THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 18: Horror Movie Podcast Crossover Reviews of the Phantasm Franchise

TSFP HMP Phantasm Mondo ArtWelcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this episode of The SciFi Podcast, Solo is absent, but Mattroid and Station welcome the hosts of Horror Movie Podcast—Wolfman Josh (aka SpaceWolf), Jay of the Dead (aka Jalien) and Dr. Shock (aka Bowman)—to take on The Tall Man and his balls with a continuation of the Phantasm Franchise Crossover Review that we started on the previous episode of HMP.

That’s right, in this episode of TSFP we will be covering the science fiction horror fantasy films Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead & Phantasm IV: Oblivion. If you haven’t heard it yet, you should start with Horror Movie Podcast Ep 83 for the first half of this review where we cover Phantasm and Phantasm II. LISTEN HERE!

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. This episode also includes the music of Chatter. Take a listen at AllMusic.com. Podcast production and art by SpaceWolf. Original Phantasm art from the Mondo release of the Phantasm Original Motion Picture Score LP.

Show notes after the jump!
SHOW NOTES:

[00:00:00] I. Introduction


[00:06:42] II. While You Were Sleeping in the Cryo Chamber

BOWMAN’S TOP 10 SCIENCE FICTION FILMS
1. The Thing (1982)
2. Alien (1979) -tie- Aliens (1986)
3. 2001: A Space Odessy (1968)
4. The Time Machine (1960)
5. Terminator 2 (1991)
6. Metropolis (1927)
7. Solaris (2002)
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
9. The Matrix (1999)
10. Planet of the Apes (1968)


[00:34:27] III. Feature Review: PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD (1994)
SpaceWolf: 6/10 ( Rent It )
Jalien: 5.5/10 ( Rent It )
Dave “Bowman” Becker: 5/10 ( Rent It )
Station!: 4/10 ( Watch It Once )
Mattroid = 6.5/10 ( Buy It! )


[01:16:15] IV. Feature Review: PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION (1998)
Station!: 4/10 ( Watch It Once )
Jalien: 7/10 ( Rent It )
Dave “Bowman” Becker: ( No Rating )
SpaceWolf: 6/10 ( Rent It )
Mattroid = 10 ( Buy It! )


[02:02:16] V. SEGMENT: The VHS Tapes
Jalien leads a discussion on nostalgic VHS covers


[02:11:29] VI. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
+ BONUS, AFTER THE CLOSING MUSIC, CONTENT!!!


LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

—Hear Part 1 of this Phantasm Crossover Franchise Review at HorrorMoviePodcast.com
—You can buy Jason Pyles‘ contemporary Christian pop album: “Things to Come” on Amazon.com

Mattroid’s links:
Read Matt’s writing as Gary the Unicorn at HeraldExtra.com
Watch Matt’s Gary the Unicorn comedy sketches on YouTube
Buy TeePublic Sci-Fi T-Shirts
Find The Sci-Fi Podcast on Facebook

Jalien’s links:
Jay and Horror Movie Podcast Official Twitter: @HorrorMovieCast
Jay covers new releases in theaters on: Movie Podcast Weekly
You can buy Jason Pyles’ contemporary Christian pop album: “Things to Come” on Amazon.com

SpaceWolf’s links:
Follow Josh on Twitter: @IcarusArts
Josh covers streaming online movies on: Movie Stream Cast
Follow MSC on Twitter: @MovieStreamCast
Like MSC on: Facebook

Dave “Bowman” Becker’s links:
Dave’s daily movie review website: DVD Infatuation.com
Follow Dave on Twitter: @DVDinfatuation
Like Dave’s DVD Infatuation, now on: Facebook

79 thoughts on “THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 18: Horror Movie Podcast Crossover Reviews of the Phantasm Franchise

  1. Pingback: NEXT WEEK: Frankenstein Versus THIS WEEK: Phantasm Continues |

  2. Pingback: Horror Movie Podcast Ep. 082: The Witch (2016) and The Sci-Fi Podcast Crossover Reviews of the Phantasm Franchise |

  3. I’ve shared previous thoughts with the Horror Podcast community regarding my feelings on this entire franchise… long story, short version: I absolutely LOVE the Phantasm franchise, but my absolute favorite is the first film and I hated Le Gross as Mike. With that said…

    My Theory:

    Mike is in a coma.

    Mike has been in a coma since the car accident that claimed Jody’s life and Reggie has been visiting him for decades as a lone voice from the outside. Everything that is happening is a swirling nightmare adventure where Mike isn’t aware if he is truly alive or dead- and Reggie has become the representation of stability in his own mind.

    He IS Reggie… at least in his dreamscape. And he is also Mike- because we can be more than one person in a dream and we don’t always dream from a first person perspective. At least, that’s been my experience in my dreams- multiple perspectives and weird jumbles of time where weeks can pass in a single night before I wake up with only the vaguest recollection of what may have transpired.

    I don’t think this is what Coscarelli intended with the first film and probably not with the second, but the third and fourth film fit in with the idea that everything is a dream and that we are still seeing the disordered junk of a mind- I have other reasons for this theory:

    Fashion- the three hoodlums in the third film are dressed in styles reminiscent of the 70’s.. A Leisure Suit scumbag, a slicked up greaser, and a teased up trollop? Post-apocalyptic or not, this is kind of an odd group to find all hanging out together. Rocky uses Nun-chucks, kind of like Bruce Lee… and Mike struck me as the kind of kid who watched exploitation movies before the accident. Quadruple barrel shotguns? That’s totally a 12 year old boy thing.

    My alternative theory, IF everything is happening- and because I’ll just double down anyway-

    Phantasm has many connections to HP Lovecrafts story “The Whisperer in the Dark”- where the brains are transplanted into cylindrical objects for intergalactic travel and enslavement to the Mi-Go race… these aliens tend to inhabit the husks left behind. And they’re fungi- yes, flying fungi capable of intergalactic travel.

  4. I too thought about the Lovecraftian connections; there are probably more than I’ve come up with, but I like that you feel the same.

    But your comment, the analysis, is wonderful. I definitely think it’s as plausible as anything else anyone else could come up with. And I too love the franchise, but until recently I didn’t really feel much need to try to figure it all out, you know? But now I’m in, and I want to know, and I suspect you might be right.

    Jody, becoming a sphere; Reggie remaining a constant, always somewhat safe; the Tall Man representing an ambiguous evil that doesn’t seem to have the mortality that a human would, rather the immortality and power that could only come with a great old one (to reflect Lovecraft) or something similar, a God of some kind, an alien which lives on a much higher plane of physical and mental ability…these things reinforce a dream far more than any kind of reality. And it’s no dream, but a nightmare.

    It’s in SOMEONE’S mind; I’ve drifted back between Mike and Reggie, but I might have been fully convinced now that it is indeed Mike.

    Bravo, RCJ.

  5. And how awesome is the idea of an entire franchise being a dream? It’s not the pathetic twist one might find in a tv show; it’s not like the end of a movie; it’s a tremendous amount of dedication to keep an entire franchise tied to a single dream or dreamlike state, especially when that doesn’t have to ever be explained in order to be a plausible reason for everything that is happening.

    It could be a dream.
    It could be an unexplainable future, come of a monster and his minions.
    It could be something in between.

    And I love it.

    • I like that the series is so open to interpretation… I’m actually kind of dreading that Ravager will close the interpretation, but realize it would be for the best. On the other hand… I’m also kid of sad that Coscarelli did not direct this last film and I’m worried how the project will fair under different direction.

      I’m a it of a “director” snob in that I can tell there are certain differences in the delivery of a film with regards to direction.

      • Agreed. With him not directing I’m a bit nervous, but at least he’s overseeing things very closely.

        And it looks awesome, but a little odd too. Soldiers? I dunno.

        I’m with you. Probably best to close it out and explain some; hoping, however, that we are given more of what makes this an amazing franchise and less about an action-packed last act.

      • The idea of the brain sliding back on it’s own is crazy.

        It makes me wonder if anyone I’ve encountered in the past that could bend their fingers back may be susceptible to dealing with the same issue as Station. It seemed as if there was always that one kid in your grade who could do something like that entertain the fellow classmates. Those kids are not to be confused with those freaks that enjoyed using a stapler on their body. Seriously…those kids were weird.

        Hats off to Station for being able to correctly self diagnosis herself. Any time I try to diagnosis myself, the result is always just cancer. Ha

  6. As far as whether Phantasm exists in the real world or are just delusions/dreams, I had always just taken everything at face value as if it really exists. The whole idea that they’re various dreams does add some interest in the series due to trying to pick up why certain things are happening.

    It’s part of the fun of the Phantasm series though. You can look at it from a variety of different perspectives. That adds a lot more replay value compared to your other horror franchises.

    • The mere fact that the franchise can be read in so many different ways shows that it’s significant and interesting. As most (especially horror and scifi) franchises go, it’s rare to see them evolve in the way this story has. In fact, to me at least, it almost feels like one long movie, which in itself is quite the accomplishment.

  7. Call me Captain Obvious, but isn’t the yellow gooey blood supposed to be formaldehyde? The Tall Man is essentially a mortician, so it would make sense that once you are one of his people your blood would be replaced by formaldehyde (i.e. he has embalmed you).

  8. I love Phantasm. I’ve mentioned this before on the HMP boards, but Phantasm is one of the first horror movies I’ve ever seen – it was part of a three-movie horror marathon I watched with a bunch of my older cousins at my grandparents’ house on Halloween 1987. I was seven (going on eight) at the time. It wasn’t my first exposure to science fiction, but it was probably one of the earlier examples.

    I own and have seen the original film several times, but have only seen the sequels once (maybe twice, in the case of Phantasm II); that was about 17 years ago, and I honestly can’t remember seeing Oblivion (pretty sure I would have remembered the sphere boobs if I did). So, unfortunately, I can’t really contribute to the conversation, but there’s been some really interesting thoughts on the show and here on the boards.

    Maybe I’ll have to get around to re-watching the sequels.

    On a side note, looks like I’ll finally be getting around to Twelve Monkeys sometime this week…

  9. Maybe off topic… but another sci-fi horror film that’s always held a special place in my heart has been Planet Terror. I’ve always found it to be far more interesting and compelling than it probably has any right to be, but I was wondering what anyone else might think about this 80’s flick?

  10. BTW, my Buffy watching is going pretty good. Finished Matt’s Season 1 recommendations. Moving forward. I’ll save my review for an episode of the show.

    • OMG YES!!! This also makes Juan a very happy boy. I just finished rewatching Angel not too long ago. And by rewatching, I mean actually sitting down and giving the show my undivided attention, not just playing it in the background *cough*Matt and Liz*cough*

      Anywho, I can’t wait for this episode!

  11. I loved the cross-over episodes! It is a lot of fun to hear all of you get together for a podcast. If all the hosts of both shows were able to do an episode at some point, that would be beyond great.

    • Thank you. Us too, actually.

      I had an idea over Halloween to have the entire HMP crew join us for an epic villain battle, but everyone was too busy. We’ll come up with some more ideas though.

  12. Pingback: Horror Movie Podcast Ep. 083: Frankenstein (1931) vs. Frankenstein (2016) |

  13. Hi Matt and gang! I recently reached out to Josh in regards to a possible episode of The Flash. I think it would be perfect for discussion here and for brain to do his thing. Below is the message I sent him and I would just like to add that as a fellow fan of Buffy and Angel, I’m certain The Flash is a show you will thoroughly enjoy. These shows are able to juggle lightheadedness and darkness exceptionally as well as create really interesting character dynamics. Anyway, I really hope that you give the show a try so you can give the people what they want: a Flash themed episode.

    Hi Josh! I hope you’re doing well. First, I just want to say that I’m super glad you’re enjoying The Flash. It’s a great show that has made me gain a lot more appreciation for a character that I liked just fine, but that I didn’t love. Now that I’m able to see what can be done visually with him (outside of animated features, of course) it’s become a very exciting character and one I’d love to hear be discussed more in-depth by you, Mattroid, Brain, and the rest of the gang. I’m especially curious to hear Brain’s thoughts on the science behind Flash’s powers and, supposing they were real, what things from the show and/or comic could be possible. I know he has tackled the topic of time travel before, but I think this is a little different from what we’ve heard from him in past episodes. Anyway, I’m sure you guys have already thought about this for a future episode, but I just wanted to voice my interest in it.

    • That’s cute. The Flash, huh?

      Fine. One day we’ll watch and then do an episode. How much would station and I have to watch for the episode to be of any listener value? Like, one episode?

  14. Just want to say,im loving the podcast, keep up the great work so many great films to cover and I’m so on board with you about chappie, I need chappie 2

    • The next ep was supposed to post end of last week, but I was traveling. Will post end of this week. Thanks for listening and posting. Have you checked out the previous episodes?

  15. Pingback: Horror Movie Podcast Ep. 104: The 1980s Slasher Film Movement Part 4 — 1986-1989 |

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