New Phan Site on the Block

Things have been a little slow here at the Archives lately, chiefly because your friendly neighborhood archivist has been busying himself with other projects, the least of which include an update to this main page on account of Blogger canceling their FTP Publishing in a few weeks. What's a guy to do?

In the mean time, I want to invite you to check out an incredibly endearing phan website that's emerged recently called PHANTASMAGORIA. The site has graphical charms galore, both in photoshopped creations and in vibrant film captures. It also features original fan-fiction and stunning 3-D imagery! It's all the work of talented phan Dan Siciliano and I encourage everyone to give it repeat visits for it's certainly worth the time.

'I Sell the Dead' now on DVD!

'I Sell The Dead', the recent horror-comedy from Glass Eye Pix that co-stars Angus Scrimm, has finally hit DVD in a groovy special edition. Among the supplemental items is a delightful comic adaptation of the film that features Scrimm's character. You can read my positive review of the film here.


Our favorite Tall Man also recently gave an insightful interview to Dread Central about the his work on the picture.

Phantasmic Rondo Nominations

The Phantasm Archives would like to congratulate Angus Scrimm and the people behind 'I Sell The Dead' on their Rondo nomination for Best Picture. The same heartfelt congrats also go out to Universal Studios for their nomination of Best Classic Horror DVD with 'Phantasm II'.


Vote for your Horror favorites at the official Rondo Awards site

Morningside Mortuary Artifacts

Scott Ryersson, a man who knows well his way around Photoshop, has created, err, unearthed a number of rare documents and artifacts from the intriguing history of Morningside Mortuary. Business cards, flyers, invoices and more await you at Scott's awesome 'Arcanifacts' blog.

Phantasm Pumpkins

Here's wishing all phans everywhere a Horrific Halloween. If you'd like to see four different phantasmic pumpkin creations, click here!

Coscarelli Retrospective on Deadpit

Those lovable rascals over at Deadpit.com have posted a podcast retrospective on Don Coscarelli's career. Both Uncle Bill and the Creepy Kentuckian clearly have a warm affection for his films and the Phantasm series, which makes the podcast all the better.

Phantasm now on iTunes!

Although it was only recently announced, the original Phantasm has been available for download on Apple's iTunes store for the better part of a month now. Along with a handful of other titles, you can now rent a digital copy of the film for $2.99 or buy it for $9.99. The file is just over one gigabyte in size, so it's perfect for tossing on your iPod or laptop for viewing on the go.

With the Bubba Ho-Tep soundtrack already on iTunes, let's keep our fingers crossed that more Don Coscarelli films and soundtracks will be available in the coming days.

Her sole amigo is her alter-ego

Many moons back, I reported on a new jazz album coming from that sultry cemetery siren, Kat Lester, and it's just now seeing release. You can download it via her website. This is slick, stylized jazz that oozes the kind of seduction Kat's performance is known for. As a jazz person myself, I'm wild over this new album.

Fans should especially take note at the track titled 'Lady in Lavender,' which can be purchased for $0.99 on Kat's website or as part of the album for $14. The tune is sung from the point of view of Lady in Lavender character, with plenty of lyrical references any observant fan will positively eat up. It's certainly my favorite track on the disc and I *urge* all fans to download it. I can't give away any of the song's ultra-cool lyrics, but they're great.

More P3 Footage: The Tall Man Cometh!

It's been a mighty busy day, hasn't it? To top it all off, here's the latest of three videos that detail the making of Phantasm III. This rare footage was provided to the Archives and to Phantasm Community by the terrific Guy Thorpe, who served as hearse coordinator on films III and IV. We have much more of this type goodness in store, so check back in the coming weeks. I happen to think this is the funniest video we've posted yet on the Archives!

The Wait is Over!

The wait is over! Phantasm II is now officially on DVD from Universal Studios. I picked up my copy this morning from Best Buy, who charged a respectable $14.99. The new transfer looks very nice and the menus/rear box art all match the cover, which is all one can really ask for. A satisfying release after all these years.

Pics/Video from the Aero Theater

This past Saturday night, Don Coscarelli along with Angus Scrimm, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Gloria Lynne-Henry and Mark Anthony Major screened the first three Phantasm films at the Aero Theater in lovely Southern California. In between films, they took audience questions on stage. We have a terrific photo gallery detailing this event, thanks to the also lovely Kristen Deem.

Special thanks to 'WereHotAsLove' for sharing with us the following video of the Q&A.

Edit: Just found another terrific gallery of photos from the event. This report contains a spiffy group shot of everyone.

Phil Sawyer presents Phantasm 4.1

The "hot as love" trailer for phan-turned-filmmaker Phil Sawyer's latest, Phantasm 4.1, has just hit YouTube. By the looks of this, we're all in for a treat once the phan-film is finished. Very happy to see that months of hard work have finally started to pay off, Phil! Bring us more!

I'm Sold on "I Sell The Dead"

Earlier today, I had the wonderful opportunity to see Angus Scrimm's latest work in Glenn McQuad's I Sell The Dead, which also stars Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden and Ron Perlman. My opinion? Fantastic! Certainly a Scrimm performance to savour. Read my full review here.

Horror Festival in Big Bear

Hear ye, Hear ye. The Big Bear Horror Film Festival will be held this October 16-18 in scenic Big Bear, California. One of the films being honored at this annual festival is our very own favorite, the original Phantasm. On hand to celebrate the event will be Don Coscarelli, Reggie & Gigi Bannister, and the Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm. For more information on the festival and how to attend, visit the event's homepage by clicking here.

The weekend will feature screenings of all four Phantasm films along with numerous discussion panels, masquerade parties and other events. Fans in the know will recall a certain Big Bear cabin retreat filmmaker Don Coscarelli took back in 1976 to write the script for what would become Phantasm. Even more astute fans will recognize Big Bear City as the place where Reggie Bannister married Gigi 'Fast Elk' so many moons ago. So Big Bear in and of itself is relevant to Phantasm in numerous ways!

More Phantasm III Set Footage

Time for some more behind the scenes footage, courtesy of Guy Thorpe! In this clip, see more of Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister onset and hang out with Angus Scrimm in the makeup trailer.

Another 'Dead' Trailer

The blokes at ShockTillYouDrop.com have posted the new trailer for the upcoming I Sell The Dead, which features our very own Angus Scrimm alongside future Bubba Nosferatu star Ron Perlman (if that film ever gets out of the gate.)

See the trailer here.

On the Set of Phantasm III

Courtesy Guy Thorpe, here's a rare glimpse into the evolution of the 'Rescuing Mike' scene from Phantasm III, from staging to rehearsal to action.

Phantasm II DVD Artwork

Here's the cover art for the Phantasm II DVD coming this fall. It's here courtesy of the fine folks over at DVD Active, my former stomping grounds. Hit up the link to see it larger.

My thoughts? Pretty damn awful. My dog could manage better Photoshop than that.

Angus Scrimm and James LeGros Reunite!

On Wednesday night, Angus Scrimm attended a sold-out screening of his new picture, I Sell The Dead, at the LA Film Festival. He was there along with Glenn McQuaid, Larry Fessenden, assoc. producers Peter Phok and Brent Kunkle, composer Jeff Grace, sound designer and up-and-coming Glass Eye director Graham Reznick, Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman and the lovely Brenda Cooney, all of whom participated in a Q&A after the sold-out screening.

Also in attendance was another Glass Eye Pix veteran actor, James LeGros of Phantasm II fame! Scrimm told the Phantasm Archives that it was "heartwarming" to reunite with his co-star after so many years. LeGros is set to star in the upcoming film, Bitter Feast, from Glass Eye as well.

The photo comes courtesy of the Glass Eye website.

P2 on DVD - Yipee!

Phantasm II is finally coming to Region 1 DVD.


September 15, 2009. $19.98 SRP. More details as they come in.

Boogie down.

.

Watch Scrimm in Automatons for FREE

Starting today, visitors to New York Public Television station WNET's Reel 13 website can view Glass Eye Pix's award-winning film, Automatons, in its entirety. The film is available to watch streaming for free along with additional Automatons content, including an exclusive Reel 13 interview with writer-director James Felix McKenney.

If you haven't seen Automatons, allow me to recommend it. It's a fantastic anti-war tale that features everyone's favorite Tall Man Angus Scrimm in a strong co-starring role. Anyone who makes a donation to WNET can download a digital copy of the film as well.