New Phantasm Podcast Debuts

Greetings, my fellow phans. It's been a while, I know. How've you been? 

I wanted to make you all aware of this groovy new Phantasm podcast that's just launched called MORNINGSIDE FM. Hosted by phan Chris Dischord, the first episode features special guest Mary Wild, who self-describes as a "Freudian Cinephile Pop Psychoanalyst." Given that background, Chris and Mary engage in a pretty interesting exploration of the series.

Check out the first episode here. There are multiple ways to listen including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and even YouTube.

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!

Bloody Good Work: Carpenter Whittles the Tall Man

Phantasm phan Jon Denton (IG username: PootieDude) has a real talent for hand carving things out of blocks of wood. He's made several cool characters lately including Freddy, Jason, and even Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. But most recently, he's whittled the Tall Man from Phantasm! Check out the sweet pics below including his final painted version.

I'm a little jealous as I sometimes struggle folding a piece of paper evenly, but this guy is able to make incredible works of art with his bare hands and a blade. Hit up Jon's Instagram account to see more of his work!

"Hot as Love" Reggie Cosplay from Monsterpalooza

This weekend saw the terrific Monsterpalooza convention unfold in Pasadena, California. In attendance was true phan David Hanger, who chose to go in full cosplay as Reggie Bannister from the original Phantasm! Hot as love! You can see that David's even rocking a tuning fork, which is essential weaponry for any fight against the Tall Man and his forces of evil. Great work, David!

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#ReggieBannister #cosplay I wore to @monsterpaloozaofficial. Thank you @littleshopofgore doe the awesome #Phantasm #enamelpin.

A post shared by David Hanger (@david.hanger.16) on Apr 13, 2019 at 7:47pm PDT

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Reggie! #phantasm #mosterpalooza

A post shared by Freaky Fandoms (@freakyfandomspc) on Apr 13, 2019 at 5:39pm PDT

Talented Phan Creates Spooky Tall Man Makeup

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Phantasm has the coolest phans. Instagram user PotterMakeup has concocted a pretty spooky looking Tall Man look on himself using only makeup, a white wig, and a black suit. (Bonus points for including the red tie pin - an essential part of any Tall Man cosplay!)

Visit PotterMakeup's page to see that, in reality, he looks nothing at all like Angus Scrimm, which only highlights how incredibly transformative this makeup job truly is! This talented phan has also created a number of iconic characters from throughout pop culture including Doc Brown, Rocky Balboa, Hellboy, both Laurel and Hardy, and so many others. "You play a good game, boy!"

Can we get a Regman makeup next? Fingers crossed!

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Angus Scrimm The Tall Man 🌑 #phantasm #phantasm2 #phantasm3 #phantasm4 #phantasm5 #thetallman #tallman #angusscrimm #horrorfan #horrormovies #horrorcosplay #classic #horrormakeup #fxmakeup #fxmakeupartist #horror_sketches #horrormovies #80shorrormovies #halloween #halloweenmakeup #ilovehalloween #halloweencosplay

A post shared by Ant (@pottermakeup) on Apr 10, 2019 at 12:33am PDT

Phantasm Meets Hellraiser with the CENOSPHERE

Dread Central has the scoop on the latest nightmarish creation from Mark Phillips. Dubbed the Cenosphere, it's a cross between the Tall Man's sphere and Pinhead's Lament Configuration. This tribute prop is, in my opinion, positively glorious! Who wouldn't honestly love a Phantasm/Hellraiser mash-up? My money's always on the Tall guy.

Check out more of Mark's creations at his Nightmares Unlimited Facebook page and learn the backstory of this unusual prop over at Dread Central, who also have a terrific gallery of it.

New Phantasm Game Mod Pulls from Ravager, Phantasm's End & More!

Back in 2011, I blogged about how game designer Jon Ivan had impressively created a massively detailed multi-level mod for Doom 3 called Phantasm Beyond that featured characters and locations from the entire Phantasm series. You could battle dwarves, traverse the spacegate and directly take on the Tall Man. Simply put, it was an amazing creation.

Well, it's 2016 and Jon is back with a huge update to his mod, which is being called Phantasm Beyond II. It seems that he has positively outdone himself this time by drawing even more series elements into his world - including bits from the upcoming Phantasm Ravager and the never-produced Phantasm's End! Pictures from the release clearly show one of Ravager's mace spheres as well as Roger Avary's plague zone from End. On a strangely wonderful note, it appears that Jon has plunked a replica of the Bates Motel mansion onto the Red Planet (see the pic at the link below!) These are but a few of the surprises that await inside the levels of Phantasm Beyond II.

I'd also be lying if I told you I wasn't delighted as hell to see that he included both editions of my book, Phantasm Exhumed, in his new mod! My books can be seen inside a glass case of items you might be able to procure. Other items include all five Phantasm films, the rare Kate Coscarelli novelization, a Tall Man action figure and even the novel that Mike had on his desk in the first film. Jon's attention to detail here is staggering! (I wonder if buying the movies on home video in the game will cost you an arm and a leg like they currently do in the real world?)

Click here to see a whole gallery of terrific images from Phantasm Beyond II and find out how to download it!

Stacy Still Recreates Phantasm Effects Makeups!

Stacy Still is a woman of many talents (effects makeup, cosplay, sculpting, art and blogging) and impeccable taste (Jurassic Park, Twin Peaks, Amityville 1992 and everything Zach Galligan). This post is going to highlight one point where he talent for effects makeup intersects with her passion for Phantasm! 

Featured below are two of Stacy’s outstanding makeups, the first depicting the mortician ghoul’s messy demise from Phantasm II and the second showing Mike’s transformation from Phantasm III. As Stacy tells it, the sphere-mouth makeup was the more complicated of the two, requiring a day’s worth of mold making from a sculpt by pal Brian Mahoney. The actual application time was around two hours. She reports the cranial-sphere makeup was significantly less work intensive, essentially sawing a Christmas ornament in half.

Brava, Stacy! You can visit her over on her blog here. Word on the street is that Stacy's upcoming slate includes makeups based on James Cameron films. Way cool! Click either photo set below to see it larger!

Mike, Reg and the Tall Man in Monstars Art Series

It never ceases to amaze me how many talented artists are also phans (or how many phans are also talented artists?). One of these folks I'd like to introduce you to is the excellent Andrew Barr, who has a fantastic block-style art series called "Monstars" in which he's featured Reggie, the Tall Man and now Mike Pearson. I've combined three of those pieces together in the image below. You can check out Andrew's Monsters blog here and his overall art website here, which features his other styles and prints. If you happen to read Rue Morgue, you might have already seen his artwork.

Andrew's blog states he lives in Canada on the outskirts of Toronto. Wonder if he'll be at tonight's Rue Morgue screening of Phantasm II? Here's to hoping he continues this terrific series, which already has a ton of other horror greats in it!

Click the Image Below to See It Larger!

New Phantasm Quiz Book Out This Week

There is a new Phantasm book out this week from author Killian H. Gore. Phantasm Unauthorized Quiz Book dishes up more than two hundred trivia questions on the series. Killian solicited input from series veterans including star A. Michael Baldwin, dwarf-actor Ed Gale, co-producer Roberto Quezada, sphere master Kerry Prior and special makeup effects supervisor Mark Shostrom. 

Browsing these pages, I am already noticing a good range of difficulty. Some of these phans will immediately know the answer to while others will surely send you to the book's answer section or perhaps Google. Full disclosure: The book's final five questions are provided by yours truly and I did my best to make them challenging! You can purchase either the paperback version or Kindle Edition over at Amazon. The official description is below:

Are you ready for a truly Phantastic Phantasm Quiz, boooy!!!? Featuring over 200 trivia filled multiple-choice questions on all four Phantasm movies. With a Tall Man’s Tricky Bonus Question for each movie too! Plus! A selection of Special Guest Star Questions from Phantasm cast and crew members A. Michael Baldwin, Mark Shostrom, Kerry Prior, Ed Gale and Roberto A. Quezada! AND a set of bonus questions from a Surprise Special Guest Star! As well as the terrifying Phantasm-inspired short story “Video Projects” by Killian H. Gore. If you want to play a good game, boooy, the quiz is about to begin!

Fan Makes Amazing 1:24 Scale Hemi-Cuda from Phantasm!

YouTube user 'TrekWorks' aka Boyd Crompton specializes in professionally-built Star Trek models and has channeled his amazing talent and ability into building a custom 1:24 scale model of Phantasm's 1971 Hemi-Cuda. Crompton made this beautiful work of art across December and documented his process with a pretty cool video, which you can see below.

Crompton's upload also includes clips of the full-size Hemi-Cuda from the original Phantasm for comparison purposes. To this untrained eye, the detail here is breathtaking and kind-of makes you wonder why this beauty isn't utilized in some kind of miniature Phantasm special effect scene. (Hey, it'd be more cost-effective than totaling another actual Cuda. I'm looking at you, Phantasm II!) The guy even went so far as to borrow Cragar SS Wheels from a Dodge Charger model - now that's dedication!

Visit Boyd's website here.

Death Metal Tribute Album to Phantasm!

Here's something you don't see every day. "Old School Death Metal" band Funeral Whore has a new album coming out in March and the whole thing is a loving tribute to Phantasm! In fact, that's actually the album name also. The band hails from the Netherlands and is reportedly signed to FDA Rekotz. You can sample their upcoming album in the video below.

How can you not love their track listing? Songs like Phantasm, the Tall Man, Morningside Cemetery, Reanimated, The Graveyard Silence. As their promo video boasts, "Your ears will suffer unlimited old school death metal from the underground!"

Their social media reads, "The death metal nightmare is back from the abyss of all fucking evil!!!" You know, it's funny. That was my exact impression too. We'll be sure to check their album out upon release and post here when it's available. Check them out on Facebook here!

Fan Spotlight: Peter Marullo's Phantasm Mega-Edit

As an amateur video editor myself, there's nothing I appreciate more than seeing an ambitious phan cut together their own reworking of Phantasm. Whether they're re-incorporating deleted scenes, re-scoring the film or combining them all into one - it's fascinating to watch. Phantasm's creator also shares this interest, having publicly voiced his surprise and delight at such creations.

In this post, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine, Peter Marullo, and show you some of his editing handiwork in bridging Phantasm II with III and Phantasm III with Oblivion. Upon watching the embedded video, I think you'll find Peter's editing makes the transition between films positively seamless.

Click here to see a clip from Peter's mega-edit

Fan Spotlight: Artist Steve Jencks

Today's post looks at the phantasmic work of someone I met this past summer at the Flashback Weekend convention in Chicago. I'm speaking of artist Steve Jencks, a longtime connoisseur of horror films from way back. Among his favorites are Jaws, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and, of course, the Phantasm series. His work has a unique style all its own and draws greatly on imagery from the movies he illustrates. His Phantasm poster features all five cast members, something you don't see very often. Head inside this post to see his work and hear directly from the artist.

Click here to see Steve's Phantasm poster!

Fan Spotlight Cont'd: The Revenge of Scott Hoffman

My first post of 2015 highlighted more than twenty works by artist and phan Scott Hoffman from his Transformative Impressions series. Scott has been one busy fellow since then and returns to share an additional six Phantasm-related works he has created. These images depict moments from Phantasm, Phantasm II, Phantasm Oblivion and the hotly-anticiapted Phantasm Ravager. If you did Scott's work, I encourage you to check out his web store and like him on Facebook.

Click here to see the new art!

Fan Spotlight: Phil Sawyer's AMAZING Phantasm Display

Move over, Freddy, Jason and Michael. There's a growing presence in the world of horror cosplay and it's Phantasmic in nature!

After having posted John Krieg's terrific Phantasm street display earlier this week, I'm back to show you another super-phan's handiwork. Phil Sawyer, who in 2011 shared with us his sweet homemade Phantasm figures, returns to the Phantasm Archives blog with pictures of his own unique outdoor display. Like Krieg, Phil has a magnificent Tall Man mannequin and dwarf replica - but also a live graver, distressed damsel, 'Cuda and even a Reggie! Head inside to see more photos and learn more about this impressive setup!

Click here to see pictures from Phil's photo shoot!

Huge Gallery: Scott Hoffman's Phantasm Art!

Today I'm very pleased to share with you the Phantasmic artwork of Artist Scott Hoffman. Scott is a huge phan from way back and enormously talented at recreating some of the most memorable moments from the franchise. These works are part of his Transformative Impressions series. In this post, Scott has allowed me to feature a whopping twenty-two of his art pieces here on the Archives, the first three of which depict the upcoming Phantasm Ravager.

You can check out Scott's web store here and like him on Facebook here.

Here's a brief artist biography: "Scott has been creating since as far back as he can remember. His passion in life and art has always been to add value to what has naturally existed and share his passion with others. His transformative works have been hailed as "Monet meets Freddy Krueger". Scott's ever evolving body of work carries a repertoire so diverse, that he has something for the true art lover to the conventional passerby."

Click here to expand this post and see Scott's gallery!

Fan Spotlight: John Krieg's Tall Man and Hearse Display

To quote Don Coscarelli, "Most only ride in a hearse once. Some are luckier."

John Krieg has been a self-described "super-phan" for more than three decades, having caught the original film during its first year of release at the age of twenty-two. Last Halloween, he put together a marvelously spooky street display inspired by Phantasm, complete with Tall Man and vintage hearse.

Expand this post to see more photos and read about how John put it all together!

Interview: Prop Maker Michael Baker

Most of us would probably like to think we had the know-how to transform your basic Christmas ornament into one of the Tall Man's flying balls of death, but the artistry of prop making entails so much more than that. One phan who has managed to master the sphere making process is Michael Baker of BakerProps. If you've seen his creations, you can't help but be impressed. They hold up very well against the screen work of Willard Green, Steve Patino and Kerry Prior. In this post, I pick Michael's brain about his unusual talent. 

Read on for the interview and to see pictures of his ghastly works!