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The Ball Is Back!

This is a great sequel and given the choice, I'd rather watch this one than the original. Phantasm 2 is a lot more comical and a lot more wierder but it's definately worth a look. There is a chainsaw fight between Reggie and a grave digger that resembles TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2. Overall a worthy sequel. LONG LIVE THE TALL MAN!

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Phantasm II is even better than the original. Cool special effects, great music and a bitchin' 71 hemicuda.

A worthy sequel - truly chilling

I don't know about most fans of the series, but I discovered the PHANTASM films with this one, part 2. I had never seen a film like it - so different from the numerous slasher HALLOWEEN ripoffs that dominated the genre. Great effects, a bizarre story, and a mood that makes you keep the lights on all night. An excellent film for "jump" scares - the kind that pop out when you least expect it. I hadn't seen this film since it's release on video until I bought it tonight. It has held up. Not as well as the original, mind you, but it is still light years ahead of 99% of the "horror" films out there.

Definitely worth the money - a must for the collection of any discriminating horror fan.

One Of The Best Horror Movies I've Ever Seen

Phantasm II is an awesome horror film. It picks right up from the last one and delivers all the great scares of the first but with far more advanced F/X. The settings are awesome too, it has a very dark atmosphere. The sequel has Reggie and Mike looking for the Tall Man. Along with these characters, another great one is added to the series - Liz, whose been linked with both Mike and the Tall Man ever since the events of the first film. This movie is a must see with a shocking ending that I love.

Totally wild, gory, & awesome flick!

"Phantasm II" plainly was a terrific horror film in its own right; you needn't even be concerned with its 1979 predecessor if you haven't seen it! The story, special effects, and action were top-notch with most of the original "Phantasm" cast. Mike (James LeGros) and Reggie (Reggie Bannister) are superb as the hapless, humble, soft-spoken, yet badass-to-the-bone hunters of the pernicious Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) after he laid their families to waste in the first film. Nine years later, he and his retinue of demonic dwarves are once again wreaking havoc across small-town America by usurping the local cemeteries in order to enslave the corpses for his legion of the undead. Armed with his enclave of killer silver spheres, the Tall Man is Mike and Reggie's worst nightmare made incarnate who must be stopped before he can get them!

As I already mentioned, the special FX kick butt! The spheres are each equipped with newer, more lethal tools of destruction (in addition to the classic twin cranial blades and brainsucking drill bit) that make them even more reviled and intimidating. While in pursuit of their enemies, Mike & Reggie make use of an impressive collection of tools and weapons (the best being Reggie's custom-made quad-barreled super shotgun, A DEFINITE MUST-HAVE IN FUTURE VERSIONS OF "DOOM") in order to annihilate the Tall Man's minions to Kingdomcome! Finally, "Phantasm II" boasts a fast-paced, cool "David & Goliath" chainsaw battle between Reggie and the ominous gas-masked grave digger! That scene speaks out that the bigger saw isn't always better when Reggie totally (yet predictably) kicks the digger's butt in the end after getting pretty beat-up by him! In the long run, Reggie Bannister's acting and yelping seems to mirror that of Bruce Campbell in the "Evil Dead" films to me, which makes "Phantasm II" all the more campy and enjoyable! I so glad that Universal has re-released it for video. I just purchased it for my collection for all of my laid-back Friday Nights! I hope all you horror fans enjoy this underrated romp as much as I do!

Tall Man Awesome Again

I found this movie to be better than the first.The acting and lines were better , and of course the tall man is always scary..The sex scenes and nudity were once again out of place and we were once again left with an ending that did not make sense but all in all it was a great movie for Phantasm fans..

Phantasm II is the best horror movie ever made.

Phantasm 2 is my favorite horror movie of all time. I have seen it 20+ times and it continues to be entertaining and scary. My favorite thing about it is the creepy settings of cemetaries and funeral homes. The Tall Man is truly one the best horror characters over to be thought up.

Better than Part One

This installment may very well be the best of the series. The end is unforgettable: the quad-barrel shotgun, the chainsaw to the groin, the balls. The Tall Man has never been better. I am a huge phan of all four of theses movies, but this one stands above the rest.

perfect

fantastic movie for any phan a perfect 1

The ball is definitely BACK!

Sequel to the 1979 cult hit is Awesome! In some ways i thought this one was better than the original. It had great blood, and gore, the balls were everywhere and it had plenty of shocks. Great fun.

Gotta Love The Quad Barrell Shot Gun!!!

Nine yrs. later Cascarelli returns to deliver the long anticipated sequel to "Phantasm." I was surprised at how good this was (as sequels--especially in the horror & sci-fi genres--are often stinky), with a bigger budget "Phantasm II" delivers better f/x, more gore and action than its predecessor. It's also more polished so you can actually make some sense out of this one and just what the heck is the deal with the Tall Man (well not really but far more than the original for sure) and as a result lacks the anything goes of part 1 but a very worthy follow-up indeed. One thing that might bark at your monkey is that they [actually] blew up a Hemmicuta, one of the fastest and coolest cars ever, but hey that's show biz (I guess).

A suspense thriller rating among the top movies of our time.

The story is about a yong boy who witnesses strange occurances in the local graveyard. He wraps himslef as well as his brother into a mindboggling problem with a tall man and his small army of deadly spheres. A first class movie for all those who enjoy the fantastic work of Angus Scrimm. The wonderful acting adds to the director's ability to give the movie a life of its own.

I actually liked it more than the original

The horror genre is pretty much known for having sequels that are far inferior to the original; of course there are always exceptions, but overall it's rare to find a sequel better than the original.

In my opinion Phantasm II is one of those very rare sequels that are better than the original. I enjoyed the original, but I'll be honest when I say I was never really a huge fan.

There is nothing wrong with the original, but I just couldn't get into it; where as with Phantasm II I was into it the whole movie. For starters I liked the characters more here in the sequel. That's not too say the characters weren't likeable in the original, they were but I just liked them more here.

I also thought Don Coscarelli did a better job at the pacing of the movie. Each scene moves the movie forward and I never really found any portion of the movie slow. Phantasm II for me, is a movie that moves really fast and feels a lot shorter than it actually is. Even I thought Phantasm had a great creepy feel I personally thought it was kind of boring at times.

The only problem I have with Phantasm II was the great and creepy atmosphere the original had, which is felt through out the movie isn't really here in Phantasm II.

There are plenty of suspenseful moments, but the sense of dread and doom isn't here like the original. But even though Phantasm II lacked that again I found it much better paced. As I sated before I did enjoy the original, but honestly it's not a personal favorite of mine despite the fact there was more I liked than disliked.

I might be in the minority here, but I really liked James LeGros as Mike. A. Michael Baldwin who played the part in the original as well as Phantasm III & Phantasm IV does an excellent job in his installments, but I personally liked James LeGros more.

Reggie Bannister is great once again as Reggie I liked him even more in the sequel. Both Bannister & LeGros really worked well together and make for one of the best teams in a horror flick.

Newly added to the cast is Paula Irvine as Liz and Samantha Phillips as Alchemy. Both women are excellent and provide many great moments. Angus Scrimm returns as The Tall Man and again provides a great performance and while he is creepy I did find him creepier in the original.

Phantasm II is one my favorite sequels and favorite horror movies in general and as I stated before I liked it more than the original, my only wish was that Phantasm II had the really creepy vibe the original had. That is for me the only flaw of the movie.

Phantasm II was a faced paced and exciting sequel; the fact that Don Coscarelli returned was the main reason for that. Too many sequels have different filmmakers and a lot of the times it just doesn't work as well.

Phantasm II is an excellent sequel with great pacing and likeable characters. This was a great continuation of the series. Hopefully soon we will get an SE DVD. With the recent re-release of Phantasm & Phantasm III maybe Universal will come around and give us fans a proper Region 1 release or possibly sell the rights to Anchor Bay.

the one that got away

this movie vrery hard to find wherever i go i just hope that this whale of a tale movie comes out on dvd someway somehow i own all the rest of the phantasm movies but not part 2 part 2 must come out immediately on dvd. so that no one would ever complain about this execellent movie ever again.i compare this movie as an equal sequel to the first one just like the godfather part 2 was equal to godfather one. i thank you very much.

A SCI-FI JEWEL, A HORROR TREASURE!

This film is worth purchasing at almost any price! If you loved the original Phantasm, you will love this. There are new,attractive characters, family members that were crushed down into trolls,the Tall Man, Mike's friend Reggie, and the spheres that chop off ears. Buy this picture, watch it, and enjoy it!

PLEASE release Phantasm 2 & Phantasm 3 on DVD !!!!

When I was younger I saw Phantasm one night on T.V. when I was flipping channels. You know, one of those nights when it's late, it's the weekend, you feel good, and you're all alone and all you want is to see a movie that makes an impact on your life somehow. Phantasm IS one of those movies. It is, to me, the impidimy of what a horror movie should be. Graveyards, darkness, fog, monsters, evil powers, zombies that are actually scary, and a sweet 1971 Hemi-Cuda. The "ball" is the most revolutionary idea to come to horror movies. I was so excited after seeieng it I went to the video store and to my sheer pleasure, there was part 1,2, and 3. Each one takes up from where the last one ended. I absolutely LOVE the Phantasm series more than any other series.

I feel as if the series was taylor made for me. It touches a primal fear in me that is both scary and exhilerating. The Tall Man is so cool !! The flying ball(s) and the sound they make is Phantastic !!

I couldn't care less who owns the copywrite to the series. Yes, I adore Mike and would've loved to see him in part 2, but, dammit, I want the BOX SET !!!!!!!! I know I speak for other fans.

Quite simply, the Phantasm series holds a very special place in my heart. It is what movie making should be.

Don, if you are reading this, thank you so much for bringing joy into my life. I'm sure you aware by now that you have quite a cult following !!

Great Series

I took off one star for a few reasons.

I didn't even understand when I first watched this movie that the one guy is supposed to be Mike from Phantasm 1. In fact I'm still not sure if it is.

The plot is hard to follow. Reggie blows up Mike's house at the beginning but I guess that was only one of Mike's nightmares at the insane asylum. In reality it is Reggie's house that gets blown up later with his family.

Without watching part 1 I don't see how anyone could comprehend this movie.

Everyone in the movie seems to already know more or less what the Tall Man is going to do. I guess this is necessarily so because they found out in part 1. But the great thing about part 1 was nobody even knew about the Tall Man at the beginning. It was the mystery and gradual discovery that made part 1 so tremendous.


There's a lot of symbolism in this movie related to religion.



The priest character has some weaknesses but he does save the lovely heroine. (You always need someone with a wide forehead in these movies.)

To me there are many hidden meanings in the Phantasm movies.

This is the sequel to probably the greatest horror film of all time.


Even a Phantasm movie that isn't perfect is far above most other horror films.

I hope they release that box set in the U.S. I will buy it.

Jeff Marzano

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 1

Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection

Recommended further viewing:

Brides Of Blood / Beast Of Blood
Horror Hotel
IT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space)
Invasion Of The Saucer Men
Not Of This Earth (original)
The Blob (with Steve McQueen)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Flesh Eaters
The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly
The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
The Hideous Sun Demon
The Hypnotic Eye
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Indestructible Man
The Manster
The Thing (from another world)
The Thing That Couldn't Die
The Twilight Zone Collections

This Is Crap

I love this series I gave this Film 5 stars. The reason thIS is Crap is because Phantasm 2 is NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD. Why? I have no Idea. The UK Region 2 has all four films on DVD and a Cool DVD Box Set it the shape of a BALL. They say the reason for the two not being on DVD had to do with Copyright issues but, that makes no sense because you would think if there were Copyright problems they wouldn't be for sale in the UK. I think The Rights to all four movies should go to Don (THE REAL MASTER OF HORROR). Phantasm one, three and four belong to MGM part two belongs to UNIVERSAL. I don't think Don shoud've let them produce part 2 because they wouldn't let him cast Mike Bladwin to reprize the role that made him a star. I'm glade that there are squals (sp) but, Phantasm was intended to be a stand alone film. THIS SERIES IS A TRUE HORROR CLASSIC and 2 NEEDS TO BE ON DVD BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEQUEL WITH BALLS

Don Coscarelli demonstrated his talent in first "Phantasm" and now he was granted a bigger budget by Universal Pictures. And extra money appeared to be quite useful. We got the same grim and atmosperic movie but with better special effects and more advanced technically. Money allowed to build beautiful and extended interiors, make the picture spellbinding, increase the number of killing spheres and expand the cast - therefore we got to see wonderful actors here like James LeGros as Mike and Kenneth Tigar as a charismatic priest.

And although "Phantasm II" has a bigger calibre than the previous one it is still very atmospheric and claustrophobic. If the first was more of a little mystic film, the second grew up to be an action horror road-movie. And it served him good. As Don Coscarelli mentioned in his commentary track, you may like this film or not, but you will not deny the fact it's a film of great imagery. It is picturesque indeed. There are plenty scenes you can get pleasure watching, even if you had watched them separately, not in chronological order, not knowing the plot. "Phantasm II" is just beautiful. And it's not that slowly-paced as other "Phantasm" series, it's much more active and intense.

This film of great imagination is one of my all-time favourites. I just bought the British 5-disc sphere edition. Guess soon it'll be released in America too.

This was phantastic two, I mean too

PHANTASM 2, like the original, is a brilliant film for several reasons. Its chief strength, however, lay in its script. On one level, it utilizes classic horror movie elements: nightmares, grave robbers, the haunting mausoleum and cemetery, the menacing man who watches over everything, etc. But then it incorporates that with classic sci-fi elements: reanimation, the alien race conquering humans, transports into other dimensions, etc. Unlike the original, this film is tempered by a sweet but not saccharine love story and a good smattering of humor. All this, which could have been muddled by someone else is deftly directed with low budget (but very effective special effects) by Don Coscarelli.