Phantasm 2 (1988)

Director: Don Coscarelli

Starring: James LeGros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Paula Irvine, Samantha Phillips, Kenneth Tigar

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Ball Is Back!

Plot: Mike, following his release from a psychiatric hospital, teams up with old pal Reggie to hunt down the Tall Man, who is at it again. A mysterious, beautiful girl has also become part of Mike's dreams, and they must find her before the Tall Man does. They reach an Oregon cemetery that has had all the bodies dug up and removed. Realizing this is the work of the Tall Man, they venture inside armed heavily. But the Tall Man still has his deadly flying spheres - and a couple of cronies who will stop at nothing to keep their evil plans a secret.

My rating: 6/10 (4/10 for the first half averaged with 8/10 for the second half)

Will I watch it again? Yes, now that I've found a fan-made extended, uncut composite of the picture.

#224 on Drive-In Delirium Volume 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

I enjoyed the first film because it was the first to introduce us to the Tall Man, the flying killer ball and the unusual world they exist in. It had some great visuals and kills. Part 2 has everything but the freshness of it all. The big problem is that it takes a good 45 minutes before we really get to the meat of what made the first one fun - flying silver balls sticking their forks in the heads of victims until their done.


There's not as much Tall Man action as there should have been but he did show up from time to time to remind us he's around. Coscarelli upped the ante by having not one but three floating killer balls and one larger, gold ball that did some lovely damage to one guy entering through his ass (I think) and tunneling its way through the rest of his torso. THAT was some kick ass shit. I would give this a lower score but the second half of the movie is really fun. It just sucks that it takes so damn long to get to it. You don't sit through 45 minutes of a porn flick to get to where someone gets naked. I almost lost interest in that carrot they dangled.