trashgang
Phantasm isn't the franchise that gets me by the throat but number 3 does deliver what I was looking for. It's action from the beginning until the end and it do has some nasty shots.Somehow part 1 and 2 showed that it was some kind of low budget flick but here all the money did go to the effects. And they are this time well done with some gory parts and a bit of comedy added. Still it's not a comedy it's a pure fantasy/horror flick. The story itself is always the same, fighting against the tall man and his spheres. But don't watch it for the story, enjoy the action with some old school effects (latex) and the high tech effects CGI wise used back then (morphing).If you haven't seen earlier Phantasm flicks, don't worry, there's a bit of explanation at the beginning.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5
gavin6942
Mike and Reggie continue to hunt the mysterious Tall Man...According to Reggie Bannister, Universal Studios refused to theatrically distribute the film due to a conflict with Coscarelli. The film was released direct-to-video in 1994. In 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Phantasm III" was one of the top 100 highest selling direct-to-video titles.Some say this is the weakest in the series. As I have not seen part four yet, I cannot comment with authority, but I will say it is not as great as the original or the sequel. I still enjoyed it, and it has some fun moments and good special effects, but little seems to happen overall. But I suppose any time you see Reggie with a flame thrower, that is a good thing.
Woodyanders
Reggie (a funny, spirited, and engaging portrayal by Reggie Bannister) and Mike (a solid and likable performance by A. Michael Baldwin) join forces with fiercely resourceful little boy Tim (well played by Kevin Connors) and tough black gal Rocky (winningly essayed with sassy panache by Gloria Lynne Henry) to take out the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm in splendidly sinister form). Writer/director Don Coscarelli gleefully plays up the giddy offbeat black humor to the outrageous ninth degree (Tim's introduction in which he takes out a trio of marauding thugs who invade his home is an absolute hoot), does a sturdy job of creating and sustaining a playfully spooky ooga-booga atmosphere, stages the exciting action set pieces with rip-roaring flair (it's a real treat watching Rocky use martial arts against the Tall Man's zombie minions), and delivers a pleasing smattering of goopy splatter. Moreover, the origins of both the silver spheres and the dwarf creatures are more clearly explained and it's always a riot to watch Reggie's tireless, yet fruitless attempts at trying to get in some hot chick's pants. This movie further benefits from the uproarious inclusion of the aforementioned three hoodlums who get transformed into seemingly indestructible ghoulish flunkies for the Tall Man: Cindy Ambuehl as sexy whitetrash honey Edna, Brooks Gardner as brutish hulk Rufus, and John Davis Chandler as wormy squirt Henry all have a grand time blithely hamming it up in their roles. Chris Chomyn's lively and glossy cinematography gives the picture an impressive polished look while the energetic score by Fredric Myrow and Christopher L. Stone hits the stirring shuddery spot. A real nifty movie.
Michael_Elliott
Phantasm III (1994) * 1/2 (out of 4) Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) are again looking for the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) who is (once again) going from town to town killing everyone. This time the two have the help of a 8-year-old boy, a tough black chick (Gloria Lynne Henry) and Mike's dead brother Jody (Bill Thornbury). This third film in the series takes a giant leap into the territory of horror/comedy as we get a lot of slapstick bits but in the end both elements fail and the final product is another disappointment. I'm really not sure why this series is so popular outside of the atmosphere of the first one and the gore of the second, this third entry has very little going for it. Once again Bannister manages to be entertaining in terms of his dramatic style and I must admit that his comic timing got a few laughs. Scrimm is once again back of the Tall Man and he fits the the role perfectly. Both Baldwin and Thornbury, members of the original film, are back and both are decent but nothing great. The gore this time out doesn't come anywhere close to the previous film and even the classic sphere isn't used as nicely as the previous films. I'm really not sure why the director decided to cut out the red stuff while adding more laughs but that's exactly what happened. The movie runs out of gas around the hour mark and this here makes the final thirty-minutes rather hard to take and the screenplay really doesn't give us too much.
AD
