown tiresome and makes each feel like they do not truly stand on their own as their own experience. Nevertheless, the entire series is original, imaginative and involving. Phantasm II really should have capped off the series with it's big budget backing, as the very next film in the series felt a lot like Alien 3 where the film picks up characters from the second film discarded in a very unfortunate and disappointing manner...but I digress. Phantasm II is solid, quad barrel shotgun monster blasting fun and a must see for monster movie fans everywhere!

Phantasm II (1988) was a sequel cum remake that was produced by a Hollywood company nine years after the release of the first film. More of a remake than a true sequel. This time armed with a bigger budget and "named" actors, Don Coscerelli and company this time around make a film with mixed results. What could have been a great film turns out to be the first film with a big budget. This time around Reggie and Ice Cream man and the kid (James Le Gros) have been following the "Tall Man" (Angus Scrimm) all around middle America. Everywhere he goes, death follows him. Can Reggie and the kid save the day?

Phantasm II was also plagued by the M.P.A.A. Many of scenes were left on the cutting room floor or were either re-shot with bloodless scenes. I have seen the work print and it was real graphic. Too bad this movie was heavily edited because without them it's just another boring horror film using rehashed material and what not. A shame because this film had such potential.

I didn't like this movie. When it first came out, I was very disappointed with it. The movie just didn't feel right. I felt cheated. Phantasm II was filled with one clichés too many and the actors didn't seem to enjoy themselves. That's what made the first film fun. Thankfully the third film rectify this situation and returned to it's low budget roots. For completists only. Followed by two more sequels.

C-

Full disclosure: I have not seen any of the other "Phantasm" films, and do not expect ever to do so. This one was adequate in some ways. It was a little fun to see such a young James Le Gros, before his countenance doomed him to a career of playing villains. The acting was OK for this type of film, but the script, wow. I'll just say that I laughed out loud at what would have been the most inappropriate time, one of the most supposedly intense and scary scenes. I'm pretty sure they weren't going for camp, but who knows.

As far as sequels go (and in particular horror sequels) they don't really have a reputation for living up to the original. Now, I'm not saying (the imaginatively titled) 'Phantasm II' surpasses the original, but it does continue the story quite nicely and even utilises its bigger budget to reasonable effect.

In the first film a young boy discovers a sinister plot by the wonderfully creepy 'tall man' (played brilliantly by Angus Scrimm) who, with the help of his Jawa-like minions, are stealing local corpses for some dastardly scheme. In 'Part II' the action picks up several years later when the boy comes out of a mental institution after not being believed, only for the tall man to come for him again.

Now, what follows is - mainly - pretty standard stuff, however, what elevated it for me was two three things: I've already mentioned how creepy the tall man is and, as an antagonist, he really should be up there was horror greats like Freddy and Jason. But, no villain would be anything without an equally great hero to match him. Now, if you think I'm going to say that it's the young lad who steals the show then you'd be wrong. It's actually a bald, overweight ex ice cream seller with an awful ponytail and more than a striking resemblance to 'Hank' from 'Breaking Bad' (seriously, once you see him as Dean Norris, you'll never un-see it!). Somehow Reggie Bannister makes one of the most compelling and strange horror heroes since 'Ash' from the 'Evil Dead' franchise. You really can't help but enjoy his performance and root for the tubby little anti-hero and his - awesome - four-barreled shotgun which looks like something Ripley would put together in order to gun down some xenomorphs.

The other thing that really makes the film stand out are the sets. They're extremely creative in their use of lighting and design. Now, if you start watching this film you may wonder what I'm referring to as most of the story takes place on the road in very standard locations. However, these evil forces seem to come from their own dimension and, when the action finally switches to there and we catch a glimpse and where these creatures come from, the sets really so portray a sense of the 'other-worldlyness' of the enemy.

I'd definitely recommend the first 'Phantasm' film if you've never dipped your toe into the series, but if you enjoyed that one then this sequel certainly adds to the overall world created in the original. Just don't go getting a haircut like Reggie!

Phantasm II takes place around 7 years after the first film and right from the start, this film is instantly entertaining. It has perfect pacing, good performances, great characters, fantastic practical effects, great score and an epic tone. The tall man is also a lot better utalized in this movie than the first Phantasm since they build him up as a huge, evil force.

If there would be anything that I didn't like it would be that I just didn't buy the eventual relationship between Mike and Liz, and it didn't work as well as some scenes required it to.

But overall, I loved this movie. 9.2/10!

The Tall man is back(still played menacingly by Angus Scrimm), though James Le Gros takes over the role of Mike in this sequel that picks up at the end of the first, when Mike was taken into the mirror by the tall man. Reggie rescues him, but the house is destroyed. Several years later, Mike is released from an asylum, having convinced the doctors that the events of Part I were just in his imagination. However, Mike doesn't believe that, and reunites with Reggie to track down and defeat the tall man, who has laid waste to small towns across middle America.

Bigger budgeted sequel is scrupulously faithful to Part I, and introduces some new ideas to the narrative, but it isn't as eerie as the first, and is far too reliant on gruesome F/X to move the story forward, a real shame that, though there is another memorable twist ending.

I can't say I really liked Coscarelli's follow up to "Phantasm" much, at least I can't say I enjoyed the first hour a whole lot. Where the original film is like a waking nightmare, this is a pretty routine horror action flick filled with weird plot gaps and silly ideas. But then the last half hour happened, and I have to say I begrudgingly endorse this flick ... but only for the gleefully outrageous gory climax.

I saw "Phantasm II" before watching any of the other Phantasm movies, and despite its shortcomings, it converted me into a fan of the series. While it has an effective atmosphere and an interesting array of characters, the plot certainly could have been more carefully written. There is one part where Mike risks his life handling a very dangerous flying sphere and uses it as a key to open some weird door, but the movie fails to show the purpose of opening that door. Sure, it shows you what lies behind the door, but that's it! Mike and his friends don't really do anything in there! Also, the Tall Man goes through the trouble of luring Liz into a trap, but he just throws her against a wall once he catches her. If Liz was such a threat to his evil plans (as the plot asserts), then wouldn't the Tall Man want to make sure she's dead? Still, when you have a couple psychics, an ex-ice cream vendor, a mysterious hitchhiker, an army of dwarves, flying spheres and a rather omnipotent--and scary-looking--old guy called the Tall Man rolled into one picture, the movie promises to be interesting, and it delivers for the most part.

Compared to the other Phantasm movies, I liked "Phantasm II" better than "Phantasm III" and "Phantasm: Oblivion," but it's not quite as good as the original Phantasm.

Mike And Reggie Team Up Once Again To Find And Save A Young Girl Who Like Mike Sees The Tall Man As Well And Who Herself Becomes The Tall Man's New Victim Target. Reggie Bannister is Back As Reggie, James Le Gros As a Teenage Boy Mike Who Apprenly This Time Replace Michael Baldwin Who Played The Mike in The First One, Paula Irvine As Liz The New Target For The Tall Man And Who Kinda Becomes Mike's Love intrest And Finally There's Angus Scrimm is Back As The Tall Man And Who's Even More Cunning And Evil Then Ever Before. Filmmaker Don Coscarelli is Back As He Directs This Great Follow Up Sequel To The First Phantasm But in This Sequel He Adds Some More Fun Action And it's Even Better Than The First One.

I can't explain in words how much I love the Phantasm series. Each film is a direct continuation of the last and each time we get answers to questions about The Tall Man while at the same time more are being asked. Phantasm II is probably my fave in the series not because of the action (most phans say it's the most action packed but I think part III holds that honor) but really this is the only one where Reggie and Mike are side by side and in my opinion thats why it's the best (in all the others Reggie being the horn dog he is is trying to find mike AND get laid...which is still cool). I can't believe that no other phans have mentioned how much Phantasm II mirrors Evil Dead 2 (I know they've had to notice it) that however is not a problem cause right next to the Phantasm series is the Evil Dead series. Just look at it and you will see what I'm talking about. Phantasm II follows Evil Dead 2 by going into comedy at times, others have complained that Phantasm III had comedy but they for some reason they forget II did also....it just wasn't as campy but still was funny, like when Reggie beat a dwarf creature into pieces by going crazy on it with the end of a shot gun or the look on his face when Alchemy is riding him and smacks him on top of his head and when he pulls a chainsaw on the graver at the end only for the graver to pull out a really LONG chainsaw...and of course just about everything Reggie says is funny. And like Ash getting equipped with his chainsaw in ED 2 Reggie gets his now trademark 4-barrel shotgun, and the scene where the mortician gets a sphere in his back and bounces all over the room makes me think of ED 2. But believe me Phantasm II is not a copy cat of ED 2. It still has some creepy stuff in it like the scene where the grandfather is getting his mouth sewn up. But this movie screams atmosphere more than anything, with it's great score and visual style really helping to push that home. All the actors give great performances and The Tall Man is the ultimate villain thanks to a great creepy performance by Angus Scrimm...all he's gotta do is twitch an eyebrow. Also the scene where the priest gets it is really cool (you can tell that the MPAA made them trim it though but thats just my opinion). But I think what really separates this horror series from most is that in almost all the other you root for Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers and even though I love The Tall Man (God bless you Mr. Scrimm) Reggie is without a doubt THE man. Some people may have Indiana Jones or any of those guys as their fave characters but mine will always be Reggie (played perfectly by Reggie Bannister) along with the Ash character from Evil Dead (Bruce Campbell...need I say more), Herbert West from the Re-Animator series (Jeffrey Combs...one of the funniest actors around) and the best character Kurt Russell (no introduction needed) EVER played....no it's not Snake Plissken...but Jack Burton from the great Big Trouble in Little China. Sorry for going off on a rant there just wanted you to know. Anyways Reggie is the glue that holds the series together. Why Universal has not put this and part III out on DVD is beyond me, yet they will do another DVD edition of The Mummy remake. I think the reason this series is not as well known is because of the studio's killing it's chances (check out the web site on how they released Phantasm II) and instead of going in different directions to gain mass appeal (like the Elm Street series....which if I'm right Don Coscarelli was offered to direct part 2...the most under appreciated of that series) the Phantasm series as they went (and hopefully go) on tried to please it's core audiance. And the series keeps the same characters through out so you really care for these guys and like them want to know what the hell is going on. I love these movies more than any other series and hope they are continued to be made. Hopefully we will see that Roger Avary penned script be made into a movie soon.

One does not need to have seen any of the other films in this series to enjoy Phantasm II. The story, though odd, is easy to pick up on. Once we are introduced to everyone, it is easy to figure out what they represent, and what they have on their agendas. The story centers around two men (Reggie Bannister and James Legros) attempting to track down and kill "The Tall Man" played with sinister creepiness by Angus Scrimm. When you are name "Angus Scrimm", its a pretty good bet you are going to end up as a horror movie actor. Angus Scrimm the Pediotrist just doesn't sound right. But this Tall Man and his minions travel from one small town to the next robbing graves and turning the corpses into evil dwarfs resembling Jawas from Star Wars. And in Phantasm II, The Tall man has apparently made the jump from not only harvesting the dead, to also preying on the living. Needless to say, he must be stopped.

This is a gory, campy film that is fairly well-paced. The acting is as good as one could ask for, though the experience of the cast is fairly limited to this series itself, and other genre pics. Only James Legros really went on to do more high profile projects after this. And he seems to have peaked in the 1990s. The action is played out in a series of explosions, characters battling each other with hardware store equipment, and using mortuary devises to inflict painful death. The Tall man has quite a lot at his disposal. He has his dwarf army, creepy mortuary workers, gas mask-wearing grave diggers, and chrome spheres that seek out and suck the brains from the nearest person they find. But our heroes are also heavily armed, drive a fast car, and have a determination to see this thing through to the end.

The only trouble is, this is just one of four parts to this series. Even though things seemed to be wrapped up nicely until the final frames, apparently this story goes on and on. And though I enjoyed this film, I'm still not compelled to seek out the other three. I got the point just fine with this one. The writer/director of this film has not done a lot else outside this series. Perhaps he has ideas and just can't get funding. Or maybe just no additional ideas. If you are a true fan of this series, more power to you. If not, and you still come across Phantasm II, give it a look. Its well-made, gory, suspenseful and the production values aren't dirt-cheap. 7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Liz Reynolds (Paula Irvine) has visions of Mike (James Le Gros), the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his minions. She puts it all in her book as she wishes for Mike's help. Mike lies his way out of the psychiatric hospital. He goes to dig up his parents' bodies but Reggie (Reggie Bannister) explains that the story of the attack was made up. Mike finds all the bodies in the cemetery missing. Reggie drives home with Mike and his house explodes killing his entire family. Reggie and Mike go hunting for The Tall Man and they pick up hitchhiker Alchemy (Samantha Phillips). Meanwhile Liz's grandfather dies and The Tall Man confronts Liz. Father Meyers (Kenneth Tigar) presides over the funeral and later does battle with The Tall Man.

The attempt to show the world of Phantasm in the first part of the movie is a complete failure. It is confused and undecipherable. More importantly, it is probably unnecessary. There has got to be an easier way to bring Liz in with Mike. She could have easily been in one of the confrontations on the long road to find the Tall Man. They picked up Alchemy on the road. There is no reason why they couldn't have rescued Liz somewhere along the way. The first half is just a mess. It continues to be a mess but at least the second half has more fun as the group battles the Tall Man with the flying spheres. That is fun and interesting. It doesn't alleviate the fact that this is an incoherent story.

Whoever made the poster for "Phantasm II" was smart enough to depict the movie's two drawing points: Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man, and the flying metal ball. Don Coscarelli must have felt like he'd hit the jackpot when Scrimm signed on for the first movie - and all the others. Here is an actor whose very appearance invites fear; he's like a Jack Palance stand-in. The series' attempts to give him supernatural abilities and yellow blood don't really amount to much; they should have just let him hang out in the background looking evil.

You might recall that the first "Phantasm" movie was basically a few neat schlock effects with no cohesive story or characters to string them all together. I remember wondering if the budget was spent entirely on effects that Coscarelli couldn't wait to show the world - and thus skipped writing a screenplay or developing characters.

"Phantasm II", which, like all sequels, has an obviously bigger budget, possibly proves my theory to have been incorrect. This one has more schlock effects, but makes no more sense. It also has many of the same flaws as the first one, such as pointless driving scenes with tense music giving the impression the characters are on their way to a showdown, but you never know where they're going, or why, so the scenes just play as boring filler.

The bigger budget also apparently paid for some incongruous action-movie like scenes, such as a house exploding, or a car flipping over.

At least the first five minutes of the movie actually explains what The Tall Man is up to: he robs graves to turn the occupants into zombies who kill the inhabitants of small towns. Then, he moves onto another town's graveyard, and starts all over again.

The first movie really should have made that clear.

This relatively auspicious opening makes the viewer hope "Phantasm II" might make more sense than its prequel.

Alas, it is not to be.