Phantasm: Ravager trailer released, booooooy!

October 7th 2016, 2:02pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

I remember the first time seeing PHANTASM. It was at a friend's house when I was like six or seven, and my friend's dad was watching it in the living room. While going to the bathroom I got a glimpse of the TV, and I vividly remember The Tall Man's ghastly visage, as well as a boy running away from a silver sphere with needles on it. Anyway, that was all I saw at the time, and while I haven't revisited the films in some time, that moment and that image has been embedded in my skull and a staple of my dreams ever since then.

That is to say PHANTASM, for all its faults, has some amazing, iconic imagery. Hell, the idea of the film came to original director Don Coscarelli from a dream of being chased down a hallway by a silver ball with a needle heading for his brain. There's almost something Jungian about it.

Anyway, PHANTASM: RAVAGER, the final film in the cult horror series, has just released a new trailer. Let's see how it holds up:

Hmm. Not quite sure what I just watched. Like I said, it's been a while since I've seen the films, and I don't think I even saw the later sequels. So I have no damn idea what's going on, and furthermore don't remember it being so epic (with exploding skyscrapers and such) while simultaneously looking so cheap. While the film's were always low-budget (the first made for only $300,000), this one looks like it was made by film students, who got a C- on it.

But maybe I'm being too harsh. There is definitely imagination, and the story at least looks strange and interesting. Despite what I said above, I'll still give it a shot. I weigh ambition more than most when grading how much I enjoy a film, and even if the film's quality doesn't match it's ambition (like this one), at least I can respect the attempt.

The film will have a limited theatrical release starting today, October 7th, 2016.

So what do you guys think? And what horror films scarred you as a kid?