HOOP-TOBER MOVIES 5 & 6
5. Phantasm (1979)
While I want most films I watch for Hoop-Tober to be new to me, I had to include a rewatch of the original Phantasm.
Strangely I think a major reason why this has risen so much in my estimation is my new familiarity with the films of Lucio Fulci. Phantasm appears to have a similar dream-like quality to that kind of Italian horror.
That being said, there is a consistent plot for the most part here. Albeit a plot where bizarre things often happen. When we reach the end the situation is bizarrely flipped on its head in a way I found deeply frustrating the first time around. Admittedly it's still rather frustrating, but I'm now better able to accept it as a stylistic choice.
Another similarity to Italian horror is the music which reminds me very much of the music from "The Beyond". Very cool.
There's not the same level of blood as we'd expect in a Fulci movie, but we aren't exactly sold short either. The flying metallic orbs which play a big part in the Phantasm movies are able to cause some seriously awesome damage. Another example of horrifying spectacle comes from some exceptionally creepy monster effects, the nature of which I won't spoil.
Angus Scrimm is awesome as the enigmatic super-strong body-stealing Tall Man. His small role in "John Dies At The End" demonstrates that this is an actor with a very high level of ability. He is capable of delivering lines very eloquently, yet here his role requires him mostly to just say "Boy!"
With the film being set in a mortuary it should come as little surprise to hear that zombies are involved here. Phantasm involves some of the more inventive zombie mythologies.
Phantasm looks pretty dated and doesn't generally involve the best performances, however it is a very creative and unique horror premise and there's little surprise that it spawned a number of sequels.
B+
My original review for "Phantasm" is here. I have seriously changed my opinion on this film.
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6. Incident On And Off A Mountain Road (Masters of Horror 2005)
Don Coscarelli's contribution to the Masters of Horror series of horror shorts is an attempt to subvert the 'helpless girl chased by killer' trope.
We initially see the female protagonist collide with another car on a mountain road at night, but I think the film goes a little too far to demonstrate what trope it is subverting when we see her shouting loudly "Hello?" and more annoyingly "My cell phone has no signal! I can't call for help!" What could possibly be the point in shouting that?
We are quickly introduced to a ridiculously huge deformed murderous guy with a big knife. But the encounter is interrupted with flashbacks showing why our protagonist isn't as helpless as you'd expect. Don Coscarelli apparently has a big interest in survivalism, not just in terms of the techniques, but also in terms of the ideology which seems to come with it. This interest also seems to have been explored in his movie "Survival Quest" with Lance Henricksen.
Angus Scrimm (who played the Tall Man in Phantasm) plays an eccentric captive of the deformed murderous guy. It's a wonderful performance and very different from his role in Phantasm. He's much more talkative and not the gruff deep-voiced behemoth we're used to him playing.
While the lead actress isn't exactly lacking in character, I never felt entirely convinced by her performance. When she's running for her life she seems a little too safe. I felt that even someone with clear self-defence and survival strategies should still be just a little more emotionally affected by her situation.
I should also warn those who are liable to be triggered. There is a rape at one point in the film. And I'm not entirely convinced they really needed to include it.
Yet in spite of that, this little film is still pretty fun overall. It's a very simple story and the tone is a bit inconsistent moving awkwardly from serious to daft. But I find this film quite appealing anyway.
B-
Additional review
The Beastmaster (1982)
This was a somewhat compromised work and Don Coscarelli.claims the end product is not really the film he intended to make.
Some parts involving animals are very cool, particularly some work done with the two weasels our animal-communicating protagonist befriends.
It's a pity about the black lion. I mean, he looks pretty cool, but the effects of the paint killed the lion not so long after filming ended.
Some parts are very definitely Coscarelli. There's a lot of inventiveness particularly in the design and concept behind some of the Beastmaster's unnatural antagonists.
Unfortunately, while the budgetary issues with some of the human settings might be forgiveable, the lead actor's performance is terribly under-par.
Beastmaster is very cheesy and doesn't really have a fast enough pace to justify it. Far from being a bad film, there are clear signs of how it could have been a lot better.
As for the witches with faces of hags and, when exposed, bodies of bikini models? I have no idea what that was all about.
C-