In fact, in PHANTASM III Reggie has a lot of good/bad one-liners, but the best line goes to Rocky (played by a black actress).
With all PHANTASM movies, a viewer must prepare for the cheese and cheapness, which isn’t really a knock on the series, but just how writer/director Don Coscarelli does business. Anyway, after Jody dies in part one and Mike is replaced by another actor in part two (along with Mike being sent to the nut house), part three sees Reggie and Mike (the original actor again) back on the hunt for the Tall Man, this time joined by creepy kid Tim (Kevin Connors) and the sexy but deadly Rocky (Gloria Lynne Henry). Michael Baldwin), his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury), and their bald, ponytail wearing ice cream salesman/guitar playing buddy Reggie (Reggie Bannister) while they do battle with the mysterious Tall Man, who robs graves, has a flock of small demons in cloaks, and is from another time and dimension. In case you haven’t followed along with the PHANTASM soap opera, allow me to summarize – briefly. The 1979 original and 1988 sequel get plenty of love, but PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD seems to be the black sheep of the family.
While the PHANTASM series never ended up going mainstream, it found its own place in the horror world. Though the man had 51 credits to his name (including the forthcoming PHANTASM: RAVAGER, his final work), he’ll live on for decades as that creepy old dude in black who hangs around mortuaries with little people dressed in little robes. Of course, horror fans know Scrimm best as The Tall Man (though he only stood about 6’ 4”…not exactly Manute Bol). However, we lost others too, and one of the names that didn’t get the same mass media recognition was the late great Angus Scrimm, who scared plenty of audiences during his 89 years on Earth. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glenn Frey were among the big names. It seems like every other day another beloved actor or musician has passed on. The Grim Reaper has been a real asshole in the first weeks of 2016.
We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH.