Phantasm II (1988) Review

"You think that when you dies you go to heaven.  You come to us!"
-The Tall Man



Seven years after the events of the original film, Mike Pearson (James LeGros) is finally being released from a mental hospital after pretending he believes everything that happened was all in his head.  Mike returns to his hometown and starts digging up graves.  His old friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) tries to stop him, but they discover all of the coffins are empty, the corpses missing.  The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) proceeds to murder Reggie's entire family.  Mike and Reggie lock and load with some awesome makeshift weapons and set out on the road to track down The Tall Man.  Also involved is Liz Reynolds (Paula Irvine), who shares a psychic connection with Mike, and is the next target of The Tall Man.  Mike and Reggie have to get to Liz before he does.


What Works:

I am shocked at how good this movie is.  For real.  For one thing, Phantasm II has a much higher budget than the original movie, which allowed them to go all out with the practical effects and gore.  I thought it was really good in the original, but man, is it impressive here.  There are some phenomenal kills and really creative work.

The pacing in this movie is great.  It has a really excited energy right out the gate with an action scene that picks up right where the original film leaves off.  It's unclear how much of it actually happens, but it is exciting watching Reggie scramble around the house in his attempts to save Mike.  When we flash forward seven years, it just takes a couple of scenes to get back into the action with the deaths of Reggie's family.  It's off-screen, but it's effective.  Finally, we get an scene of Mike and Reggie breaking into a hardware store and building a bunch of bad-ass, makeshift weapons before setting out on their quest.  It takes hardly any time to get to the exciting stuff and that really helps the pacing of this film.  It does slow down a little bit later on, but it's built up enough to make you hyped for what's coming next.

I know a lot of people have problems with recasting Mike.  It would have been cool to have A. Michael Baldwin, but I think James LeGros does a fine job.


What Sucks:

There's a few minor details here and there that could have been spruced up.  Samantha Phillip's character, Alchemy, has one line delivery in particular that is really bad.  But for the most part, the problem I have with Phantasm II are just nitpicks.


Verdict:

Phantasm II is an impressive film.  It's one of the best horror sequels out there, and I think it is a far superior film to the original.  It's got amazing practical effects, great energy, and a fantastic first act that really throws you right back into everything.  It's a lot of fun, and this movie definitely has got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

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