That Time Freddy Krueger Almost Got Silver Sphere'd

Earlier this year, I released my second horror movie related book, SLASH OF THE TITANS: THE ROAD TO FREDDY VS JASON. It details the crazy ten years that New Line spent trying to find the right script for 2003's Freddy vs Jason. Ultimately, they went through seventeen screenwriters before finally putting the crossover sequel into production. In researching my book, I closely studied ten different pitches that were seriously considered for the film...

... and in one of those pitches, Freddy Krueger gets drilled by the Tall Man's silver sphere! No joke! This was a legitimate screenplay that New Line bought and nearly made. Written by UK scribe Peter Briggs (who also co-wrote the first Hellboy), this draft found Freddy and Jason chasing survivors from earlier Elm Street and Friday sequels through hell. And what should slam right into Freddy's forehead? The Tall Man's silver sphere! The screenwriter confessed in our interview that he was an enormous horror fan and wanted to sneak in these kinds of jokes/cameos for his audience.

To learn more about Slash of the Titans, you can visit FreddyvsJasonBook.com or check it out on Amazon.

Strange History: Phantasm's Accidentally Deleted Scene

Here's a bit of strange franchise trivia: Did you know that Phantasm's early videotape releases had an accidentally deleted scene? It's true! The technicians that transferred to the film to its original home video master tapes mistakenly trimmed the scene when the spacegate room goes dark and Reggie whispers, "Jody? Where are ya? Mike?" Then we hear a dwarf snarl and Reggie mutters, "Oh shit."

Why would they snip this brief scene? It unfortunately fell at the end of a reel change. Being that the spacegate room goes completely dark, the screen goes black even though Reggie's dialogue continues on. To the uninformed video tech, a blank screen meant that the reel had ended. They then switched over to the next reel, cutting off the scene. 

This mistake was eventually corrected when the film was re-relased onto home video by MGM in the 90's. Packaging on the newer tapes boasted that they contained the film's "original theatrical version," which they now did. These tapes not only reinstated the missing scene, but also included four minutes of intentionally deleted scenes after the film presentation.

Cooking with the Tall Man - Recipe Remembrances of Angus Scrimm

Biographical information on Angus Scrimm has often mentioned that the man was an outstanding chef who possessed an appreciation for great food, but little has ever been said on the subject. Fortunately for us, Phantasm series crewmember and longtime Scrimm personal friend Kristen Deem has stepped forward with a different kind of remembrance.... one that includes two of his actual recipes!

Click here for Kristen's story 

and the Tall Man's recipes.

Bizarre Phantasm Box Set from Italy

I've posted before about how international home video editions of the Phantasm series often have small peculiarities about them, but this is a massively peculiar release from Italy. This four-disc box set of "Fantasmi" includes the first three Phantasm movies yet uses artwork created exclusively for Phantasm Oblivion! Why exclude the fourth film, especially if you're going to use artwork from it? The set's back cover further features an image of the Tall Man from Oblivion. 

This Italian release also includes a fourth disc of supplemental material ported over from Anchor Bay's impressive UK box set. Among these is the feature-length documentary Phantasmagoria, which looks to have been trimmed from its original 97-minute runtime to 72-minutes in order to exclude the concluding Phantasm Oblivion segment. I wonder, did they further trim Oblivion clips from the also-included "The Gory Days" and "Phandom" featurettes? 

Furthermore, the credit blocks on the back cover are also messed up. The block for "Fantasmi III" is a straight copy of the original film's credits, listing Paul Pepperman as co-producer (he produced none of the sequels, mind you) and gives Kathy Lester's micro-cameo fourth billing! Click the images below to see the packaging larger.

Six Observations on the Leaked Phantasm Ravager Footage

While we don't dare post yesterday's leaked Ravager footage or any images from it for fear of having a hammer dropped on us , we can still talk about it. And let's face it, based on social media, everyone is still talking about it. So with that, I thought I would post six observations I had after having reviewed the preview several times.

1) Remastered P1/P4 Footage - The first thing that stood out to me from the new footage were the clips from Phantasm and Phantasm: Oblivion. Reggie flashes back to the Lady in Lavender's attack on him and, later on, we see shots of both Reggie and the Tall Man in Death Valley. We've seen this all, sure, but never before in such crisp quality! Compare that to your videotapes and DVDs and you'll find there simply is no comparison. At first glance, it would appear that Don Coscarelli has treated the series to a gorgeous new high-definition transfer. Here's to hoping this bodes well for Blu-Ray releases in the near future.

2) Hey look, it's Jody! - The new footage gives us our first glimpse, brief though it may be, at Bill Thornbury's Jody. We see the older, ghostly Pearson brother back behind the wheel of the 'Cuda, his first time sitting in this particular seat since the original Phantasm. He appears to be outfitted for battle as does the muscle car he sits in. This shot passes by so quickly that it wasn't until my third viewing of the trailer that I even caught it. Good to see you back, Bill!

3) An Army of Tall Men - One of the more striking images from the new trailer was a digital tracking shot through a white room toward a space gate with dozens of Tall Men lined up on either side of it. We have always known there to be multiple Tall Men out there with a new one stepping in anytime an old one is killed, but never before have we seen them all standing together! This ominous imagery strongly evokes one of the endings to Roger Avary's ill-fated Phantasm 1999 screenplay. The Tall Army concept made me groan when I first read it in Avary's script, but its execution here is just terrific. My hat is off to David Hartman for making this work.

4) The Hospital/Book Angle - From Reggie's new dialogue in the trailer, we learn he is having issues distinguishing reality from illusion (or delusion?) and has been hospitalized, either in a psychiatric setting or a retirement home. We also see Mike visiting Reggie and trying to explain complicated concepts about alternate realities, which his friend does not seem to care about. Reggie's hospitalization strongly resembles concepts first presented in Stephen Romano's Phantasm Forever pitch, only that it was Mike who was hospitalized. The book angle is also reminiscent of Forever where Mike had actually written his own tome detailing his experiences with the Tall Man, though it is unclear in the Ravager trailer whether Mike has authored the book he speaks of or simply had it recommended to him by Amazon.

5) The Tall Man is still cryptic as ever - With this leaked footage we get a juicy new piece of Tall Man dialogue sure to send the brains of phans into a frenzy. Our favorite mortician appears to turn toward Reggie and meaningly intone, "You're not even real. You're myyyyy baaaaad dreeeeam." To paraphrase Mike Pearson in Phantasm III, "we don't know what you meeeeean!" Looks like we will have to wait to find out what in the actual hell that line refers to until the film comes out… and it is entirely possible we may not even know come then. This is Phantasm, after all.

6) Hartman appears to "get it."

There has been much geek anxiety and worried speculation concerning the fact that Don Coscarelli has handed off the final Phantasm sequel to a new director, much less someone that has never helmed a feature film before. But Coscarelli has repeatedly reassured phans that David Hartman "gets it" and, based on this new footage, he truly appears to. The scene inside the mausoleum between Reggie and the Lady in Lavender is masterfully directed and oozes that classic Phantasm spirit. This confrontation between two characters that haven't crossed paths in thirty-five years must inspire great confidence in even the harshest doubters out there.

Well, those are my six observations. What did you notice? Sound off below or on the Phantasm Communtiy Facebook page!

Massive Italian Phantasm Retrospective

The third issue of the online Italian-horror magazine Terre di Confine boasts a massive Phantasm retrospective. The article, which was written by di Severino Forini, is tastefully organized with beautiful full-page poster artworks and images from the films. It even contains several pages dedicated to the upcoming Phantasm Ravager. I was also delighted to spot a positive sidebar on my book, Phantasm Exhumed, among their pages.

You can read and download a PDF copy of Terre di Confine for free on their website. I don't speak Italian, but this magazine was still a joy to flip through if not only for the layout. The phantasmic fun begins on page fifty-six!

The Good and Bad of Phantasm Ravager

There has been an enormous amount of fan speculation in the wake of last year's surprise announcement that a new Phantasm sequel was on the distant horizon. The first details and teaser trailer gave series followers much to chew on. While the  initial response appears to have been largely positive, there are those still struggling with the fact that Don Coscarelli is not firmly planted in the director's seat as with the other four films. I consider myself cautiously optimistic when it comes to Phantasm Ravager. In all fairness, David Hartman could well knock this one out of the ballpark and end the series on a high note. That Hartman has earned Coscarelli's confidence enough to take over the franchise must be a testament to his ability.

Of all the opinions I've seen expressed about the film on message forums and social media, none seem more levelheaded than what Martin Yates has written for the Ghastly Tales website. Martin addresses both the good and (potential) bad of the new film with one eye on the previous entries. He looks at which elements of the project instill confidence and which elements give him pause. I see many of my own opinions mirrored in Martin's article. If you're still unsure what to make of Ravager at this still early stage, I highly encourage you give it a read.

Click here to read Martin's article.

Behind the Phantasm Ravager Teaser Poster

In this calm before the Phantasm Ravager storm when there is little news to be had, I thought it might be nice to take a look at the creative talent that put together the film's teaser poster. We've all studied it endlessly, that giant red roman numeral, the spheres flying into darkness and that elongated Tall Man inside the roman numeral. It's a perfect tease of what's to come - just enough to set your curiosity wild without giving too much away. Or giving anything away, really.

Continue reading this post to learn the artist's identity and more about his work. If you're a Don Coscarelli fan, you've most likely already seen his handiwork and not realized it.

2014: A Look Back in Phantasm

It's been a long and terrific year for Phantasm phans, the best in recent memory. As 2014 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to partake in an on-again, off-again tradition here at the Phantasm Archives - a yearly review. This one is a little more personal to my own experience, though several other great things happened related to the franchise. The items listed here are just my big five. Looking over this past year, I cannot help but be even more excited for next year. 2015 is going to hold many great things for phans, no doubt! 

Click here to read the list!

GALLERY: Scrimm Award Ceremony & Exhumed Book Signing

This past weekend saw the New York City Horror Film Festival award its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to a very deserving Angus Scrimm. The Tall Man actor was on hand to personally receive the award at the Tribeca Cinema - along with yours truly and Phantasm series crewmember Kristen Deem. His award ceremony was followed by a brief Q&A and a PHANTASM EXHUMED book signing.

EXHUMED photographer Scott Pensa was on hand to document the event and you can see all of his wonderful photos by expanding this post. These include the award presentation itself, the onstage tributes to the Tall Man and the book signing.

The Geography of Phantasm

The geography of the original Phantasm can be confusing. Heck, the name of Mike and Jody's hometown isn't even mentioned in the film. Thought by some to be Morningside, the town is actually revealed to be called China Grove in the little seen and now out-of-print novelization. Still, knowing the name doesn't help explain where anything is in relation to anything else. The Pearson home? Morningside Mausoleum? Reggie's crash site? In reality, these locations were scattered across the entire state, some more than four hundred miles apart. In fact, sometimes the interiors and exteriors of the same location were miles apart, so reality isn't going to be any help here. Continue reading for one fan's interpretation!

CHUD takes on PHANTASM

CHUD columnist Joshua Miller recently took a critical look at the original Phantasm in his ongoing FRANCHISE ME column. The film's three sequels are apparently soon to be on the chopping block as well. So, how did Joshua take to Coscarelli's cult classic? Pretty well, it would seem. That's not to say he didn't have his quibbles with the film, not all of which phans are probably going to agree with. Still, it's refreshing to see our little cult franchise get some CHUD love.

Phantasm is without a doubt the fucking craziest horror movie to ever spawn a successful theatrical franchise. - CHUD's Joshua Miller

Wonder what he'll make of Phantasm Oblivion?

PHANTASM BEYOND GAME - A Must See!

Phantasm Community user BLADEGHOST (game designer John Ivan) has recently completed an extensive multi-level mod for Doom 3 called PHANTASM BEYOND. By utilizing characters, situations and locations from the Phantasm films, Bladeghost has allowed players to enter into their favorite Phantasm scenes and battle all manner of undead enemy (including dwarves, spheres, finger bugs and the Tall Man himself!). As evidenced in the thirty-plus photos included in this post, Bladeghost has magnificently captured both the likeness and atmosphere of locales such as Perigord Mausoleum, the Pearson home and good old Morningside itself. He's also hidden a handful of surprises in the game, some of which are hiding in the photos below.

The mod can be downloaded for free by anyone and can be played on both PC's and MAC's so long as you have a copy of DOOM 3 with the most recent patch installed. It's all quite easy to setup, but if you need help, feel free to turn to this thread on the Phantasm Community forum for help. Continue reading to see more than thirty screen captures from the game and several video previews.

Phantasm Timeline

If you've ever been stupefied by the space-time continuum hijinks of the Phantasm series, you can put your overworked mind to rest. Francisco Gabaldón (aka The Spanish Phan) has valiantly written a broad chronicle of Phantasm history to help make sense of it all. Continue reading to traverse his completed timeline.

Set Report: Phantasm III

Time for a genuine treat from one of Phantasm's own insiders, journalist Todd Mecklem, who just happened to be around during the productions of Phantasm III and Phantasm IV. Collected for the Phantasm Archives and joined with a slew of rare photographs is this Phantasm III set report of filming at Angeles Abbey in Compton. Todd maintains a spiffy website and blog, which you can visit at ToddMecklem.com. Continue reading for his set report or click the image below.

Freeze Frame: Phantasm IV

If you have a sharp eye, a fast hand on the remote and know where to look, the Phantasm films are full of surprises that can pass you by on the first screening. Collected here for your viewing enjoyment are a handful of freeze frames from Phantasm Oblivion that reveal tidbits of trivia and cameos within. Continue reading for the freeze frames and accompanying captions.