Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

I have seen the first and second Phantasm films. I loved the first one and only mildly enjoyed the second one...so I was expecting to feel equally cold about the third film. Fortunately, I was wrong...it was MUCH better than I'd expected.

Like the second film, this one begins with some flashback scenes. It also, like the second one, shows that the ending you THOUGHT you saw isn't exactly what happened...and somehow Reggie survived in order to keep fighting The Tall Man. However, Mike IS gone...and he only appears in the film as more of a guest star. And, surprisingly, the dead Jody (Mike's brother) manages to appear in this one!! Considering the second film featured 'Faux Mike' (another actor playing this part), having the real Mike and Jody, even in small parts, was welcome. However, what REALLY was welcome were the two new players--Tim and Rocky. They were, by far, the best thing about this film. So naturally, they do NOT appear in the next two movies in the franchise!!

Basically, this film is much like the first two--with Reggie driving about the country fighting zombies, orbs and the like. This time, however, he's got some strange helpers...a tough-as-nails lady and a child who is like Kevin from Home Alone if he was merged with Rambo!!! Oddly, another helper is a 'nice' orb containing Jody...why manages to help them here and there!

The bottom line is that there is a lot of new addition to the film-- needed new additions in order to keep it from getting stale. And, combined with a little bit of Mike and Jody, it makes this one a winner. You just have to see Tim, the little boy, in action...what an unlikely and cool super-hero!!

I grew up loving The Phantasm series and in my book the first and second film are untouchable. Phantasm 2 was a studio film with a decent budget. The third film brings Don Coscarelli back to his low budget roots. That is not necessarily a bad thing, the 1st film was made with almost no money, but came out great. James Legross is out as Michael. The original Michael (Michael Baldwin) is back. Of course Reggie Bannister is back to hit the road and try to take out The Tall Man. Angus Scrim also returns to the iconic role of villain. The Phantasm series gets weirder and more sci Fi as it goes. This is no exception. The storyline however is less believable and is riddled with plot holes and supporting characters that come across a little ridiculous. Reggie Bannister is the heart of the movie and should have been an action hero with a billion dollar paycheck. Speaking of action, Phantasm 3 is action packed. However, it was not done as well as it was in the second film. I'm guessing the problems that the film has could have been fleshed out provided there was more time and money to shoot this. I still found Phantasm 3 pretty enjoyable as a whole. I liked it much better when I intially rented it on its video release. The next film from what I remember was really strange and for a Phantasm film, that's saying a lot.

Emerging from a coma after the events of the last film, Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) reunites with pal Reggie (Reggie Bannister), but only briefly, as he's whisked off to another dimension by the sinister Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). Reggie then sets out to try and find and rescue Mike, aided by 11-year-old orphan Tim (Kevin Connors), and ex-soldier Rocky (Gloria Lynne Henry). Also featuring Bill Thornbury, Cindy Ambuehl, Brooks Gardner, and John Davis Chandler.

Universal ordered yet another sequel despite the poor box office of the second Phantasm film, and while Coscarelli was given greater creative control (he was allowed to bring Baldwin back from the first film as Mike), the budget was smaller. Unfortunately there's not much inspiration to the proceedings this time around. A lengthy segment featuring new kid Connors battling criminals in his home comes across as a dumb, R-rated take-off on Home Alone. The mythology of the storyline is greatly expanded , with names given to the flying spheres (Sentinels) and hooded dwarf servants (Lurkers), as well as completely explaining the Tall Man's purposes and use of the corpses he harvests. Some revelations about Mike, as well as his brother Jody (a returning Bill Thornbury), will come as a surprise. The movie was completed in 1993, but Universal kept it on the shelf for over a year, finally opening it in a couple of theaters in 1994 before eventually dumping it virtually direct-to-video in 1995. It's lost the novelty of the first film and lacks the production value polish of the second and gives you just too many characters to care about. (5/10)

Why did it take me so long to get into the "Phantasm" films, as just in the last two months I got around to seeing the first two films and now the third entry. So far I've enjoyed every one. While I found the quality of this entry not match the previous two, still it's an entertainingly non-stop ride in the quest to stop the Tall Man. It pretty much follows on from the previous edition, capping off that had just transpired. The road trip continues through small rural towns, where an almost apocalyptic feel is crafted. Nonetheless the adventurous tone is there, but it's leaning more for comic humour and flat-out action (in a way similar to the second entry), over the tripped-out atmospheric spookiness.

It's Reggie Banister's show and there's nothing wrong about that because he makes for a likable heroine that's easy to root for. A. Michael Baldwin isn't in it as much (which the chemistry between Mike and Reggie isn't as prominent) and Bill Thornbury reprises his role in rather an innovative manner. Two new ragtag characters find there way in to help out Reggie; played by Gloria Lynne Henry and Kevin Connors. These two bring biting persona's. Angus Scrimm in Tall Man mode is as menacing as ever - in appearance and the voice --- "It's time now BOY".

Director / writer Don Coscarelli keeps the unique vision alive, where his handling seems more focused (especially the writing) and complete, but competently staged with enough flair and panache in numerous sequences. After the last film was produced by a film studio, this entry would go back the low-budget independent roots. The unconventional story isn't as complicated, but this clip show is always on the move and is tension grabbing in its varied ideas. The lively special effects and make-up FX were effectively executed, where it becomes more and more a centre piece with the lethal flying spheres, dimension portals and the legion of dead serving under the Tall Man.

The first two were enjoyable due to how dark they were and playing on fears. I prefered LeGros Mike in the second film to Baldwin's Mike. Baldwin is back in this installment of the series. I wasn't a fan of how they tried to make this one humourous, and have those 3 dead assistants keep having to be re killed. The two new companions for this film were good, the sentinel spheres were getting a bit too silly, with all the new add ones. Overall this one just didn't measure up to the first 2. Also the dispatching of the tall man was a bit lame. 2/5