Synopsis
Mike, after his release from a psychiatric hospital, teams up with his old pal Reggie to hunt down the Tall Man, who is at it again. A mysterious, beautiful girl has also become part of Mike's dreams, and they must find her before the Tall Man does.
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Cast
- James Le GrosMike
- Reggie BannisterReggie
- Angus ScrimmThe Tall Man
- Paula IrvineLiz
- Samantha PhillipsAlchemy
- Kenneth TigarFather Meyers
- Ruth C. EngelGrandma
- Mark Anthony MajorMortician
- Stacey TravisJeri Reynolds
- J. Patrick McNamaraPsychologist
Recommendations
- 75
Chicago Tribune
Coscarelli has captured the texture of a disjointed, half-remembered nightmare, full of figures and events that seem to have some symbolic value, but which have lost their precise meaning in the process of floating up from the subconscious. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The difference between the "Phantasms" is the difference between "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010." Coscarelli's sequel is a fast, entertaining fright show, but it's not inspired in the way the original was. - 50
The New York Times
There are some grotesquely stylish and scary moments in Phantasm II, the sequel to a 1979 film that Don Coscarelli made as a precocious 25-year-old. Unfortunately, these episdoes seem to take as long to arrive as the sequel did. - 40
TV Guide Magazine
The original Phantasm was an inventive fever-dream, but the sequel, unfortunately, lacks that delirious youthful imagination. There are some memorable moments along the way--fleeting images scattered throughout the film that have a cumulative effect--but when the shocks do come, they are mostly retreads of highlights from the first movie. - 38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Nowhere in Phantasm II is there the wit of Phantasm the first. [8 July 1988] - 38
Portland Oregonian
Individual scenes are OK for bogus suspense and special effects. The acting is as good as it has to be. But on the whole, the film feels like a 90-minute version of something that was many hours longer. [13 July 1988, p.D4] - 37
Washington Post
After interminable delays and unresolved digressions, we finally get to see some decent special effects, but hardly enough to warrant sitting through the entire film. [12 July 1988, p.D6] - 25
Chicago Sun-Times
The target audience for Phantasm II obviously is teenagers, especially those with abbreviated attention spans, who require a thrill a minute. No character development, logic or subtlety is necessary, just a sensation every now and again to provide the impression that something is happening on the screen.
