Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

Last updated
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead
Phantasm 3.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Don Coscarelli
Written byDon Coscarelli
Produced byDon Coscarelli
Starring
CinematographyChris Chomyn
Edited byNorman Buckley
Music by Fred Myrow
Christopher L. Stone
Distributed byStarway International Inc.
Anchor Bay (DVD)
Release date
  • May 6, 1994 (1994-05-06)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,500,000

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (also known as just Phantasm III) is a 1994 American science fantasy horror film and the second sequel in the Phantasm series, written and directed by Don Coscarelli. The film stars Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man, Reggie Bannister, and A. Michael Baldwin. It is followed by Phantasm IV: Oblivion .

Contents

Plot

Immediately after his apparent demise at the end of the previous film, a new Tall Man emerges from his dimension fork. At the same time, after being attacked and ejected from the hearse carrying Mike and Liz, a still alive Reggie watches as the car drives on and explodes. Reggie finds Liz dead but saves Mike from the Tall Man by threatening to kill them all with a grenade. The Tall Man retreats with Liz's head but promises to return when Mike is well again.

In 1988, after spending two years comatose in a hospital, Mike has a near death experience where his deceased brother Jody appears but is interrupted by the Tall Man. Awaking abruptly, he is attacked by a demonic nurse but quickly subdues her. Reggie arrives as she dies, her scalp bursting open to reveal a cranial sphere that takes off through the window after witnessing Mike awake. At Reggie's house, the Tall Man arrives via dimensional fork, fights off Reggie, transforms Jody into a charred sphere, and draws Mike through the gate with him.

The next morning, Reggie awakens and begins traveling towards an Idaho town the Jody-sphere muttered, which is called Holtsville. Upon arriving in the ghost town, he is captured by three looters, who lock him in the trunk of his 1970 Barracuda. Reggie is rescued by a young boy named Tim, who kills the looters when they break into his house.

After the duo manages to bury the bodies in the yard, Tim tells Reggie how the Tall Man took his parents and destroyed the town. In the morning, Reggie and Tim find the three graves empty and their pink hearse gone. Reggie tries to leave Tim at an orphanage, but the boy hides in a car trunk.

Reggie enters a mausoleum and is confronted by a sphere, but he is subdued by two young women, Tanesha and Rocky, before he can destroy it. Reggie tries to warn them, but Tanesha is killed by the sphere. Tim appears and destroys it with his pistol. The three join forces, come upon a convoy of hearses driven by Gravers, and decide to follow them.

At night, Jody appears to Reggie in a dream and takes him to the Tall Man's lair, where they rescue Mike. As Reggie wakes, Jody opens a portal and Mike emerges. The Tall Man tries to follow, but Reggie closes the portal, severing the Tall Man's hands. After fighting off the Tall Man's minions, including the undead looters, they enter a large mausoleum in the city of Boulton. They discover a cryonics facility and Mike remembers that the Tall Man dislikes cold. While Reggie, Rocky, and Tim are separated and attacked by the looters, Mike consults with the Jody-sphere in a psychic link. Jody explains that the Tall Man is amassing an army to conquer dimensions. As he explains, they witness him removing the brain of a newly shrunken dwarf and placing it into a sphere thus turning the body into a drone and the mind into a killer. The Tall Man soon senses their presence and recaptures Mike. Two of the looters wheel in Tim on a gurney and Mike tries to tell him of the thousands of spheres he witnessed but the Tall Man paralyzes him before he can finish.

Meanwhile, Rocky defeats her attacker and helps Reggie. Cut free by the Jody-sphere, Tim runs into the remaining looters, who are killed by the Jody-sphere and Reggie's 4-barrel shotgun. The trio crash into the embalming room, where the Tall Man is operating on Mike's head. Rocky impales the Tall Man with a spear dipped in liquid nitrogen and they lock him in the freezer. However a golden sphere breaks out of his head and attacks them. Reggie catches it in a plunger and they manage to submerge it into the nitrogen tank. Mike inspects his head wound which is bleeding yellow blood and finds a golden sphere beneath the skin. With his eyes like silver spheres and complaining of the cold, he runs away but not before telling Reggie to stay away from him. Jody imparts some cryptic words on Reggie and assures him they'll be in touch before transforming and leaving too.

Reggie suggests exploring the mortuary but Rocky declines and leaves in a hearse. Tim reports that Mike tried to warn him, but they find out too late that there are thousands of spheres waiting to attack, and Reggie is pinned to the wall by them. He tells Tim "It's all over" and to just run. Just as Tim is about to take aim with his pistol, a new Tall Man appears and says "It's never over." He watches as Tim is suddenly attacked by a zombie in the freezer and pulled through a glass window, mirroring the ending of the first film.

Cast

Production

After studio interference forced out A. Michael Baldwin for the second film, he was brought back in Phantasm III. [1] Kerry Prior handled the sphere effects. [2]

Release

The movie had a brief two-week theatrical run in two markets in May 1994: Baton Rouge and St. Louis. In both markets, Phantasm III was the highest-grossing film the two weeks it played. According to Reggie Bannister, Universal Studios refused to theatrically distribute the film in a proper release due to a conflict with Coscarelli. [3] The film was released direct-to-video in October 1994. In 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported that Phantasm III was one of the top 100 highest selling direct-to-video titles. [4]

An unrated version of the film was released in 2007 by Anchor Bay Entertainment, featuring an audio commentary by A. Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm, a deleted scene, and behind-the-scenes footage. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reports that Phantasm III received a positive review from 40% of ten surveyed critics, and the average rating was 4.57/10. [6] Scott Weinberg of Fearnet wrote that while the sequels lack the punch of the original, they're still fun. [7] Steve Barton of DreadCentral rated the film 3.5/5 stars and described the film's humor as hit-or-miss. [5]

The film won Fangoria 's Chainsaw Award for best limited-release film. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Avary</span> Canadian producer, screenwriter and director

Roger Roberts Avary is a Canadian-American film, television director, screenwriter and producer. He worked with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction, for which they won Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Academy Awards. Avary directed Killing Zoe, The Rules of Attraction, Lucky Day, and wrote the screenplays for Silent Hill and Beowulf.

<i>Wishmaster</i> (film) 1997 American film

Wishmaster is a 1997 American fantasy horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman. The film was executive produced by Wes Craven, and is the only film of the Wishmaster series with his name attached. Its plot concerns a djinn, a wish-granting, evil genie who is released from a jewel and seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow djinn to inhabit and enslave the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Coscarelli</span> American screenwriter

Don Coscarelli Jr. is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born to Italian settlers in Libya, he is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the Phantasm franchise, as well as The Beastmaster (1982) and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).

<i>Bubba Ho-Tep</i> 2002 American film

Bubba Ho-Tep is a 2002 American comedy horror film written, co-produced and directed by Don Coscarelli. It stars Bruce Campbell as Sebastian Haff, a man residing in a nursing home who claims to be the real Elvis Presley. The film also stars Ossie Davis as Jack, a black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy, explaining that he was patched up after the assassination, dyed black, and abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Bannister</span> American musician, actor and producer

Reginald Horace "Reggie" Bannister is an American musician, actor, producer, writer, and activist. He is known for his role as Reggie in the Phantasm film series.

<i>Phantasm</i> (film) American horror film

Phantasm is a 1979 American science fantasy horror film that was directed, written, photographed, and edited by Don Coscarelli. The first film in the Phantasm franchise, it introduces the Tall Man, a supernatural and malevolent undertaker who turns the dead of Earth into dwarf zombies to be sent to his planet and used as slaves. He is opposed by a young boy, Mike, who tries to convince his older brother Jody and family friend Reggie of the threat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Scrimm</span> American actor, author, and journalist

Angus Scrimm was an American actor, author, and journalist, known for his portrayal of the Tall Man in the 1979 horror film Phantasm and its sequels.

<i>Phantasm II</i> 1988 film by Don Coscarelli

Phantasm II is a 1988 American science fantasy action-horror film and the sequel to Phantasm (1979). It was written and directed by Don Coscarelli and stars Angus Scrimm, James LeGros and Reggie Bannister. The first film's protagonist, Mike, recently released from a mental institution, recruits Reggie and some new friends in an effort to defeat the villain Tall Man.

<i>Phantasm IV: Oblivion</i> 1998 American film

Phantasm IV: Oblivion is a 1998 American science fantasy horror film. The film was written, produced and directed by Don Coscarelli and starring A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm. It is the third sequel in the Phantasm series and is followed by Phantasm: Ravager.

A. Michael Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He came to public notice as a child actor, appearing as Mike Pearson in Phantasm (1979) and its sequels.

<i>Mortal Massacre</i> 1991 EP by Mortician

Mortal Massacre is the first CD release by New York death metal band Mortician. It consists of their Brutally Mutilated 7" vinyl EP and Mortal Massacre 7" vinyl EP, and live tracks recorded at two separate shows.

<i>Kenny & Company</i> 1976 American film

Kenny & Company is a 1976 American comedy-drama film directed by Don Coscarelli. It stars A. Michael Baldwin and Reggie Bannister, who would both later star in Coscarelli’s Phantasm.

<i>I Sell the Dead</i> 2008 American film

I Sell the Dead is a 2008 horror comedy, the feature film debut from Irish director Glenn McQuaid. It is a period film about grave robbing, starring Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden and Angus Scrimm.

Gloria Lynne Henry is an American actress best known for her role in the film Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead.

<i>Jim the Worlds Greatest</i> 1976 film by Don Coscarelli

Jim the World's Greatest is a 1976 drama film written and directed by Don Coscarelli and Craig Mitchell. The movie began production when Coscarelli and Mitchell were 18-year-olds, while being financed by their parents at a stated cost of $250,000.

Crypticon is a horror-oriented media event held annually in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, and Kansas City, Missouri. Guests have included authors, actors, directors, producers, and writers from classic and upcoming horror titles.

Tall Man (<i>Phantasm</i>) Fictional character

The Tall Man is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Phantasm series of horror films. The Tall Man first appeared in the first Phantasm in 1979, and his most recent appearance in the film Phantasm: Ravager in 2016. In all of his film appearances, the Tall Man has been portrayed by Angus Scrimm, while he is voiced by Jeff Bergman in Mike Tyson Mysteries.

Reggie is a fictional character from the Phantasm series of horror films. In all of his appearances, Reggie has been portrayed by Reggie Bannister.

<i>Phantasm: Ravager</i> 2016 American film

Phantasm: Ravager is a 2016 American science fantasy action horror film, and the fifth and final installment in the Phantasm series. It marks the only film in the series not directed by Don Coscarelli, although he acts as producer and co-writer. It is directed by David Hartman and stars A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Angus Scrimm in his final appearance as the Tall Man.

Phantasm is an American horror film series that consists of five films, novels, comic books, and merchandise. It is mainly about the Tall Man, a supernatural and malevolent undertaker and the main antagonist who turns the dead into dwarf zombies to do his bidding and take over the world. He is opposed by a young boy, Mike, who tries to convince his older brother Jody and family friend Reggie of the threat. The first film was released in 1979, received generally positive reviews and has garnered a cult following.

References

  1. ↑ Sutton, David (2006). "Don Coscarelli". Fortean Times . Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  2. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (2013-01-24). "Paul Giamatti and Don Coscarelli on "John Dies at the End"". Salon . Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Steve (2009-07-28). "30 Years of Phantasm: An Exclusive Interview with Reggie Bannister". iconvsicon.com. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  4. ↑ Brass, Kevin (1996-04-19). "Video Invasion: B Film Makers Battle A-List for a Place on Shelf". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  5. 1 2 Barton, Steve (2007-04-08). "Phantasm III (DVD) Review". DreadCentral . Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  7. ↑ Weinberg, Scott (2007-04-12). "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)". Fearnet . Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  8. ↑ "Phantasm III". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.