Phantasm – Beware the Ball, Beware the Tall Man, Beware the Never Dead.
As a kid, I always felt a strange, natural connection to horror movies, zombies, slashers, and all things gory. I was a little too young to fully appreciate the old Hammer Horror films, but the first time I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street, Evil Dead II, Halloween, and Friday the 13th, something clicked. There was just something about the low-budget special effects, the jump scares, and the buckets of blood that made me feel alive.
Would I let my own son watch them? Hell no. But as I mentioned in my last article, I didn’t exactly have the most conventional upbringing.
About five minutes from my house was what I considered a treasure trove, a tiny video rental shop that stocked the most incredible selection of B-movies and obscure American horror. My mum used to let me rent whatever I wanted. Having an alcoholic, neglectful parent had its occasional perks, I suppose.
One Saturday night, while scanning the shelves, a title jumped out at me: Phantasm. The word itself sounded eerie and mysterious. I pulled the VHS case off the shelf and stared, mouth open. On the cover stood a gaunt, menacing figure.
The Tall Man and above him floated a silver sphere bristling with blades. I didn’t know what it was, but I had to see it.
I rushed home, cracked open a can of Coke, grabbed a bag of popcorn, and slid the tape into my Panasonic top-loader. The film opened in a graveyard: a mysterious woman seduces a man, then brutally stabs him to death. Moments later, the camera reveals The Tall Man effortlessly lifting a coffin as though it weighed nothing. My young brain couldn’t process it, who was this man? With his towering frame, white hair, and dead, unblinking eyes, he seemed almost supernatural.
Phantasm (1979), written and directed by Don Coscarelli, became the start of a cult horror saga that would span nearly four decades. The story follows brothers Mike and Jody, and their ice cream-selling friend Reggie, as they uncover the terrifying truth about The Tall Man, a mortician from another dimension who reanimates the dead into shrunken, hooded slaves. His most famous weapons, of course, are those flying silver spheres packed with spinning drills and blades. Once they find you, there’s little chance of survival.
The film’s dreamlike atmosphere, surreal storytelling, and unique blend of sci-fi and horror set it apart from the slasher films of its era. Over time, Phantasm spawned four sequels,
Phantasm II (1988), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), and Phantasm: Ravager (2016) — each continuing the bizarre, nightmarish war between Reggie and The Tall Man.
It wasn’t just a horror movie; it was an experience strange, haunting, and unforgettable. Phantasm isn’t about jump scares or cheap gore (though it has both); it’s about that creeping dread that stays with you long after the credits roll. And to this day, whenever I see a silver ball, a small part of me still wants to duck for cover.
