31 NIGHTS OF HALLOWEEN : NIGHT 9 : PHANTASM

Phantasm is one of those franchises that is often over looked by mainstream horror fans, who prefer the much more straight forward narratives found in Nightmare On Elm Street and Saw movies. However 1979's indie Horror Phantam holds it own very unique charm. It delivers some of the most interesting moments in horror history and I've never seen a movie with more balls (PUN!)

Made on weekends over a the course of a year, the film is confusing collection of events that take place around morningside cemetery in a small American town, involving various characters including the lady in lavender, some strange dwarf creatures and of course the legendary 'Tall Man'. We meet Mike, at young kid, terrorised by such entities as he tries to convince his older brother Jody and their ice cream vending friend Reggie that the Tall man is not only very real, but stealing the dead in a bid to take over our word by turning them into his undead army.

However, it's takes a few viewings and the help of the subsequently sequels, most of which were larger in budget, to straighten out the narrative, but that only adds to its nightmarish appeal. It truly is a classic of the modern horror cinema and the series went on to have 4 entries, with a 5th largely anticipated by the 'phans'. 

See you tomorrow.

MJ