Pretty Good

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Better than the original, in my opinion. The first of the series to feature a female lead, some really good special FX, and the ice cream man played by Reggie Bannister gets to kick some ass! The ONLY THING -- is replacing A. Michael Baldwin with a Brad Pitt-type actor (FUN FACT: Brad Pitt actually auditioned for this role)

I was surprised when I recently watched "Phantasm" that I actually enjoyed the film and thought its biggest strengths were its excellent writing, originality and creepiness. Well, it's now back with "Phantasm 2" and it still has creepiness...though not much more. Despite what you saw in the last film, Mike is now as indestructible as The Tall Man and he's back...even though you saw him being drug off to God-knows- where by The Tall Man at the end of the first film. To try to get around this serious problem (since Mike is a major character in the sequel), they had to re-write a new ending for the first film and he actually managed to escape!As the film begins, Mike (not the same actor...some faux Mike) is about to be released from a mental institution. After all, when he tells folks about what he's seen, everyone thinks he's lost his mind! This time, however, instead of Mike's brother, inexplicably Reggie is back to go on a never-ending road-trip to try to find The Tall Man and stop him from turning the dead into dwarf zombie slaves. In addition, Mike has a new girlfriend with which they share an odd psychic bond (huh?!?!) and there's another new girl there to show off her boobs and earn the film an R rating.So is this any good? Yes and no. If you love action...mindless action...you're in for a treat. You get all sorts of violence and mayhem--with better late 80s special effects. If you want a story that makes sense and adds to the story, well you'll be pretty disappointed. I think I'll try one more Phantasm film...and if it's like more of the same, then I'll think I'll stop instead of going on to "Phantasm IV" (which was made, according to the director, strictly for money) or the recent and final one, "Phantasm V: The Quest to Squeeze Even MORE Money Out of the Franchise". And, incidentally, actor Angus Scrimm is REALLY dead and beyond reanimation.

"Phantasm II" is one of the best representations of the Hollywood horror movie boom of the 1980s. After years of genre filmmakers scrambling for cash to get their productions up and running, many studios were looking to cash in on the terror craze. Universal chose to throw money at "Phantasm" and give it the opportunity to go bigger and better."Phantasm II" picks up immediately after the first film. Mike convinces Reggie they must track down the Tall Man before he and his minions kill everyone in their path. The two go on the road, traveling one dead town to the next while following a trail of unearthed graveyards.Director Don Coscarelli did what any filmmaker would do in his position. He took the studio's money and ran with it. "Phantasm II" is a horror spectacle to be seen. He ups the ante on everything. There are huge explosions, more mechanical flying balls, and things get visually existential to the point of confusion. It's not a bad type of disorientation. It reminds me of a terrifying version of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and other films that don't fully explain what's going on."Phantasm II" will make viewers fear not only how they might die, but what could happen to their bodies and souls after wards. What could be worse than being conscience in your body but not have control over yourself? Thankfully, my beliefs give me a level of comfort the Tall Man would tell you is foolish and false."Phantasm II" serves as a nostalgic look back at a special era in the history of horror films. It was a time where practical effects still ruled and green screen didn't dominate every frame. Great gore and a truly creepy storyline make this a welcome addition to any genre fan's home movie collection.

One does not need to have seen any of the other films in this series to enjoy Phantasm II. The story, though odd, is easy to pick up on. Once we are introduced to everyone, it is easy to figure out what they represent, and what they have on their agendas. The story centers around two men (Reggie Bannister and James Legros) attempting to track down and kill "The Tall Man" played with sinister creepiness by Angus Scrimm. When you are name "Angus Scrimm", its a pretty good bet you are going to end up as a horror movie actor. Angus Scrimm the Pediotrist just doesn't sound right. But this Tall Man and his minions travel from one small town to the next robbing graves and turning the corpses into evil dwarfs resembling Jawas from Star Wars. And in Phantasm II, The Tall man has apparently made the jump from not only harvesting the dead, to also preying on the living. Needless to say, he must be stopped.This is a gory, campy film that is fairly well-paced. The acting is as good as one could ask for, though the experience of the cast is fairly limited to this series itself, and other genre pics. Only James Legros really went on to do more high profile projects after this. And he seems to have peaked in the 1990s. The action is played out in a series of explosions, characters battling each other with hardware store equipment, and using mortuary devises to inflict painful death. The Tall man has quite a lot at his disposal. He has his dwarf army, creepy mortuary workers, gas mask-wearing grave diggers, and chrome spheres that seek out and suck the brains from the nearest person they find. But our heroes are also heavily armed, drive a fast car, and have a determination to see this thing through to the end.The only trouble is, this is just one of four parts to this series. Even though things seemed to be wrapped up nicely until the final frames, apparently this story goes on and on. And though I enjoyed this film, I'm still not compelled to seek out the other three. I got the point just fine with this one. The writer/director of this film has not done a lot else outside this series. Perhaps he has ideas and just can't get funding. Or maybe just no additional ideas. If you are a true fan of this series, more power to you. If not, and you still come across Phantasm II, give it a look. Its well-made, gory, suspenseful and the production values aren't dirt-cheap. 7 of 10 stars.The Hound.