The Coolest Kicks You've Ever Seen: Phantasm-Inspired Shoes!

From the "Never Seen That Before" department, I stumbled this morning across a pair of Phantasm-insired shoes posted to Facebook! We've seen customized shirts, hats, jackets and costumes - all sorts of wearables, but has anyone honestly seen a pair of Phantasm-inspired shoes before now?? This is completely new to me!

This shoe-art was created by The Exquisite Corpse, who offers up similarly themed shoes on their marvelous Etsy store. They're presently offering a slew of iconic monsters for your feet including Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolf-man, among others. This particular pair of kicks showcases artwork of a sphere-brandishing Tall Man on the left foot and young Mike, Reggie and a dwarf on the right foot. Spheres, graves and a spacegate dominate the background areas. Just terrific.

Now we need some Phantasm-themed socks.

Would you pay $75 for this Phantasm II Sticker?

Would you spend $75 on this vintage Phantasm II sticker? Sure, it's a cool sticker, but that seems a steep price for such a small collectible, especially one that probably went for a mere quarter back in the day. If you're not up on your vending machine knowledge, you should know this is no ordinary sticker... but rather a 1980s "Prism Sticker," which is how sticker collectors describe these reflective and uniquely drawn creations. They're kind of a big deal. Here is a 1985 Michael Jordan Prism Sticker going for $2,900... and no, it's not even signed by the big guy!

The Phantasm collectible market is a real peculiar beast, something I don't really understand. This item is particularly strange because it crosses over into the Prism Sticker market. It's amazingly rare, so maybe the price tag is fair? Click here to see more 1980s horror movie Prism Stickers.

Or maybe take the plunge and buy the Phantasm II sticker!

If you happen to nab it, send us a picture of where you wind up sticking it! (Just kidding. I imagine it would be a crime against sticker collecting to actually stick this sticker somewhere.)

Memorial Tribute to Phantasm II Sphere Master

I think we can all agree that while the sphere effects in the original Phantasm were impressive, they were wildly improved upon in the first sequel, Phantasm II. In that film, the balls now drilled, sliced, burrowed and shot lasers! Since Phantasm's original sphere-master passed away before that film's release, the tall task of bringing these effects to life on the sequel was given to effects maker Steve Patino.

By his own admission, Patino was a genuine phan. He was elated to be working on a sequel to the original Phantasm and had sincerely hoped to return for Phantasm III. In an interview with Fear Magazine, he later joked there would be a silver sphere on his grave when he died since he was now the keeper of the ball. Sadly, he passed away in 1994 with no such adornment.

One of Patino's Phantasm II assistants, Steve Cotroneo, has decided to make good on that with a memorial sphere tribute now two decades after his passing. Cotroneo writes in to the Archives with the following text and photos, "Well here it is, finally haha! The finished Steve Patino memorial! He always said that one day he would have a silver sphere on his grave, well I did the best could for him! This is a tribute to Patino and to the amazing sphere fx he did on Phantasm 2, which was the first movie I was lucky enough to work on with him! I hope you dig it!"

Personally, I think this is so much awesomeness. The sphere looks marvelous and the marble/flowers/holder are clearly in the style of Phantasm's first sequel. And it's worth mentioning that while Phantasm II was Cotroneo's first film, it certainly wasn't his last! Thanks for sharing, Steve!

Phantasm 20th Anniversary Posters on Sale

If you either missed out on Phantasm's 20th Anniversary celebration or weren't into phandom at the time, you're in luck. Artist and filmmaker Robert Long is offering a final round of original prints of his official 20th Anniversary Poster and at an amazingly affordable price. The eye-catching artwork features an eyebrow-raised Tall Man lording over Mike, Jody, Reggie, the Lady in Lavender and a couple of dwarves. In the background, the Tall Man's hearse chases the Cuda out of Morningside Cemetery. A silver sphere whizzes past in the foreground.

Robert writes in with the following message: "I have some really sucky, sad news. My landlord forced me to keep all my art supplies and posters in the basement. Recently we had a tornado go through. This left a lot of standing water in the house. It ruined the bulk of my Phantasm posters. Crumpled, torn, stuck together and wet, I have had to through away most of what was left. I bring this up because I will be putting up the ones I could salvage on ebay. Once those few are gone - that's it. Just wanted you fans to know in case any of you are looking to pick one up."

Unfortunately, his loss is now your gain. You can find the remaining posters for sale on this eBay page. They come signed by the artist and are individually numbered out of 1,000, though in actuality there are less than a thousand in circulation, making these rare and collectible.

You can read more about Rob in this excellent blog post over at the official Phantasm website or visit him at his own website, Smash or Trash Independent Filmmaking.

(The 20th Anniversary Poster is ideal for getting cast members to sign on account of the white mausoleum marble trim border that surrounds the artwork. Photo below courtesy Scotty Bootz Georgeson!)

Phantasm: Remastered Coming to Chicago

Information has recently surfaced on two special screenings of Phantasm: Remastered for later this summer. Don Coscarelli will personally be bringing the flick to Chicago's Flashback Weekend this August. This special edition of the original film will play on Friday night and again on Saturday night, August 5th and 6th. The convention's website promises that each screening will also include an extended trailer for Phantasm Ravager. 

The film won't be shown at the actual convention, but rather at the nearby Carmine Muvico Rosemont 18. If memory serves, this theater is within easy walking distance of the convention hotel. Flashback also promises that each screening will be introduced by Coscarelli himself.

Chicago's Flashback Weekend has long been a special place for the franchise, having hosted the official 30th and 35th anniversary reunion events. Don Coscarelli is the only Phantasm-related guest announced so far, but there are other exciting reunions happening that weekend as well including Scream and Wishmaster. (Well, Wishmaster's Bob Kurtzman provided special effects on the second and fourth Phantasm's, so that makes two Phantasm guests, actually!)

New Ravager Cast Members Revealed

A quick look at the Phantasm Ravager IMDb page reveals the addition of two new cast members, one of whom has a connection to the original film. Visual effects artist and sometimes actor Jonathan Sims has been credited with the role of "Steampunk Graver," which may be who we see sporting goggles in the film's original 2014 trailer.

The second cast reveal is Cean Okada as "Nurse," presumably at the psychiatric hospital where Reggie is known to be admitted at in the story. Okada previously played a nurse in Don Coscarelli's 2004 cult-darling Bubba Ho-Tep. If that last name sounds familiar, you may be thinking of her husband - renowned cinematographer Daryn Okada who served as director of photography on Phantasm II. Daryn's first-ever crew gig was as a grip on the original Phantasm. He also helped on some second unit photography for Phantasm III.

(If you're unfamiliar with Daryn and his contributions to the franchise, I interviewed him for my book, Phantasm Exhumed, which you can now download on the Amazon Kindle platform as of this week in addition to the standard paperback.)

Phantasm Exhumed Now on Amazon Kindle

Two years after release, my book, Phantasm Exhumed, has finally come to Amazon's Kindle. I've been pretty reluctant to release an e-Book edition, but finally gave in after numerous requests. Many readers had understandably complained that the paperback's type was simply too small to decipher while others simply wanted an edition they could read on the go. This Amazon Kindle release means you can read Exhumed on your Kindle, smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. In this lead-up to Phantasm Ravager's debut, there is perhaps no better time to revisit the making of the first four films.

This "Standard Text Edition" version of the book is $9.99 in the Amazon Kindle Store, except to those who've already purchased the paperback through Amazon. For those readers, the e-Edition will only cost $2.99.

If you haven't yet read Phantasm Exhumed, I'll leave you with Angus Scrimm's own Amazon review of the book. (He contributed an introduction, interview and personal set journals to Exhumed, so perhaps he's not the most appropriate person to review it, but he did. So here ya go.)

It's like a brimming over bowlful hot-buttered popcorn fresh from the popper, a deeply gratifying entertainment with something to chuckle over, marvel at or cheer on every page. The fifty or sixty-odd interviewees obviously had a blast working on Coscarelli's films and their affectionate, often humorous reminiscences glow out from the paragraphs of Dustin McNeill's skillful prose. I've read the book all through but can't resist picking it up and re -reading again and again.at random for fresh enjoyment.. If I do have one single objection,, it's that the 260 photos the book boasts of may include an excess of one tall, gaunt, scowling personage clad in black. . Of course, being an actor, he'd probably be the last to complain.