2014 marks the 35th anniversary of the theatrical release of the original Phantasm, a nightmarish horror classic written and directed by Don Coscarelli that managed to carve out its own comfortable spot in the history of the genre despite being initially dismissed as an unfocused oddity. It was released at the tail end of a decade forever identified with the rise of gritty, grounded shockers such as The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Dawn of the Dead and stood out from the pack for its offbeat approach to conventional horror filmmaking and its iconic villain the Tall Man, a delightfully old school baddie played with menace and mirth by the great Angus Scrimm. Phantasm spawned three sequels, the first made for Universal Pictures with an increased budget and elaborate visual effects.
The last sequel, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, was released in 1998 and was a low-budget affair created using an extensive amount of scenes deleted from the first film. It also ended with a weird cliffhanger that has had fans of the series clamoring for another installment ever since. Throughout the years there have been multiple rumors floating around regarding a new Phantasm movie, and earlier this week “Phans” everywhere got a huge surprise when it was revealed that a fifth movie was not only in the works, it was already finished and awaiting a release. Phantasm: Ravager is very real, my fellow fiends, and it is on its way with a vengeance. The first poster was released two days ago, and since then information about this no-longer-secret project has been released piecemeal. Today the film’s minute-long teaser trailer has debuted, and you can check it out, as well as the poster, here below.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press