Spotlight On Phantasm II: The Workprint Version

The workprint of Phantasm II is something of a bootleg collector's item for serious phans. It represents a version that for one reason or another, didn't go to theaters. This alternate cut boasts a slew of new editing and additional scenes. On this page, I'm going to go through and detail as many of the significant changes as I can. I make no promises that this is all of them; I'm just noting the ones I caught from memory. But before I begin... a few talking points.

This is not an improved version of Phantasm II. Many fans agree that it's a much weaker vision of the film. As I'm going to point out below, some of the new scenes don't work all that well and the alternate edits negatively affect the pacing.

The image quality on any version of this workprint you might buy is going to be horrid. I'm talking fifth-generation VHS quality with annoying timecode at the bottom of the screen. Since a workprint by definition is assembled from dailies and not actual film stock - it's most unlikely that we'll see a better looking version ever because this cut doesn't exist on any other format than videotape. The original elements would have to be reassembled to make an actual cut of the film and that's not going to happen.

I said above that this is a bootleg item. I do not advocate film piracy and strongly advise that you not pay a great deal of money for a copy of Phantasm II's workprint. The price should reflect the cost of materials, shipping supplies, costs and an extremely modest (near nothing) amount for the person's time. I hate to see greedy eBayers take advantage of phans and illegally reap profits from our beloved franchise. I don't sell/trade/give away copies of the work-print, period.

The first difference occurs less than a minute into Phantasm II. Rather than first introducing Liz and having her narrate the flashback to the first film, the work-print opts to begin with The Tall Man pulling up to Reggie's house. After the flashback finishes, we meet Liz and the scene plays out as it did theatrically, just without the flashback. You can see below a comparison of quality between the official home video release of Phantasm II and the workprint. Yuck.


The next major change occurs when Mike has a premonition from The Tall Man while en route to Reggie's house in the Hemi-Cuda. Unlike in the theatrical version, Mike dozes off to sleep where he hears "Welcome home, boy." Violently waking up from his cat-nap, he then begs Reggie to "get the people out of his house" as per the theatrical cut.

Theatrically, after Mike tackles Reggie infront of the smoldering house, we go to the funeral service where shortly after, Reggie informs us via narration a few major plot points: that the Tall Man was responsible for this, that he was going to team up with Mike, that it might take them years to find him and if they did, they'd likely die. In the work-print, however, there is no funeral and Reggie's narration is mostly cut out. The above plot points are made in a dialogue shared between our heroes directly after Reggie's house explodes. Afterwards, they hug against a fiery backdrop. A cool shot, a bad scene.


The problem with this is that mere seconds after seeing his entire family killed off in an explosion, Reggie's having a perfectly controlled conversation about pursuing someone only moments earlier he thought didn't exist. It's horribly unconvincing. Don Coscarelli made a smart move in the theatrical version by explaining all of this through narration.

A small difference between the two versions involves Reggie's narration before they reach the run-down mausoleum. The take used in each version is slightly different in tone and choice of word, but both convey the same meaning. Click here for the theatrical version and here for the work-print version.

Now we get into a major change. Mike and Reggie enter the abandoned mausoleum and find Liz in the basement, just as per the theatrical version. Only this time, the flame of Reggie's blow-torch turns into the flames of a camp-fire where Mike is sleeping. It would seem that the entire previous scene was a dream. How much of what we've seen has been a dream? That's a good question and I have a feeling Coscarelli intended for us to ask it. Reggie asks Mike which direction they should head in and remembering what the Tall Man-creature from his dream said ("Come east if you dare"), Mike tells him east. I have a sneaking suspicion that this was cut because of Universal Studio's "no dreams" rule they tacked onto the production. Those fools.


Skipping ahead to the ride to Perigord Cemetery with Liz and her Grandmother, the work-print contains more of their conversation than has been previously seen. After asking Liz about her nightmare, her Grandmother asks if she has a boyfriend. Liz answers "Well there's this one boy... there's not really much to tell." The grandmother then says she'd like to meet him to which Liz replies "So would I. Uh... I mean I'd like for you to meet him too."


There's also an added bit after Liz and her Grandmother enter the church where Father Meyers walks to the side of the building and nervously takes a swig from his flask. The scene then continues with his prayer inside.


Here's where the work-print differs from the theatrical version due to editing. The theatrical cut unfolds like this: (A) Priest stabs the grandfather, (B) Liz explores mausoleum (C) Mike and Reggie leave the motel (D) Liz is startled by The Tall Man and runs away and (E) We cut away to the Priest's home at night. The work-print, however, follows this pattern: (A) Priest stabs the grandfather, (B) Liz explores the hallway and is startled by the Tall Man, (C) Mike and Reggie leave the motel and (D) We cut away to the priests home at night. By comparison, the work-print is boring and un-suspenseful. The theatrical cut's use of inter-cutting scenes proves much more effective.


The next new footage is highly disturbing. After Father Meyers opens his peep hole to reveal the walking corpse of the grandfather, he rushes over to a drawer and grabs a gun. Hiding in a closet, he then puts the gun in his mouth and looks through the cracked door at the corpse. It's mouth is sewn shut and seemingly, it's trying to speak.

Once again, the work-print has a different editing of scenes. In the theatrical version, Liz discovers her grandmother's room empty directly after our heroes pick up Alchemy. In the work-print, she discovers her grandmother missing directly before they pick up Alchemy.

After Reggie, Mike and Alchemy arrive in the ghost-town of Perigord, we're treated to yet another new scene. Unable to find her grandmother and aware that The Tall Man is responsible for it, Liz seeks the help of Father Meyers. She finds the door unlocked and enters, finding the house completely dark save for a few candles. She doesn't stay for long.

Now we have the crown jewel of the work-print; the scene that it's most well-known for. The sphere death scene for Father Meyers is completely uncut. We're talking a fountain of blood gushing from this guy's. A short while later, a vastly different take is used of Liz saying "Sorry Grandma"


If Father Meyer's uncut death scene can be considered the most famous scene from the work-print, what follows is arguably the second most famous. Dream Sex. That's right. Mike and Liz have dream sex. First they're atop a tree in a huge forrest, then they're on a beach and then they're falling through the air... until they fall back into bed. (Ever been woken by a falling feeling?). Liz jokes "Well I guess that's about the safest sex we'll ever have, huh?" Damn, that James LeGros is one lucky fellow.

Quite a few scenes later when the sphere is burrowing up through the torso of one of the Tall Man's helpers, an added scene of gore is included. Mike also throws in an extra line "It doesn't stop till it tastes blood."

Although not a deleted scene, the work-print features the red planet without the redness! How bizarre! The first screenshot below is of how the red planet appears in the finished version of Phantasm II. Not all that scary, eh?


Surprisingly, there is but one added shot of gore during The Tall Man's embalming scene. Just before he falls to his knees and his eyes burst out, he stumbles forward. The work-print features a second-long shot of him stumbling forward more, only with a large trail of gooey skin hanging off his face. It's difficult to see but I've included two screenshots below of the excised shot.

Now... you may've heard that the beginning of Phantasm III with The Tall Man coming back through the space-gate to dispose of his old body from Phantasm II is included in this work-print and that's true. It is included but with an added touch at the end. In Phantasm III, as Tally walks out of the space-gate room, it cuts to black. Here, the Tall Man walks into the fiery embalming room and steps onto the flames. He looks down at his feet, now on fire, and just smiles. If the whole "re-appearing through the space-gate after being seemingly killed" bit didn't clue you in to this guy's immortality, his standing in fire and smirking should do the trick.


Out of the mausoleum and into the hearse, Reggie asks Alchemy after pulling off part of her hair, "What's wrong?" and then she pulls off her scalp, unlike the theatrical version where she pulls it off while he's in mid-sentance. Also, The Tall Man says "No, it's not" quite differently at the very end. The shot is also different and Mike/Liz don't get pulled through the back window of the hearse a la the original. Below I've included a shot of how he says the line in the theatrical cut by side with the work-print version.