The air hangs thick and heavy, smelling of ozone and something else… something metallic, vaguely funereal. That’s the feeling Phantasm II conjures, even decades later. It’s the echo of a nightmare you thought you’d escaped, returning with slicker, meaner edges. The Tall Man’s chilling whisper, "You think when you die, you go to Heaven? You come to us!" still resonates with that specific kind of existential dread only Angus Scrimm could deliver, a promise less of damnation and more of… transformation into something awful. Nine years after Don Coscarelli’s original Phantasm (1979) burrowed into our subconscious like a grave-robbing dwarf, the sequel arrived, slick with studio money and hungry for a wider audience.
Boyyyy! The Nightmare Continues
Picking up moments after the first film’s gut-punch ending (or retconning it slightly, depending on how you look at it), we find Mike Pearson institutionalized, the horrors of Morningside Mortuary dismissed as delusion. But the Tall Man isn't just a figment. He's patient. He waits. The recasting of Mike, with James LeGros stepping into the role originated by A. Michael Baldwin, was a notable shift mandated by Universal Pictures, who ponied up a then-substantial $3 million budget (a universe away from the original’s shoestring $300k). While LeGros brings a different, perhaps more conventionally grounded energy to Mike, the real heart and soul returning alongside the Tall Man is Reggie Bannister.
Reggie. Our stalwart, balding, ice cream-slinging hero. Phantasm II is arguably Reggie’s movie. He’s no longer just the loyal friend; he’s a man forged in fire, ready to take the fight to the enemy. Armed with his iconic, custom-built quad-barreled shotgun (a weapon so perfectly over-the-top it feels like a statement of intent for the sequel's bolder approach), Reggie becomes the anchor in a world dissolving into dream logic and chrome spheres. Bannister embodies that everyman resilience, the kind of guy you’d absolutely want beside you when Jawa-like creatures are dragging you towards interdimensional forks. His chemistry with LeGros, and later with Paula Irvine as Liz, provides the necessary human element amidst the escalating chaos.
Bigger, Louder, Sharper Spheres
Universal’s cash injection is immediately apparent. The production values are higher, the scope wider, and the gore decidedly more… enthusiastic. Coscarelli, ever the resourceful auteur now playing with studio toys, leans into the action-horror elements. The Sentinel Spheres, those terrifying chrome death-dealers, are back with a vengeance, boasting new attachments and a gleam that catches the light just before they drill into some poor unfortunate's skull. Remember the golden sphere? A particularly nasty piece of work. The practical effects team clearly had a field day, delivering exploding heads, gruesome embalming sequences, and creature effects that, while perhaps showing their age slightly now, felt visceral and terrifying on a flickering CRT screen back in the day.
This shift towards action, however, came at a cost. Some of the original’s haunting ambiguity and dreamlike pacing were streamlined for a more linear, road-trip narrative as Mike and Reggie hunt the Tall Man across desolate, dying towns. Coscarelli reportedly fought to retain weirder elements, and glimpses of that original surrealism flicker through – the eerie, abandoned towns, the psychic connection between Mike and Liz, the sheer presence of the Tall Man. Yet, you can feel the studio notes pushing for something more conventionally marketable in the late 80s horror landscape, which was increasingly dominated by slashers and creature features. Some infamous deleted scenes, like a longer, more elaborate escape from the crematorium involving skinned bodies, hint at an even stranger film left on the cutting room floor, fueling fan speculation for years.
The Unflinching Gaze of the Tall Man
Despite the changes, the core of Phantasm's unique horror remains embodied by Angus Scrimm. His Tall Man is simply one of horror cinema's greatest villains. Impossibly tall, unnervingly calm, radiating a sense of ancient, cosmic menace – Scrimm didn't need complex dialogue; his piercing stare and deliberate movements spoke volumes. He owned the screen whenever he appeared. It’s said that Scrimm fully embraced the character's mystique, understanding the power of stillness and suggestion. He makes the outlandish premise utterly believable within the film's world. Doesn't that implacable presence still feel genuinely unnerving?
The score, by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave, effectively blends reprises of the iconic original theme with new, more aggressive cues that match the sequel's heightened action. It underscores the dread while also propelling the chase. Filmed across various California locations, Coscarelli still manages to find that distinct Phantasm atmosphere in empty streets and decaying buildings, turning ordinary places into landscapes of potential terror.
Legacy on the Rental Shelf
Phantasm II landed in a crowded horror market and performed decently, pulling in around $7.3 million. It wasn't a runaway smash, but it solidified the franchise's cult status and ensured Reggie and the Tall Man would return (in the lower-budget, but perhaps purer, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)). For many kids discovering horror on VHS, Phantasm II was likely their entry point, the slicker, more action-packed installment grabbing their attention. I distinctly remember the imposing VHS cover art at the local video store, Scrimm looming large, promising otherworldly terrors. It delivered on that promise, albeit with a different flavour than its predecessor. It successfully expanded the mythology while shifting the tone, creating a sequel that stands on its own merits, even if it sacrifices some of the original's peculiar magic. It feels like the studio-funded middle chapter, bridging the raw indie nightmare of the first with the increasingly strange direct-to-video sequels that followed.
Rating: 7/10
Phantasm II is a fascinating beast – a studio-polished sequel that amps up the action and gore while still clinging, sometimes desperately, to the surreal soul of its predecessor. Angus Scrimm is magnificent, Reggie Bannister truly comes into his own as an unlikely action hero, and the practical effects deliver plenty of memorable mayhem. While the recasting of Mike is noticeable and the narrative loses some of the haunting ambiguity that made the original so unique, it remains a wildly entertaining, inventive, and genuinely creepy slice of late-80s horror. It proved the Tall Man's universe was big enough for more stories, more spheres, and definitely more Reggie. Boyyyy, was it a ride.