The Phantasm franchise is basically an 80s and 90s genre flick fan's dream. It has so many moving parts that people who don't know what they're getting into might be caught off guard, only to lose interest after the first film or so (or maybe even while they're watching it).
That being said, if you're ready for spooky funeral homes, the bond of brotherhood, and weird alien soul slaves made by a tall mortician in a long coat, the Phantasm series is definitely something to get into if you haven't already. It can definitely be a bit campy, despite the fact that some people consider the series an absolute classic.
Holds Up: You Know What You're Getting Into
One of the biggest things that any fan of the Phantasm series is aware of is the fact that it's going to be a bit on the wild side, regardless of whether they've seen the whole franchise or not. The reputation of the series precedes it, and fans know they're getting into something that isn't like a lot of other horror movies.
It's not just another slasher flick, and it's not high art. The audience is going to be watching a weird series that isn't really going to be particularly intellectual or emotionally intense, but they will absolutely be stricken by the light and sound before them.
Aged Poorly: It's More Than A Little Campy
While it's all well and good to sing the praises of the series because of its absolutely insane plotlines and kooky special effects, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily objectively good, and there are just as many detractors as there are people who consider it among their favorite cult classics.
That being said, the movies probably looked a lot better and were a lot more convincing when they were on the blurry screens of CRT television sets, popped into the VCR, than they'll look on a streaming platform or a Blu-Ray rerelease.
Holds Up: The Theme Of Brotherhood Is A Nice Touch
Mike, Jody, and Reggie (even though he's not technically related to them, just a very good friend) are a really good example of a nice family relationship dynamic in horror movies. Most of the movies take place right after the film preceding it, chronologically, and we follow Mike and Jody through all of the mishaps that befall them at the command of the Tall Man.
They're all looking out for each other and they have solid character motivations for taking care of one another. They also made the Tall Man their sworn enemy, not just for each other, but for all of mankind.
Aged Poorly: Mike Is A Bit Of A Creep
While it's very nice that Mike and Jody have a great relationship, that doesn't exactly translate to them being good people all of the time. It also doesn't mean in any way that Jody is a good role model to Mike. In fact, there's a really uncomfortable and awkward scene in the very first film in the series in which Mike is peeping at a couple where one of them is undressed.
It's implied that Mike sits there and stares, rather than realizing he screwed up and getting out of there. Jody also behaves in a pretty misogynistic way towards a lot of women. This whole trope is completely outdated now and is one of the ways the franchise did not age well.
Holds Up: It's Incredibly Layered
The series starts out pretty firmly rooted in horror, although there have are supernatural and sci-fi elements as early as in the very first movie. That being said, it gets more and more complicated from here, as the audience finds out more about the Tall Man and some of his motivations.
He was apparently a human man sometime in the 19th century, living a pretty normal life, only to go on to create some kind of interdimensional portal and have some mysterious event happen to him. He decided he wanted to come back to Earth as a graverobber, taking corpses and killing people to reanimate them as alien zombie soldiers for his conquest of the planet. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.
Aged Poorly: They Don't Make Horror Films Like This Anymore
There are definitely a bunch of horror movies on the zany side that came out in recent years, but not nearly as many as in the past, particularly the era of the 60s through the early 90s. Perhaps one of the issues that have contributed to that is the wave of the meta films of the 90s, such as Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer.
This isn't exactly an issue with horror itself, because the genre probably needed to go through this transition, but it also means that horror has grown up in a certain way, which now may not allow for Tall Men or dwarf alien graverobber minions.
Holds Up: The Most Recent Film Was One Of The Best
While most people agree pretty unanimously that the first Phantasm film is probably the best in the series, the Rotten Tomatoes, something that generally doesn't happen for movies with completely off-the-wall plots like this one.
It's definitely not the best in the series, but it also hasn't had much time to grow into a cult hit like the rest of the series has. It definitely has its fans and it brought the series to a new generation and revitalized the franchise.
Aged Poorly: It Feels Like A Half-Baked Fever Dream When It's Bad
As much as the entire appeal of the series lies in the interesting visuals and dense and layered storytelling, it can also lead to some points taken off of the overall quality of the franchise. Cascarelli created his magnum opus with Phantasm, but it doesn't always land the way he might have liked it to.
Sometimes it comes off like a story from Stephen King's drug and alcohol phase, and feels like a big mixed bag of "Hey! You know what would be cool? If the Tall Man was actually an alien!" and similar ideas. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't make for the most accessible franchise, either.
Holds Up: The Tall Man Is A Great Villain
One of the things that people love about the franchise is that while it's definitely more in the realm of horror than anything else, it can feel like a sci-fi epic, a thriller, a "weird tale," an action movie, or really anything else it decides it wants to be in any given scene.
In fact, our introduction to the Tall Man in the first one has the audience believing he's just a regular guy for a while, until he brings the orbs out and shows the brothers his true nature. He's just wholly original in the way that other cookie-cutter 80s horror villains could never be.
Aged Poorly: He Might Be Too Out There To Be Scary
On the flip side of this, it is easy to see how people wouldn't find the Tall Man scary, despite the fact that he surely scared tons of kids back in the day. With horror seemingly becoming more and more grounded in recent years, an alien making slaves out of the people he kills with floating Fushigis doesn't exactly appeal to someone who was absolutely awestruck by something like The Lighthouse.
Then, there's also the fact of if you don't find supernatural horror to be frightening, will this franchise have any appeal? In the same way that someone who isn't afraid of sharks doesn't think that Jaws is a horror movie, maybe Phantasm is just a cheesy camp-fest.
