Phantasm (1979)

From Television and Film Character Encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Two brothers and a friend investigate a weird mortuary.


Genre

Horror, Science Fiction

Characters/Groups

Mike - Michael Baldwin

Jody - Bill Thornbury

Reggie - Reggie Bannister

Lady in Lavender - Kathy Lester

Fortuneteller's Granddaughter - Terrie Kalbus

Caretaker - Ken Jones

Girlfriend - Susan Harper

Sally - Lynn Eastman

Toby - David Arntzen

Bartender - Ralph Richmond

Tommy - Bill Cone

Double Lavender - Laura Mann

Fortuneteller - Mary Ellen Shaw

Maid - Myrtle Scotton

The Tall Man - Angus Scrimm

Dwarf Zombies

Character thumbnails with links to profiles

Detailed Synopsis

Lady in Lavender and Tommy are having sex in the Morningside cemetery. They finish and Lady in Lavender pulls out a knife and stabs Tommy to death and then transforms into The Tall Man. Later, Jody and Reggie go to Tommy's funeral, where they were apparently told that Tommy killed himself. As Jody is walking through the mausoleum to visit his parent's crypt, he hears an odd sound. Mike rides his dirt bike to the mortuary and also hears a strange noise. The Tall Man suddenly grabs Jody and tells him that the funeral is about to begin. Mike uses binoculars to watch the funeral while hiding in the bushes. After the funeral, Mike watches as The Tall Man lifts Tommy's casket and puts it in the back of a hearse all by himself. Mike goes to a Fortuneteller and Fortuneteller's Granddaughter speaks for her to Mike. Mike has a flashback where Toby stops by Mike and Jody's house and gives his condolences to Jody. Mike overhears Jody tell Toby that he is thinking about sending him away to live with his aunt and uncle. Back in the present, Fortuneteller's Granddaughter tells Mike not to worry and that if Jody leaves he will take Mike with him. He then tells Fortuneteller about what he saw at the cemetery. A black box suddenly appears on the table and Fortuneteller's Granddaughter tells him to put his hand inside and then tells him not to fear.

Reggie stops by in his ice cream truck and plays guitar with Jody. Later, the Fortuneteller's Granddaughter goes to Morningside and opens a door and screams. Jody goes to Dunes Cantina and sits down next to Lady in Lavender and starts up a conversation as Mike sits outside spying on him. They leave the bar together and Lady in Lavender takes Jody to the cemetery. They start to kiss as Mike continues to spy on them. A Dwarf Zombie runs towards Mike, who then runs by Jody and the Lady in Lavender and Jody runs after Mike and grabs him. Mike tells Jody about the Dwarf Zombie, but Jody doesn't believe him. Jody walks back to where he left Lady in Lavender, but she is gone. The next day, Jody goes back to the bar and is followed by Mike. Mike walks around town and sees The Tall Man. Jody asks the Bartender if Lady in Lavender ever returned to the bar. While Mike is working on Jody's car, he is almost crushed when the jack fails and he tells Jody it was the Dwarf Zombies. Mike grabs a large knife and heads to the cemetery. He sneaks into the funeral parlor and is almost caught by the Caretaker. He walks around the mausoleum area and is chased by a floating sphere. The Caretaker grabs him, but Mike gets away as the sphere is racing towards him and the sphere impales the Caretaker in the forehead and drills a hole through his skull. The Tall Man chases after Mike, but Mike manages to get away after cutting off and keeping one of The Tall Man's fingers.

Mike shows Jody The Tall Man's finger and tells him about seeing The Tall Man carrying Tommy's casket by himself. Mike opens the box with the finger to look at it and it has changed into a monster which attacks him. Mike and Jody carry it to the garbage disposal and kill it as Reggie, who stopped by watches. Jody goes to the cemetery and tells Mike to stay at home. While Jody is in the funeral parlor basement, he is attacked by a Dwarf Zombie and shoots it. He runs away and the hearse starts chasing him with no one at the steering wheel. Mike drives up in Jody's car and picks him up. Jody shoots the hearse and it crashes into a tree. They open the car door and find a dead Dwarf Zombie at the steering wheel. Jody pulls back the Dwarf Zombie's cowl and it has Tommy's face. Jody calls Reggie and asks him to bring his ice cream truck and they move Tommy's body into Reggie's truck. They go to Reggie's house and Maid surprises Reggie. They come up with a plan and Jody has Reggie drive Mike to Sally's antique store. At the antique store, Mike goes through some old photos and finds one with The Tall Man in it riding on a horse drawn hearse. Mike tells Sally that she has to take him home. As Reggie is driving he hears a noise coming from where they put Tommy's body. As Sally and Girlfriend are driving Mike to his house, they come across Reggie's overturned truck. Mike checks on Reggie's truck, but doesn't find Reggie or Tommy's body. He runs back to Sally's car and they hear something outside. Girlfriend opens the door and they are attacked by Tommy's corpse. Mike is thrown through the back window and Sally drives away.

Mike runs home and tells Jody that the Tommy Dwarf Zombie got Sally, Girlfriend and Reggie. Jody locks Mike into his room and drives away. Mike uses a shotgun shell and hammer to open his door and is grabbed by The Tall Man when he opens the front door. As The Tall Man is driving Mike back to the cemetery in his hearse, Mike escapes and shoots the tire of the hearse and it crashes and explodes when it hits an electrical pole. Jody checks on his father's casket and finds it empty and Mike goes to the mausoleum and does the same. The sphere heads towards Mike and Jody shoots it with a shotgun. They walk towards a door and Reggie walks up to them and tells them he freed Sally, Girlfriend and Fortuneteller's Granddaughter. Jody opens the door and they find a room full of black canisters with Dwarf Zombies inside of them. Mike walks towards a portal and is pulled inside. He sees a line of Dwarf zombies carrying canisters on a barren planet. Mike tells Jody and Reggie that the Dwarf Zombies are used as slaves on their planet. The lights go out and they get separated. Lady in Lavender is about to stab Jody when Reggie touches the portal lock, opening the portal. Reggie finds Lady in Lavender on the ground and she stabs him in the chest. Jody finds Mike and they see Reggie stabbed. The funeral parlor disappears inside the portal and Jody and Mike drive back to their house. Jody comes up with an idea to trap The Tall Man in a nearby mine shaft. Jody goes to the mine shaft while Mike stays home. The Tall Man goes to their house and chases Mike, who runs towards the mine shaft. The Tall Man falls down the mine shaft and Jody rolls large boulders over the mine shaft entrance. Mike wakes up and Reggie tells him, he just had a nightmare and hasn't slept much since Jody's funeral last week. In a flashback, Mike visits Jody's gravesite and back in the present Reggie tells him that he will take care of him and suggests they go on a road trip. As Mike is packing, The Tall Man appears and Mike is pulled into the mirror.