40th Anniv. Set Delayed AGAIN? Seemingly, Yes.

Many of you heard about the recent confirmation that Phantasm's 40th Anniversary Blu-ray set had been delayed due to issues concerning the silver sphere replica. (Word on the street is there's an issue importing them from their place of origin. Not the Red Planet, apparently, but mainland China.) Originally slated for release on October 22nd, Don Coscarelli had been promoting December 3rd as the new release date. (This according to a promotional trailer shown at his recent Tucson, Arizona appearance.) We now have reason to believe that the set has been delayed even further.

The always terrific Dark Delicacies has just announced an in-store signing event for the release. Guests scheduled to attend - as of now - include Don Coscarelli, Reggie Bannister, Gigi Bannister, Ken Jones, and David Hartman. The plot twist in all of this is that the event is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10th and yet is mentioned as being a "Pre-Release" signing. That would seem to nix the December 3rd release date, though we've yet to get any official confirmation on that. In fact, the official camp has yet to even acknowledge that the original October 22nd release date didn't happen - except in-person, of course. An announcement would be nice.

As always, will post more news as we get it.

Stunning Mike/Tall Man Figure 2-Pack from Morningside Customs

Here's some cool news that I wasn't quite fast enough in posting about as it's already bloody sold out! The Monsters-In-Motion online store has just posted this stunning Mike Pearson/Tall Man Retro-Figure 2-Pack from "Morningside Customs." Priced at $250, this fan-produced offering is limited to a mere fifty pieces, which explains why it sold out so quickly. The 8" figures were sculpted by Chris Elizardo with box art by Allan Graves. This collection comes with silver sphere and mutant-bug accessories.

Fingers crossed they'll produce more in the near future as the quality appears quite good. You can still view the listing here. Click any of the images below to see them in greater detail. (Thanks to Scott Pensa for the initial heads up!)

Phantasm's Morningside Mortuary Threatened by Wildfires

Well, this is shitty. Recent news out of Oakland, California suggest that the state's raging wildfires may now be threatening "Oaktown," which is home to the Dunsmuir-Hellman Estate - better known to Phantasm phans as Morningside Mortuary from the first film. Built in 1899, this stunning 37-room mansion has appeared in numerous shows and films throughout the years including Burnt Offerings, A View to a Kill, and So I Married an Axe Murderer.

The Dunsmuir team posted the following notice on social media announcing their temporary closure. News outlets are reporting heavy smoke over the city and that schools have begun to close amid precautionary power shut-offs. Fingers crossed the fires extinguish soon, not only to prevent further loss of life and property, but to also spare this classic Phantasm location. (Thanks to Scott Pensa for the head's up on this.)

Here's a look at the Dunsmuir mansion from several years ago in better times. Superphan Matt Naylor proposed to now-wife Jessica during their pilgrimage to the Tall Man's stomping grounds. You learn more about Dunsmuir and even plan a visit, assuming everything turns out okay, by visiting their official website here.

VIDEO: Angus Scrimm's Halloween Movie Recommendations

Halloween is almost upon us! For many, that means carving pumpkins, rocking out to the Monster Mash, and watching scary movies. If you're in need of some recommendations on that last one, consider these suggestions from the "Pharaoh of Fright" - the Tall Man himself - Angus Scrimm! The Tall Man appeared on Extra! back in 1994 to promote the upcoming release of Phantasm III and gave his top five Halloween faves.

He may be a bit biased in his #1 pick, no?

New Release Date 40th Blu-ray Set / New Extras

According to Blu-ray.com, the new release date for the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray set is December 3, 2019. We've yet to receive official confirmation of that, but Blu-ray.com is a pretty reputable source for this kind of stuff. Phans will recall that the set was originally supposed to debut on October 22 (today!), but manufacturing issues overseas involving the sphere replicas have delayed its release.

For those wondering what's in this gigantic set, it contains everything that was in the previous Well Go USA boxset that sold out so quickly.... along with the following new items:

PHANTASM
- New 7.1 Dolby Atmos Soundtrack by Post Haste Digital
- New Dunes Cantina Party commentary featuring Don Coscarelli and the cast/crew of Phantasm
- Phantasm: A Horse Drawn Hearse - new HD master of Angus Scrimm in B/W flashback footage

PHANTASM II
- New 4k scan of the original camera negative supervised by Coscarelli
- Director's Cut version with never-before-released X-rated sphere/gore sequence

PHANTASM RAVAGER
- P5: How It Was Made - Feature-length documentary on the production

(Thanks to Steve VanMeter for the tip!)

OFFICIALLY DELAYED - Phantasm 40th Blu-ray Set Hits Snag

Phantasm phans have been skeptical that the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Sphere Set announced earlier this year would be hitting store shelves on time and rightfully so. Major retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy have yet to start taking pre-orders for the massive set despite its original release date being less than ten days away. Some smaller retailers have begun taking pre-orders, but all without offering actual product art or details on their listings.

This past weekend in Orlando, series creator Don Coscarelli confirmed to phans at the Fantasm convention that the 40th Anniversary Set was officially behind schedule due to manufacturing issues overseas. He was hopeful that distributor Well Go USA might be able to release the boxset by Thanksgiving or - at the very latest - early December.

This is unfortunate as Well Go has already spent a chunk of change on advertising the release for October including a full-page advertisement in a recent issue of Rue Morgue Magazine. Fingers crossed they get the issue(s) resolved soon as this set still looks amazing!

VIDEO: Watch Don Coscarelli Crash an R/C Mini-'Cuda into the Tall Man!

Move over, Regman. There's someone else behind the wheel of this 'Cuda.

R/C car enthusiast Alex Khan very recently attended this year's Fantasm convention in Orlando where he met Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli. (Recall that Alex made an incredible Phantasm Ravager R/C Battle-Cuda several years back.) In meeting Coscarelli, Alex was able to share his standard R/C 'Cuda and even gave the filmmaker a chance to drive it around the convention floor!

Naturally, Coscarelli plows the muscle car right into the Tall Man and a dwarf. Hot as love!

Check out the video below!

UPDATED: Incredible New Phantasm Game from Jon Ivan!

I first blogged about game designer Jon Ivan's incredible Phantasm-themed Doom 3 mod back in 2011.

Then I blogged about an update to that mod in 2016, which was even more incredible in its detail.

Now in 2019, Jon is back at it! Titled PHANTASM ARMAGEDDON, this new game is being made using the Unreal 4 Engine. As before, Jon is designing this newest creation so that you play as the Regman as he travels to familiar locations from all five films in the series. We're talking Morningside Mortuary, the Pearson home, the Fortuneteller's, Death Valley, and, of course, the Red Planet itself among others. Blast dwarves, spheres, and gravers using all kinds of iconic weapons as you work your way toward the Tall Man himself.

Check out the video and screenshots below for a preview. Jon has mentioned hoping to offer a demo of this soon, so we'll be sure to post information when he does! I probably speak for a lot of you when I say that I cannot freaking wait for Jon to finish this beast!

UPDATED 5:53p with NEWER AND BETTER PHOTOS!

iCollector Lists Phantasm II Prop as Elm Street Prop

It would seem that prop dealer iCollector got some bad intel somewhere. Remember that creepy scene in Phantasm II where the Tall Man creature emerges from Liz' back? Well, they're selling that grotesque prop - except that they've marked it as a Freddy chest burster prop from Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge. How do we know this prop is erroneously listed? Because makeup effects legend Mark Shostrom handled effects for both films and is telling us so! Plus, you know, we've got functioning eyeballs and have actually seen Phantasm II.

Here's the funny part - this isn't the first time this prop has been misrepresented as something from Elm Street. Mark Shostrom first sold the prop in 1989 and it later wound up inside a Planet Hollywood in Dallas, Texas. The prop-eatery had it listed as the snake creature from Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors, which is also kind of crazy considering how big that Freddy-snake creature was in the film.

As always, be careful out there when you're buying Phantasm props. There are a lot of obvious fakes on the market and, it would seem, some legitimate props mislabeled as being from other films. Thanks to Mark for the tip!

(Photo courtesy Mark Shostrom)