A few years ago Jeremy Kirk gave a listen to the first Phantasm‘s commentary, but we never returned to Don Coscarelli‘s nightmarish world again with this column until now. The unfortunate passing of Angus Scrimm — aka The Tall Man — this past week has encouraged me to revisit the franchise with the second film in the series. It’s also the only entry I caught in theaters — I was too young for the first one, and the subsequent sequels have gone direct to DVD.
Scream Factory released a fantastically packed Collector’s Edition of Phantasm II in 2013 featuring a commentary track with Coscarelli, Scrimm, and Reggie Bannister. (Just ignore that the option screen to select the commentary spells Scrimm’s name as “Scrumm.”) The director is such a calm, friendly, informative speaker, and his two guests follow suit making for a fun, anecdote-filled track.
Keep reading to see what I heard on the Phantasm II commentary.
Phantasm II (1988)
Commentators: Don Coscarelli (writer/director), Reggie Bannister (actor), Angus Scrimm (actor)
1. This may be one of the only commentary tracks to open with the actors in character and committing to the bit for more than a few seconds. Bannister complains about this creepy guy following him everywhere, and Scrimm decides to leave saying “things are backed up at the cemetery.”
2. The house in the opening was available thanks to the efforts of CalTran which had bought up entire neighborhoods with plans of laying track and was selling the homes for $500 each. “But you had to take them off the property,” says Coscarelli. Still a great deal though.
3. Coscarelli’s “gotten criticism” for the scene where Reggie lays down the guitar by the fireplace to go check on Mike because later when they return to the living room the instrument is no longer there. “One of the dwarves took it,” suggests Scrimm.
4. Bannister still has the scars from putting out those gas burner flames with his fingers. He also pulled a muscle while scaling the laundry chute.
5. All three have favorite James Le Gros films. Coscarelli chooses Drugstore Cowboy, Scrimm says Living in Oblivion, and Bannister goes with Point Break. No one asked, but I’d go with a tie between The Last Winter and Scotland, PA.
6. Scrimm recalls a rumor he heard — but never believed — that Bannister and Le Gros had a photo of him they used as a dart board. “Would we do that to you?” asks Bannister in a highly unconvincing manner.
7. The opening explosion, meant to be from years earlier, is the same one used in the present day as Mike and Reggie drive up to the house only to see it blow up. Multiple cameras and precise timing were used to capture it from different angles with the different actors.
Universal Pictures
8. They had three 1971 Plymouth Barracudas for the film. A pretty one, a stunt one, and one that was wreck-ready.
9. Bannister actually worked at Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach, CA. “They always have a skeleton crew,” he says, before explaining how he did a handful of different jobs there.
10. Roger Avery (Rules of Attraction) told Coscarelli that this film’s shopping spree in the hardware store served as an inspiration for one of Bruce Willis’ scenes in Pulp Fiction. “He may have been pulling my leg.”
11. Sam Raimi visited the set while they were filming the scene where Mike and Reggie head into the compound armed with their flame-thrower and quadruple-barreled shotgun.
12. Cinematographer Daryn Okada got his start on the first Phantasm where he worked as a “low-end grip” and has since gone on to DP films as diverse as Cradle 2 the Grave and Mean Girls.
13. The guys ignore the naked lady in the room for a few minutes and focus their chatter on cinematography, but just as Alchemy (Samantha Phillips) disappears they shift gears to discuss her career. Scrimm shows a particularly detailed knowledge of her Showtime series, Hot Springs Hotel, while Coscarelli recalls her infamous spread in Penthouse Magazine.
14. The motel room Mike and Reggie stay in with the gorgeous view of some rolling, wooded hills is actually just a three-walled set built in the parking lot of a national forest.
15. Coscarelli still wants to know “who left the friggin’ trunk open” in the scene we see through the window of Mike and Reggie getting into the car and driving away. Bannister chuckles about it, so yeah, my money’s on him.
Universal Pictures
16. Bannister asks if that yellowish goo that the Tall Man drips onto his tongue tasted good, and Scrimm replies “It’s the first time the Tall Man has had a bite to eat in any of these movies!” The shot took several attempts, and they eventually had to change up the recipe and not make it out of milk.
17. Coscarelli had resisted doing a sequel for years despite offers of funding because he wasn’treally sure where to go with it. That changed once he realized the sequel should pick up immediately at the moment where the first film stopped.
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