Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 7, 2017

Note: This film is available as part of The Phantasm Collection.

It really hasn’t been all that long since Well Go USA released both Phantasm and Phantasm: Ravager on Blu- ray, and so the label’s decision just a few months later to revisit the Phantasm well with a new Phantasm Collection may seem at least a little risky, perhaps especially considering the fact that Shout! Factory offered up Phantasm II in its own “Collector’s Edition” several years ago, a version which is included in this release down to the Shout! banner at disc boot up. That would mean that some devoted Phantasm fans may already have three of the five films, albeit perhaps not in the version presented on this release with regard to the first and fifth film, since Well Go USA has sweetened the pot and offered up a handsomely packaged deluxe set with this new release, one with quite a bit of new bonus material (even for some of the previously released Well Go versions) and an in depth book as added allure.

James LeGros has a rather long filmography that includes everything from Drugstore Cowboy to Point Break , but for a certain class of horror fan, the actor will probably always be remembered as the guy who “stole” the role of Phantasm’s Mike Pearson from A. Michael Baldwin. Baldwin, then still an adolescent, had originated the role in Phantasm, only to be replaced by LeGros in Phantasm II, for reasons which aren’t completely clear even given some interesting comments in the “Making Of” featurette included on this new Blu-ray. It seems to be a bit of an embarrassment to franchise creator Don Coscarelli and perhaps at least a bit of a bone of contention with Baldwin, who mentions in the featurette how “over it” (in terms of the entire Phantasm experience) he was by the time he was offered the part again for Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead. One way or the other, Coscarelli seems more than aware that the franchise’s fans weren’t happy about the casting change in the second film, and while there were other hurdles Coscarelli would have to face as this second sequel got underway, the casting of Mike Pearson evidently wasn’t going to be one of them.

In that same “Making Of” supplement, Coscarelli talks about one thing he learned from the first Phantasm sequel, namely picking up the story from more or less the exact point it left off in the previous entry. Coscarelli does pretty much that exact thing in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, eliding the fact that there are two different actors portraying Mike in the early going (due to the aforementioned casting change) with some good editing by Norman Buckley (who’s on hand with Coscarelli for the disc’s entertaining commentary track). KInd of interestingly, at least given all the newsprint and/or bandwidth devoted to the supposed “blunder” of first casting LeGros and then asking Baldwin to return, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead kind of marks the film where Reggie (Reggie Bannister) assumes front and center status, something that would continue for the two (thus far) subsequent sequels.

The whole “dream within a dream” ambience that I mentioned in the Phantasm II Blu-ray review is back in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, though arguably perhaps not as artfully handled. The film’s opening suggests that Mike has been rescued by Reggie after an incursion by the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his hordes of Ewok-like acolytes, but it’s then detailed that Mike is in fact in a coma in a hospital room. A seemingly kindly nurse is urging him to “walk toward the light”, where Mike encounters both his brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) and, ultimately, the Tall Man himself, before suddenly awakening to discover the nurse is—well, not really a nurse. In the meantime Reggie has of course shown up at just the right moment at the hospital, leading to what might be expected will be a kind of “buddy road” picture, with these two on the lam. Coscarelli at least partially disrupts expectations, though, by separating the two almost immediately, with Mike sucked into the alternate dimension where the Tall Man resides and Reggie left to fend for himself on the “outside”.

The fact that the Tall Man evidently met his grisly demise in Phantasm II may be just one clue as to how kind of random certain plot points in this third film tend to be, as if Coscarelli decided, “Well, they’ve asked for a sequel—who am I to say ‘no’?” The film struggles at times to knit together the increasingly dense Phantasm mythology, though it does offer some decent special effects and a couple of fun kill scenes involving the always lethal silver spheres. Coscarelli talks a bit in the “Making Of” featurette about some of the trials that ensued during this production, including the ultimate decision to make this a straight to video offering. As might have been expected, given the fact that it was impossible to keep a good (?) (Tall) Man down after the second film, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead did surprisingly well even without an official theatrical release, paving the way for two more sequels.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This boasts the same generally excellent video quality seen across the five films in this set, one that pops especially well (and understandably) in the brightly lit outdoor sequences, where things like the three hoodlums' colorful outfits are really nicely saturated and provide ample detail levels. Some of the interior footage isn't quite as convincing, including a beautifully designed scene of the Tall Man in a chamber filled with candles, where shadow detail is a little lacking a fine detail levels aren't quite as commendable (see screenshot 15). Some of the nighttime sequences also exhibit these minimal deficits, but generally speaking this is a really well detailed and problem free presentation which should please the franchise's fans.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead sports DTS-HD Master Audio tracks in both 5.1 and 2.0. The surround track attains the same goofy surround activity that most of the other films in this franchise do when the silver spheres are careening around the frame, something that provides opportunities for fun panning sounds. A number of outdoor vignettes also offer good placement of ambient environmental sounds, and the fantastic chase with the pink hearse is also notable for some rumbly LFE. Dialogue, effects and score are all presented cleanly and with smart prioritization on both tracks.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• It's Never Over: The Making of Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1080p; 48:11) is a very well done retrospective with some great interviews with Don Coscarelli, Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin and others.


• Balls of Steel: Bob Ivy's Stunt for the Ages (1080p; 9:38) documents the great "flying hearse" stunt that's a highlight of the film.


• Behind the Scenes Compilation (1080i; 28:20)


• Phantasm III: Behind the Scenes (1080p; 8:52)


• Deleted Scene (1080i; 00:11)


• Trailer (1080p; 1:21)


• Radio Spot (1:01)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 4:20) defaults to an Auto Advance mode, but a Manual Advance option is also available.


• Audio Commentary with Director Don Coscarelli and Norman Buckley


• Audio Commentary with Stars A. Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you accept the more ludicrous aspects of this third Phantasm film, there's fun to be had, though some signs of tiredness begin to enter the fray. The franchise continues to be a rather weird combo platter of horror and science fiction wrapped up in a kind of melancholic context that is kind of obsessively concerned with mortality. Technical merits are strong, the supplementary package very enjoyable, and Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead comes Recommended.