31 Days, Day 29: PHANTASM 2 aka “Quadruple Barrel Shotgun: The Movie”
It’s very easy to describe this movie in three words, quadruple barrel shotgun. If that doesn’t peak your interest, then you are reading the wrong article. If you still aren’t sold, then maybe I can sell you on a chainsaw fight. Phantasm 2 is the kind of movie that only could have been made at a certain time in history and falls in line with the great 80’s tradition of making R-rated films for kids. If I would have access to this movie when I was a kid, then I would have had it on repeat. Phantasm 2 takes everything I loved about the first film, then adds a ton of gore and adventure. What else could you ask of a sequel? Apparently critics weren’t fans of it upon release, but I feel like this is the type of film that requires a little time for it to find its audience. Don Coscarelli continues to bend genres anyway he wants and does so with a sloppy kind of grace. I say sloppy because the film has its technical issues, but replaces skill with heart. I don’t know about you, but I will take heart on charm over precision any day.
Here is a brief synopsis:
Mike, now released from a psychiatric hospital, continues his journey to stop the evil Tall Man from his grim work.
Picking up seven years after the first film, we are tossed back into the batshit crazy world of Mike and Reggie. Mike has been holed up in a mental institution but has somehow developed ESP. He uses this new ability to communicate with a foxy gal and they are (once again, somehow) linked by the Tall Man. Have I lost you yet? Don’t worry about why these things are happening and just enjoy the great montages of weapon building and over-the-top violence. The infamous spheres return and we get to see them reek havoc on any person who they come across. This sequel is loud, dumb fun and is the perfect movie to watch right before Halloween.
