Phantasm II
Tags: good versus evil, cult

Plot synopsis:
Picking up where the first movie left off, the Tall Man and his minions attempt to take Mike (James LeGros), but Reggie (Reggie Bannister) manages to save him after turning on the gas while the fireplace was on, blowing up the house.Six years later, the film introduces Liz Reynolds (Paula Irvine), a young woman with a psychic bond to Mike Pearson and the Tall Man that manifests in the form of prophetic nightmares. After she awakens from one, she looks at her dream journal, which includes drawings detailing characters and events from the first film; during this, she recalls a vision that picks up immediately where the first film ended: after the Tall Man's minions attacked Mike through his bedroom mirror, Reggie heard the commotion and ran upstairs to his aid. He tried to get a shotgun, but was attacked by Lurkers and had to flee, although he managed to surreptitiously snuff the pilot lights on the stove. Once upstairs, he dodged the Tall Man and rescued Mike, and the two dove out of the bedroom window to escape as the gas fumes reached the living room fireplace and destroyed the house. Following this, Liz pleads for Mike to find her, as she fears that when her grandfather dies, the Tall Man will take him.Having been institutionalized as delusional since the first film, Mike feels he can no longer ignore Liz's dream pleas, and fakes his recovery to obtain a doctor's release. At night, he returns to Morningside Cemetery to exhume bodies and is interrupted by Reggie who tells him that the attack at the beginning of the film never occurred. Mike reveals that the coffins he dug up are empty and urges Reggie to help him hunt the Tall Man down. En route to Reggie's house, Mike receives a vision of an impending gas explosion, and frantically tries to warn Reggie seconds before his house is consumed in an explosion, killing his wife Celeste, daughter Bonnie, and Aunt Marta. Mike's futile warning convinces Reggie that he is telling the truth and agrees to accompany Mike on his quest.They break into a hardware store at night and stock up on an abundance of supplies and tools to build weapons including a chainsaw and two double-barrelled shotguns welded together. Over the next several months, Mike and Reggie travel the country roads, encountering abandoned towns and pillaged graveyards, as well as a few traps and apparitions the Tall Man has left. One of them is an apparition of a fully nude deceased young woman. The clues lead them to Perigord, Oregon.Meanwhile, Liz's grandfather has died and she accompanies her grandmother to the funeral with her sister Jeri, who leaves prematurely and mysteriously vanishes. While searching for her, Liz explores the mortuary and discovers an exhumed coffin, but before she can open it, the Tall Man surprises her and she runs away. The presiding priest Father Meyers (Kenneth Tigar) maddened with fear and alcohol withdrawal, desecrates the grandfather's body with a knife in a desperate attempt to thwart the mysterious occurrences he has witnessed.That evening, during a bout of drinking, the reanimated grandfather surprises him at his door and then spirits into the grandmother's bed before absconding with her. In the morning, Liz finds the empty bed and a funeral pin; the Tall Man psychically tells her to return at night if she wants to rescue her grandmother.Prior to their arrival in Perigord, Mike awakens to find that Reggie has picked up a hitchhiker named Alchemy (Samantha Phillips) who eerily resembles the nude apparition. They find Perigord deserted and decrepit, and stop in an abandoned bed & breakfast before venturing out to the cemetery. Liz arrives at the mortuary to search for her grandmother, but is confronted by Father Meyers, who tries to rally her to escape with him but he is killed by a flying sphere. She encounters the Tall Man and discovers that her grandmother is now one of his Lurkers. As she escapes, she and Mike meet in the cemetery and return to the bed & breakfast, where they try to sleep. When a tripped alarm distracts them downstairs, the Tall Man captures Liz, knocks her unconscious and drives her away in his hearse. Mike and Reggie chase him in Mike's deceased brother Jody's car, but the Tall Man runs them off the road and the car explodes.At the crematorium, Liz slowly regains consciousness while being taken into the furnace room by the Tall Man's mortician assistants. She fakes unconsciousness by allowing the assistant to partially undress her and take her crucifix. She manages to fight off the mortician by sending him into an active furnace and escapes. Mike and Reggie break into the mortuary and venture into the embalming room. As Reggie pours hydrochloric acid into a tank of embalming fluid, Mike discovers that the Tall Man, having learned from his mistakes, has hidden his transdimensional portal (Spacegate) behind a heavy steel door. In lieu of a handle, there is a large round "keyhole" in the wall and Mike realizes that they must capture a sphere in order to access the room. They then split up to find Liz.Reggie searches the basement where he is attacked by a Graver, then four Lurkers. Mike saves Liz from a flying silver sphere but they are both attacked by the other mortician, who is defeated when the silver sphere pins his hand to a door and he cuts off the hand with an axe in an attempt to escape another sphere. A laser-armed flying golden sphere pursues Mike and Liz but instead kills the second mortician as he tries to catch them.Reuniting with Reggie, the three pry the mortician's severed hand off the door and carry the embedded silver sphere to the embalming room, where they insert it into the "keyhole" and open the metal door to the white room containing the portal. Reggie ignites the flamethrower to burn the building down, but the Tall Man surprises them, knocking Reggie down, throwing Mike into the portal, and carrying Liz to the embalming table. Reggie helps Mike climb back out, while the Tall Man prepares to embalm Liz alive with a giant probe; Mike pulls the silver sphere from the keyhole and attacks the Tall Man with it unsuccessfully. Liz gets free and stabs the Tall Man with the probe, and Reggie quickly activates the embalming machine, pumping the acid-contaminated fluid into him, causing him to melt. Reggie sets fire to the room and hallways and the trio are greeted at the back entrance by Alchemy, who has procured an abandoned hearse.They ride off with Mike and Liz in the rear compartment and Reggie and Alchemy in the driver's cabin. Reggie thanks Alchemy for coming back for them and tries to flirt with her until she gently plucks a section of hair and flesh from her head, revealing that she is not human. As Reggie screams, the hearse swerves wildly and Mike and Liz try to get out; the hearse stops and a bloody and battered Reggie hits the window before falling to the ground. As the hearse begins to drive away, Mike and Liz tell each other "this is just a dream" but the slot to the driver's cabin opens, revealing the Tall Man who tells them "No, it's not!"Hands break the rear window and pull Mike and Liz through it... mirroring the ending of the first film.

Review: Angus Scrimm is so wonderfully silent and unholy that no matter how slick and entertaining the rest of the film is he'll come out on top.Don Coscarelli was given a budget 10 times that of the original by Universal, but they did interfere with production quite a lot, much to his annoyance.
Still, when you have a couple psychics, an ex-ice cream vendor, a mysterious hitchhiker, an army of dwarves, flying spheres and a rather omnipotent--and scary-looking--old guy called the Tall Man rolled into one picture, the movie promises to be interesting, and it delivers for the most part.Compared to the other Phantasm movies, I liked "Phantasm II" better than "Phantasm III" and "Phantasm: Oblivion," but it's not quite as good as the original Phantasm..
While it isn't the iconic horror film it's predecessor was, Phantasm II is backed by better production values, a cool apocalyptic premise and a stand-out improvement in James LeGros replacing Baldwin.
The movie has such a quick pace, you'll be left behind and might miss one of the many memorable scenes: Reggie and Mike walking through an empty graveyard, Father Meyer's encounter with a sphere, the quad-barreled shotgun, or the aforementioned chainsaw dual!!All in all, Phantasm II is a film that surpasses its predecessor (itself a classic) and takes you on a 90-minute roller-coaster ride.
It's really strange that being a huge horror/gore fan I was never interested in "Phantasm" series.I haven't seen other "Phantasm" movies,but "Phantasm 2" is excellent!It features creepy atmosphere,nice location sets(cemetery and mortuary)and lots of gore and violence.I love especially scenes of mayhem by flying spheres.Angus Scrimm is great as The Tall Man-one of the best villains ever created in the horror genre history.Recommended for all horror fans-I'll go through hell to see the other "Phantasm" movies.My rating:9 out of 10..
Despite this therapy, and admitting that it didn't actually happen, Mike still knows that the horrible goings on that landed him in the hospital in the first place actually happened and when he gets out he means to do something about it, and that is something that he does.As Mike says to Reggie at one point in the film, "I'm a nineteen year old kid and you're a bald, middle-aged, ex-ice cream vendor"; and that's what sets Phantasm aside from all the similar films in this vein of horror.
Most hero's aren't bald, middle-aged, ex-ice cream vendors but the fact that Reggie is not only highlights the tongue in cheek theme of the Phantasm series, but also gives the film a place of it's own within the horror genre.You'll be glad to know that this sequel features a chainsaw.
Also like the first film, a lot of this movie takes place in funeral homes and other such morbid areas, and that creates a great horror feel that few horror films have matched.Overall, Phantasm 2 is a must see for fans of the original, and a must see for those that aren't yet fans of the original after they have seen the original.
It's exciting, gleefully macabre stuff that has a real fun factor going for it.It gets down to business fairly quickly, picking up where the first film left off and then fast forwarding to several years later when Mike (James Le Gros) is being released from a mental hospital.
Mike is still determined to battle the nefarious Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and convinces his good buddy Reg (Reggie Bannister) to join him in the fight.
Reggie and Michael ( replaced by James Le Gross) hit the road to find and kill The Tall Man. Armed with some cool weapons ( a 4 barrelled shotgun and a flamethrower ) our heroes can more than hold their own against the forces of evil.
The problem with these films, though, is that the scares are overshadowed by  the gunfire.Not so in "Phantasm II."  Definitely the best in the series, it features cool weapons, an unstoppable villain, the return of the flying Cuisinart, and a fine performance by a pre-indie-stardom James LeGros.Angus Scrimm is at his scariest in this one, perfecting his Tall Man character.
The story centers around two men (Reggie Bannister and James Legros) attempting to track down and kill "The Tall Man" played with sinister creepiness by Angus Scrimm.
Yes this is a good follow up to the 1979 horror film, but my question is this, how did reggie survive, he got stabbed at the end of the first film, yet he was still alive, and the end of this film he is torn to shreds and thrown into the street, but yet he, just like the Tall Man, keeps coming back, and with no memory of what happend, kinda creepy.
Reggie really kicks ass in this movie and makes his infamous 4 barrel shotgun (which I love).The action is great and the ending is too, leaving you hanging for the next sequel.
Here the towns are empty...and so are all of the graves; they looked like they were freshly dug for the newly deceased to be placed into, but it was actually just the opposite (and by the way, was I the only one to notice that every SINGLE small town had absolutely HUGE graveyards?!).Granted, some of the script bites, I didn't think the new Michael could act (some people on here thought he could, but he just seemed to only have one facial expression and only said his lines with only one or two [mono]tones...THAT'S acting?) and some of it didn't make any sense...and I don't mean in the ways as to why the Tall Man is compressing humans into the evil dwarf minions, what the spheres are, etc., but I'm talking about what that priest had to do with it and all; his scenes are confusing and unexplained and should've been left out or explained as to what exactly he was doing (or what he was hoping to accomplish).Some people have complained about how the atmosphere isn't the same as the first one, but I can't really comment on it, since I only saw the original about 15 years ago on tv, but rest assured, I WILL be re-renting it in the near future!
A lot of action, nice fights, the good guys use spectacular guns, James LeGros is excellent as Mike (it's a pity we see him only on this part, i think he is much better than Michael Baldwin) and Angus Scrimm is always superb.
Producing a sequel to a unique horror film like "Phantasm" had to have been a challenge, but somehow writer/director Don Coscarelli managed to strike gold twice.
While the tone is noticeably different from the first, most of the elements that made the original so special are re-arranged to make something altogether different and ultimately, well, fun.Picking up where we left off in the original, Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike (re-cast from Michael Baldwin to James LeGros) effectively send the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) packing.
It's a moment of confirmation for the viewer, as in the time between Phantasm movies Raimi had (in Evil Dead 2) reached the perfect balance of humor and horror, and it's obvious Don Coscarelli was watching closely.The influence is everywhere here, from its love of chainsaws and shotguns to the slapstick gore and the deliberately hilarious machismo.
However, Mike doesn't believe that, and reunites with Reggie to track down and defeat the tall man, who has laid waste to small towns across middle America.Bigger budgeted sequel is scrupulously faithful to Part I, and introduces some new ideas to the narrative, but it isn't as eerie as the first, and is far too reliant on gruesome F/X to move the story forward, a real shame that, though there is another memorable twist ending..
Together Mike, Reggie, and Liz fight together in effort to put an end to The Tall Man's mysterious evil once and for all.The "Phantasm" movies arn't exactly very well known known which is too bad because they are great films.
Charicter's in this film are great as they are very likable and and they actor's who play them are great; James LeGros does a great portrayal of Mike despite the fact that he isn't Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister is bad-ass as usual, Paula Irvine is terrific as Liz (it's a shame she stopped acting), Samantha Phillips is good as mysterious hitch-hiker Alchemy, and Angus Scrimm of course gives another great performance as The Tall Man.There isn't really much about this film to complain about.
The film is written and directed by Don Coscarelli, who wrote and directed the other three films in the series (and an upcoming fifth and final one) as well as classics like "The Beastmaster" and "Bubba Ho-Tep".The Breakdown:PROS: Solid acting, likable and interesting character's, attractive women (Paula Irvine and Samantha Phillips), a revamped version of the already awesome Phantasm theme (one of the best tunes ever; ranks with Terminator and Halloween), great FX and special effects, a few good quotes, great action, and the plot is pretty good as well.CONS: As of June 7, 2007 there are no plans to release this on DVD (which is flat out pathetic), kind of confusing at times, and as the 5.8 rating suggests it's not a film for everyone.
Coscarelli is given ten times the budget by Universal Pictures to make a sequel and we are left with I believe a more expansive script and a continuing story involving Mike (James Le Gros) and Reg (Reggie Bannister) chasing The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) across America.
But, don't let that dissuade you from watching Phantasm II as it is a pretty good horror flick and best sequel in the series..
The original Michael is replaced with James LeGros who does a better job in my opinion and Reggie Bannister is along for the ride once more, replete with a bag full of one liners (and a quad shotgun).Plot wise, this is much more of a road movie, interspersed with high action and all kinds of classic 80s scenes.
9 years after the events of the first movie, Mike (James LeGros) is released after those years in the mental ward and is haunted by the horrific memories of the Tall-Man (Angus Scrimm) and his killer brain-eating spheres.
The film almost takes entirely place in graveyards, mortuaries, abandoned ghost-towns and filthy vaultssomething that'll certainly attract gore-lovers and other sick puppies like myself;)To my regret, I must say I never saw the original Phantasm so maybe I'm missing out on yet a whole lot more One thing I can already say with certainty: Phantasm is a very ingenious franchise with a solid horror villain ( The Tall Guy ) and inventive slashing methods.
picks up right where the first ends.better spheres, more effects,and lots of ammo.this one has our beloved ice cream vendor {REGGIE} turning into a kick-ass soldier.this movie doesn't have quite the weirdness , if you will, of the first movie but it does have some rather suspenseful and creepy moments.the dialogue is a little weak sometimes {COME ON YOU MOTHU!!}but also has some humorous ones {OH REGGIE I LOVE YOUR HEAD}.james lee gross does a nice job as the now older mike and the tall man is his usual creepy self but the real stars are the flying balls which are more dangerous than ever here.great b-movie entertainment that does not take itself too seriously.it's just a dream....NO IT'S NOT!.
The transition of the character of Reggie was done really well and Angus Scrimm does another amazing job of portraying the Tall Man. James Le Gross does good work in playing Mike even though he could never recreate the original qualities of the young Mike Baldwin.
Phantasm II continues in much the same vein as the original, with a totally illogical, anything goes plot, only this time the demented fun is taken to even greater heights with inventive Evil Dead-style camera-work (director Coscarelli even acknowledges Sam Raimi directly by showing his name on a prop), even more bonkers sphere action (this time with several types of deadly chrome balls), and a lot more gore.As Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike (James LeGros) continue their hunt for The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), armed to the teeth with a variety of home-made weapons (including a quadruple-barrelled shotgun and a flamethrower), they get to battle hordes of ugly dwarfs, hook up with a couple of babes (Samantha Phillips as Alchemy and Paula Irvine as Liz), survive not one, but two exploding houses, and get dragged through an inter-dimensional gate to an alien world.Working with a much bigger budget than on the first film, Coscarelli is able to really go to town with his visuals, offering up such awesome sights as a cemetery full of empty graves, a town left completely ravaged by The Tall Man, and a wicked chainsaw duel between Reggie and a gas-mask wearing 'graver' (beings who exhume bodies for The Tall Man) that sees Reggie apply his revving power-tool to his opponents nether regions (and if that hasn't sold this film to you, then nothing will)..
It like the original Phantasm deserves its place among the pantheon of great horror such as Dawn of the Dead, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.Without giving too much of the plot away, Mike and Reggie set out after the Tall Man (played wonderfully by Angus Scrimm) to take revenge for the murder of their loved ones.
The protagonist is 19 year-old Mike (James Le Gros), who's released from a metal hospital and immediately teams-up with middle-aged Reg (Reggie Bannister) to hunt down the mysterious Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), an otherworldly mortician who plunders whole graveyards, as well as the sleeping, with the help of hideous little gnomes and baseball-sized spheres that can saw into people (?).
It also has many of the same flaws as the first one, such as pointless driving scenes with tense music giving the impression the characters are on their way to a showdown, but you never know where they're going, or why, so the scenes just play as boring filler.The bigger budget also apparently paid for some incongruous action-movie like scenes, such as a house exploding, or a car flipping over.At least the first five minutes of the movie actually explains what The Tall Man is up to: he robs graves to turn the occupants into zombies who kill the inhabitants of small towns.
Some Gore But That's About It. Phantasm II (1988) * 1/2 (out of 4) Sequel to the 1979 cult shocker has the two survivors, Mike (James LeGros) and Reggie (Reggie Bannister) once again trying to track down the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) so that they can finally destroy him once and for all.
The special effects are pretty bad too.On the plus side, Angus Scrimm is quite good as the villainous "Tall Man", and the infamous flying metal spheres , that kill people by spiking their brains make a welcome re-appearance.The original "Phantasm" was weird and fun, but this is neither weird enough, scary enough or gory enough.
The Return of Don Coscarelli's Tall Man. I admired the first Phantasm,because it was really frightening,The setting of the cemetery,the mysterious Tall Man.But it had a lot of heart too,Mike's relationship with Jody,was the main part of the story,and of course those who have seen the first Phantasm,I don't recommend watching II without seeing I,know Mike wakes up to discover his brother Jody has died,and no one believes his Tall Man stories,and Jody's friend Reggie vows to take care of Mike.Yet in II we find out Mike has been in a Mental Hospital since I,he lies,and tells the doctor he made up the Tall Man story,the doctor lets him go.He returns to Reggie,who tells him his family is over to see him,Mike says something isn't right,and sure enough Reggie's house bursts into flames.Reggie decides to join Mike on his crusade to kill The Tall Man,but they will need to be armed,so they break into a hardware store and arm themselves.Mike starts having dreams of where The Tall Man is,but he also dreams of a girl who is calling him for help.You got to laugh at Reggie's response "How do we know this isn't some wet dream of yours" Reggie isn't the type of father figure you see in normal horror movies,he believes Mike.Reggie picks up a beauitful hitchhiker,and they go to the town where the climax of the film takes place...Even though Phantasm is the better film,Phantasm II has a lot to offer.The characters have definitely evolved from the first film.My really only problem is the lack of mentioning,or a flashback of Jody,to strengthen Reggie as a father figure to Mike.The higher budget shows,Don get mores more sets,better make-up/gore effects to play around with.Phantasm II is a great companion to 1,and I cant wait to rent III....
After his release, Mike reunites with his old friend Reggie, in order to hunt the Tall Man down...What I really liked about this sequel was the fact that the great, very cool character of Reggie (played by Reggie Bannister) plays a bigger role than in the first movie.
The movie is great up until the end, the plot basically involves Reggie and Mike hunting the Tall Man the entire time.
And though I'll admit it was a heck of a lot more coherent than the original – the basic story did go from A to B – but that didn't raise it above any typical direct-to-video crud that should've been just that.Our Phantasmbuster heroes Mike (replaced actor, James LeGros) and Ice-Cream-Menace Reggie (Bannister) vow to rid the world of the Tall Man (Scrimm) and his balls, well, evil killin' & drillin' spheres.
Reggie Bannister is excellent again as the likable Reggie, and Angus Scrimm is terrifying as ever as the Tall Man. Overall, "Phantasm II" is a stunning sequel to a truly original and amazing movie.