Phantasm 3: Lord of the Dead
Rocky: "So who's this guy we're chasing?"
Reg: "He's a very tall man from God knows where."
Tim: "Maybe from another planet."
Rocky: "From another planet?"
Reg: "He kills people, and he ships their bodies back to wherever."
Rocky: "You're pulling my leg!"
Reg: "I wish I was."
release year: 1994
genre: horror
viewing setting: home DVD 3/29/23
synopsis: An ever-changing group of would-be heroes follows the Tall Man's rampage of death and ruin.
impressions: And...more of the same. Another direct sequel that starts with a recap of past events, more evidence that the bad guy is unkillable, more flying metal spheres. And now they get inside people and control them! A past character reappears, perhaps as one of these spheres...but that's never explained. Also, the wrecked car from last time is back, but now it's a convertible. Or maybe it's another car, who knows? Anyway, once again, the villain is moving through small towns, leaving them empty and dead in his wake. And once again, protagonists make incredibly bad decisions, like exploring or staying in abandoned houses or even a mortuary. All of this is fine and good, and can be creepy at times, but it needs some damn framework...WHY is this tall dude stealing bodies? What EXACTLY is he doing with them? Can he be killed, and if so, how? And then there are logic/plot questions: why would the one kid be kept prisoner without being harmed only to later face a skull drill at the hands of the same being that imprisoned him? Why was one brother chased outside, then suddenly he was gone and the other brother appeared? At least this time, about halfway through, they attempt to explain some of it. But they don't quite seal that deal. Other notable bits: a creepy house full of dolls and traps, a kid self-ejecting through a car's rear window, Reg being a total horndog, undead who laugh and giggle (this didn't happen before), a cryonics tank, anoher cliffhanger ending.
acting: The core four from the 1979 original are back, and older. Kevin Connors makes his debut as the tough orphaned kid, who at first I called "that murder child" as he killed three robbers in short order; lo and behold, he became one of the good guys! Gloria Lynne Henry is a tough ex-military woman who helps (her friend, who simply stood there as a spiked ball flew toward her face, wasn't so lucky.)
final word: Another entry in this horror series that has style and atmosphere, but not the most coherent plot.
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