31 Oct 2026
EP140 - HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - Phantasm (1979)
For their 2026 Halloween special, hosts Jay and Ben revisit Phantasm (1979), the cult horror film they first watched together in their late teens in 1998. They cover the series' release history, how Don Coscarelli made the film on a tiny budget, and its practical effects and influences. They also cover its surprise box-office success and Coscarelli's career.
Timestamps and key topics
1:14 Welcome and intro: the Phantasm series, which began in 1979
1:44 Release timeline: Phantasm (1979), II (1988), III: Lord of the Dead (1994), IV: Oblivion (1998) and Ravager (2016)
2:41 How the hosts discovered the series in 1998, including the trailers for part two
3:09 The Australian title mix-up: why they couldn't find the tape, and the video-store story
4:37 Intro to director Don Coscarelli and his earlier films, Jim, the World's Greatest and Kenny & Company
5:56 Writing the script and its inspirations: Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, Coscarelli's childhood nightmares, and the story of two brothers
7:22 The Tall Man, the Lady in Lavender and the dreamlike tone, which came five years before A Nightmare on Elm Street
7:50 Funding and budget: $300,000, shot over a year of weekends, with money from his father
8:19 Building the iconic sphere, and the crew behind the film
8:49 Influences: Suspiria (including Goblin-style music) and 2001: A Space Odyssey
9:48 The film's $22M box office and the appeal of its strangeness
11:16 Cast: Michael Baldwin, Jody (Jody Pearson), Reggie Bannister (who died earlier this year), and Ben's signed poster
12:34 Plot walkthrough: the funeral, the Tall Man, and the creepy figures
14:01 The MPA ratings fight, the trimmed gore and the odd yellow-orange blood
14:59 Sphere effects: reversed footage, mirrored finish and the technician's advice
15:57 The Jawas / Star Wars worry
16:25 The 1971 Plymouth Barracuda, the series' signature car
17:53 Angus Scrimm and how he was cast as the Tall Man
19:12 The Tall Man's long history, and how the sequels explain him
20:07 Trial-and-error effects, plus Universal wanting a more straightforward sequel
20:36 Setting, shoot and post-production, and AVCO Embassy's role
22:00 Why studios began funding low-budget horror
22:28 The 2016 re-release and Blu-rays, and the hosts' box set
23:51 Sequel budgets and Coscarelli staying independent
25:45 After Oblivion: Bubba Ho-Tep and Beastmaster
26:36 Ratings: Ben gives 7.5/10, Jay gives 7/10
27:29 Closing thoughts and sign-off
Phantasm was made for about $300,000 and earned over $22 million. Its success helped show studios the value of low-budget horror.
The practical effects, such as the sphere, were solved by trial and error with very little money.
The dreamlike storytelling is deliberate. Coscarelli leaves much unexplained, and the sequels explain more.
Coscarelli has stayed independent and avoids working with the major studios.
The hosts agree the original is the best in the series and should be watched before the sequels.
Ben places it among his favourite 70s horror films and counts Coscarelli among the masters of horror.
