Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

Ahhh the tall man. My enjoyment of his character knows no limits. I have been terrified of him since i was little and it was reestablished with the new Blu Ray release of number 2. This is the newer chapter in the book of the tall man, so let's hit it! This release is actually pretty good and very underrated. Does it do anything new? No, not really. We get revealed just enough new information while leaving enough in question to keep up our thirst. A lot of people seeing the Blu Ray of 2 might think it isn't worth buying any of the others on DVD. People would say maybe I grab the first film but the third?!? The third film is worth it and I will tell you why. It never feels old and rehashed even though for any logical reason it should. It plays out like a beautifully done chapter in a book. They bring back the "real" Michael and not a feeble attempt at trickery with a recast. Although that may seem like no big deal to some, the second film is just not the same without him, even with the great chemistry between James LeGros and Reggie. Coscarelli does a remarkable job to help us forget the second film's recast while still showing us enough to tie the whole experience together. Call it creative. Call it genius but within ten minutes you forget Michael got played by someone else last film. This is a widescreen video that's been cleaned up too. Anchor Bay took some time cleaning the print but it is a shame they didn't go the extra mile and give us an HD transfer or hitting us with deluxe editions like Shout Factory has done. There's a commentary track which is always great fun with Angus remembering more about each scene than the director or Reggie. The film itself has a large amount of humor in it. With the old horn dog Reggie after any woman they meet, another road trip finding the tall man and the ball getting more advanced. The great thing about these films is how well you can just play them one after another while not getting bored.How a horror sequel should be done is all right here. The problem with most of the slasher film sequels is that the original hero is always replaced in the sequels and they think...well the villain is the same so what's the difference if we bring a whole new story in. For Phantasm it wouldn't work. You need Reggie and Michael in here and you need that battle between them and the tall man. The constant struggle. The characters actually finding more information each sequel and even them questioning "how can we beat him!" You need to watch the four films in order one day because that's what the tall man commands! It's $10 and if you own the first two it is worth it to just buy the third and have a watching party one day with friends.

I have to give Phantasm III 5 stars due to the return of two of the original cast members (Jody and Mike).They introduce some new characters also.There's a comando type girl. Reggie is continuously trying to give her some of his vanilla ice cream throughout the movie.There's also a young boy named Tim who gets left alone in his house when the Tall Man takes out his parents. This kid makes Macaulay Culkin look like Bambi.We also find out some very interesting points about the Tall Man:"His kind are amassing an army to conquer dimensions, worlds unknown."When he creates those dwarfs they are left with only a "vestigial" part of the cerebral cortex.We also find out that the Tall Man is susceptible to cold temperatures. This is based on the scene from Phantasm 1 where he walks by Reggie's ice cream truck.I did not interpret that particular scene from part 1 that way. To me it looked like he liked the cold. But I guess he was really interested in Reggie's ice cream.There's also some philosophy in this movie. The Tall Man tells Mike that his "journey is complete" and he should "leave this imperfect flesh construct that ties you to time and space".But to me the greatest scene in this movie is the plunger scene. Towards the end Reggie uses a plunger to capture one of those flying spheres and they they all flush it down the cryogenic tank.I feel this plunger scene was placed in the movie just for me. It's like a secret message for me.There are many secret meanings in the Phantasm movies for those who understand them.Jeff Marzano The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 1 Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (Double Feature)

This awesome DVD edition of PHANTASM III has an amazing looking anamorphic transfer, incredible new Dolby 5.1 soundtrack and a healthy does of fascinating bonus material. The picture quality is a huge improvment over the VHS and LaserDisc versions and the new sound mix is truly a monster. Included is a very fun commentary track from Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm. There is also some fascinating behind the scenes footage where we get to see the making of the film. There is a short deleted scene included as well as trailers for the first and third films. Anchor Bay choose to use the gorgeous European poster art for the cover of this release and they include a copy of it inside the case with the chapter titles printed on the reverse. This artwork is a huge improvement over the official domestic release art. My only complaint about this release is that the opening title has somehow been tampered with. On previous versions after the words PHANTASM III appear, the subtitle of the film, LORD OF THE DEAD emerges on screen under the main title. This never happens on this release. It's a very minor complaint but I do wonder what happened there. This isn't my favorite film of the series but it is still an excellent movie and this DVD release does it justice. It took a long time to get released but it was worth the wait. Thanks to Anchor Bay.

More sci-fi than horror reuniting the original cast to continue the phanstasm series in this 3rd enty on a larger scale and special effects budget. Unfortunately, there are some addtional characters the script would have been better without that appear to be added only to appear to a younger generation. These characters detract from the story without adding anything new or exciting and are the only negative to this movie. There is an R and an unrated version which has a few more seconds of blood so be sure to get the unrated version. This is one entertaining film from start to finish with a cliff hanger of an ending so be warned when it's over you want it to continue and the fourth DVD in this series is seling for high price.

This is the 3rd instalment of 4 films shot in a 30 year period with the same actors!A must see Horror/SciFi like nothing seen before!The film is an older one with older non blockbuster effects but thats exactly whats good about these films,not the overtly saturated special effects that dog a lot of the films we see today(possibly due to lack of imagination that the current generation of film goers suffer).A genuine set of 4 films that are a Horror with a difference!I first saw the first film as a child and never forgot it and hence now own the whole collection(Amazon uk.com.Alchemy.

I ordered this dvd from the UK as it is still unavailable here in the US.Well, the picture quality is nice. It is full-screen with a trailer,picture gallery and a deleted Phantasm 1 scene as extras. My problem isthat every violent scene is severely edited. With the exception of thefoul language, you could show this on network tv in the States. I knowyour British censors are strict, but WOW! There's not a drop of blood tobe found on this version. For those UK "Phans" who have never seen theUNRATED US vhs version, this dvd is missing A LOT of the campy violence(including a LONG, very bloody "ball" drilling scene and a graphic axe inthe head shot). Oh well. It's all that's out there right now. Cheers!

possibly the best Phantasm film to date, if you like the old 80s style horror its one for you, if not stay clear

very good. product as described and delivered quickly.

This is one of the best horror serie!