Phantasm Sequels
The original Phantasm brought to audiences two brothers who’s parents have died and discover a new kind of evil. The brothers are Mike and Jody and it is Mike that discovers this supernatural evil known as The Tall Man first. The Tall Man is an undertaker that takes the dead bodies that cross his path and turns them into dwarf zombies. He then converts them to be his slaves in his eternal quest to dominate the world. Phantasm was only the first of four deliciously horrific movies. The sequels were made based on the response from the fans and how they cried for more. Find below the plots of the sequels and then rush out to see them if you haven’t already!
Phantasm II begins with Mike being released from a psychiatric institution only after he agrees that the evil happenings that are part of his past were in fact, only his imagination. However, after leaving the hospital he soon calls up his friend, Reggie to try to find The Tall Man and destroy him. Now that his brother has died, it is Reggie and Mike alone fighting the dark forces. There’s a lady that now appears in Mike’s dreams and Mike believes that she needs rescuing and that it’s imperative that he do this before The Tall Man finds her. Meanwhile, The Tall Man is back at work with his spheres and some new friends that are out to help him destroy mankind.
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead is much of the same with Mike and Reggie continuing to fight The Tall Man and his evil friends. The Tall Man becomes even more frightening in this film as the audience is shown that seemingly, The Tall Man cannot be destroyed. This is portrayed when Reggie burns down the mortuary that is The Tall Man’s home with The Tall Man inside only to moments later, find another Tall Man come out of the flames and toss his old corpse in. Jody reappears in this film first in a physical body and he then turns into a sphere, made by The Tall Man that is supposed to kill Mike and Reggie. However, the sphere Jody begins to help Mike and Reggie in their quest to destroy The Tall Man.
Phantasm IV: Oblivion takes the audience back to the gang in their pursuit of The Tall Man. In the final film of the series, Mike is also searching for the truth about what happened to his brother and how he died so many years ago. In this final film, Mike also tries to kill himself but The Tall Man will now allow it as he says that Mike’s life belongs to him and no one will take that away from him.
Although the plots are similar in the way that It is mainly Mike and Reggie that are continually chasing after The Tall Man and trying to destroy him, they are all very unique in their own right. New characters are continually being introduced, and some of the equipment used in the film, such as The Tall Man’s spheres become ever more interesting! Phantasm is a classic and once one has seen even one of these films, it’s not difficult to understand why!