PHANTASM 2 picks up years after the events
of PHANTASM (after the opening sequence) as Mike and Reggie (Reggie Bannister) begin their quest to find and stop the
Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) before he takes the young woman who also has the same visions as Mike. Mike and Reggie end up in the deserted town of Perigord, Oregon and they pick
up a woman named Alchemy along the way (who may already be dead). The Tall Man
is emptying the graves and using them for his army of freakish dwarves. The sequel
also acts like a road movie as Mike and Reggie discover the empty towns the mysterious and evil Tall Man leaves in his wake.
PHANTASM is one of those movie series that
is very unique and surreal. I didn’t quite come at the series at the beginning. I remember watching parts of PHANTASM 2 on cable while the first PHANTASM movie I
watched on video in its entirety was PHANTASM 3. I watched PHANTASM years later
on DVD followed years later by a double bill of PHANTASM 3 and PHANTASM 4 on DVD. Now
I come at viewing PHANTASM 2 for the first time in an entire viewing and I do say it is a worthy sequel to the surreal first
film. Even though they had to make it a more straight forward to get it made
at Universal, PHANTASM 2 still comes across as a strong entry in the PHANTASM series.
Angus Scrimm is perfect as the imposing and evil Tall Man while Reggie Bannister makes an unlikely action hero. Now I want to see this series all in order and I hope the PHANTASM series does
come back for another film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio commentary with Don Coscarelli, Angus
Scrimm, and Reggie Banister. They get along quite well and even have fun with
the track as Angus Scrimm begins the track as the Tall Man.
THE BALL IS BACK!: THE MAKING OF PHANTASM
2- a 45 minute retrospective making-of documentary that has behind-the-scenes footage and stories, and this extensive documentary
has interviews with Don Coscarelli, Angus Scrimm, Reggie Banister, and others
THE GORY DAYS (22 minutes)- an interview
with Greg Nicotero, one of the special effects people on PHANTASM 2 with behind-the-scenes footage that shows the effects
work of the movie
Behind The Scenes footage from the set
and of the Makeup and Effects
A variety of deleted scenes from Don Coscarelli’s
archives and an unfinished workprint (with time codes and in 1.33:1)
Various TV spots, and theatrical trailers
for PHANTASM, PHANTASM 2, and PHANTASM 3 are included on the release in addition to still galleries for Behind The Scenes,
Makeup and Effects, and Posters and Stills (from the production and for promotional purposes).
Also a rare short film on Lincoln starring Rory Guy (aka Angus Scrimm)
as Abraham Lincoln is included.
FINAL ANALYSIS: PHANTASM 2 is the best of the PHANTASM sequels on a disc that has a wealth of extras for fans to enjoy
and explore. My favorite extras are the deleted scenes (like the telepathic love
scenes included among the workprint scenes) and the enjoyable (and informative) PHANTASM 2 documentary.
This review is (c)4-7-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.
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