Phantasm - 1979

 My girlfriend joined me for about the last third of this movie (which is a great time to hop in) and I again relayed a thought I've had often.  This is such a bizarrely unknown movie and series of movies, and director, I really don't know why this isn't up there in the same breath as at least the Pinheads, the Leatherfaces, the maybe slightly B tier of horror icons.

I do think this is undersung and underdiscussed.  I had vaguely heard of it in my late teens or twenties, and I think I eventually watched this about 15 years ago on a one off rental.  I was expecting something kinda bad, because I was never that big of a fan of Bubba Ho-Tep and I really disliked both the book and the movie of John Dies at the End.  I was completely blown away by Phantasm though, and I really enjoyed it.

I think Phantasm was on this list before I watched the first one, but then once I watched the first and didn't watch the sequels, this has been on the list.  Phantasm 5 came out about 10 years ago, and as proof this series is undersung it didn't even play in theaters.  So anyways, that's this series history on my list.

A sex scene ends with the woman killing her lover and transforming into The Tall Man.  We follow Mike as he spies on his brother and discovers The Tall Man as well, leading to the first major development:  a flying metal sphere that will drill your brains out!  This is one of the many weapons both physical and not that The Tall Man possesses and now Mike and his brother are set against him.

This movie is a great class in world building if nothing else.  So much of this seems instantly iconic and instantly makes you want to know more.  What is this, where did it come from, how did it work?  These questions abound as you watch decent actors and cool dark scenes in a fast paced horror sci fi flick that is sort of like nothing else.

It's interesting to have a legit long running series that I haven't seen and I'll watch all of.  I mean, I guess I've done it plenty on here, but I'm hopeful and I'm going to be chock full'o takeaways.  Excellent beginning, 4 star horror sci fi premise here.

The Hideous Sun Demon - 1958

 This is likely not the same as From Hell it Came. This is more probably the result of “I do actually like 50s monster movies, here’s an obscure one”.

This is sorta a bucking of the trend for 50s monster movies, and atypical in its execution. Sure, having the monster not in most the movie is common. But this movie is short the old guy character, is short the casual friendliness, is short the stuffy coffee drinking scenes. It’s just short overall really. 

We hop right into it with scientist Gilbert getting exposed to some new type of radiation he's working on.  He goes up to the roof and sits in the sun, soon enough he turns into the Hideous Sun Demon!  He scares an old lady and runs off.  Now he's hyper sensitive to the sun's rays.  To console himself he goes to a bar and meets singer and performer Trudy, a woman who he hits it off with and now he's dragging her in too.

"Yes, with extra anchovies...it's his favorite topping."

The effects are decent, and there was a darker tone to this movie which was fun and different.  The scientist thinks about suicide, he kills someone, and there's a noir element to it that matches well with this genre.  Yet its still 50's as ever with schlocky monsters and a damsel in distress.  An interesting blend and a unique one.

I opted to watch the Rifftrax version, which wasn't their best outing, but hey it's free.  I give it a solid 3.