Film Review: Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) is back and so is A. Michael Baldwin (who was replaced in the second film) as the cursed Mike in an adventure that goes beyond the waking nightmare into a world of parallel dimensions and the resurrection of the dead. Writer/director Don Coscarelli's epic horror nightmare expands to new levels in PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD.

Expanding on the world of the Tall Man and his hideous minions, the new film finds Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike barely making it out alive after the events of the previous film. As Mike lies in a coma, Reggie waits patiently knowing that at any moment they could be attacked by the Tall Man. When the Tall Man's minion finally tries to kill them once and for all Mike is awakened from his coma and both he and Reggie find themselves on the run to destroy the Tall Man once and for all. The return of the Tall Man also brings about the return of Mike's brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) who has been turned into one of the Tall Man's deadly spheres. When the Tall Man confronts his two nemesi, Reggie finds himself alone and Mike under the clutches of the Tall Man. Now Reggie takes to the road to find his friend at any costs and he picks up a few new companions along the way in the form of an abandoned kid whose parents where taken by the Tall Man and a Rocky, a scavenger who watched her best friend killed by the deadly spheres. Aiding them, Jody leads them to a mausoleum in which the battle over Mike and the Tall Man will come to an end.

Unlike the previous two films, which relied on the presence of nightmarish terror and suspense, this film relies on the comic antics of Reggie and as played by Bannister he comes off as a Bruce Campbell clone from THE EVIL DEAD films. Bannister does have his moments in this film, even if there are many similarities between the two great character actors but I would have rather the film played it straight rather then stir towards the tone that became of those films. Scrimm as the enigmatic Tall Man is still scary as hell, which grounds the film through all the comic over tones.