Phantasm II (1988) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - July 7, 1988

One of several 1988 summer horror films that underperformed at that box office.

As fun and atmospheric as Phantasm II is, general audiences were just not all that interested in seeing a spooky carnival ride of a movie in July. Maybe, just maybe, if the film had been pushed to late September or early October? Maybe. But who knows, really? I don't.

But what I do know is that this movie is fun. The higher budget, an estimated 3 million, not only allowed for better special effects and production design, but may have given writer-producer-director Don Coscarelli a tad more of the old shooting schedule.

And it shows, because the movie also looks great. I was able to see this opening weekend and had a blast. The friend I was with, however, did not. He hated the movie. So it goes.

The one downside is that Universal wanted a more established actor to play the lead character of Mike. So A. Michael Baldwin was switched out for James Le Gros. The one and only time Baldwin did not play Mike.

 

Phantasm (1979) - Newspaper Ad

March 24, 1979 - San Francisco Examiner

In the late 80s and early 90s I lived in the Richmond district of San Francisco. At one point I lived in walking distance, about five short blocks, from the Balboa theatre. A theatre that, a decade later, I would see a number of films at. By that time it was where movies nearing the end of their theatrical runs and fast approaching their home video release exit ramp would play as double-bills for one week. This is where older me wishes he could speak with younger me and implore him to get out of that damn apartment and go see more movies at the Balboa theatre.

As far as Phantasm goes, I got the soundtrack for the film in a bundle of soundtracks that my parents gifted me in 1979 or 1980. It was before I saw the movie, but it helped me recognize some of the music that underplayed some of the hosting segments during John Stanley's tenure as host of Creature Features.
 

The Fog (1980) / Phantasm (1979) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - September 12, 1980

The listing box in the lower right hand corner, next to the See Theatre Guide for Policy, is where I saw this re-release double-bill of The Fog (1980) and Phantasm (1979). The Century, at that particular time, was a two-screen dome theater. It was where I first saw The Swarm (1978), Orca (1977), The Thing (1982), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), The Enforcer (1976), An American Werewolf in London (1981), and many, many more.

It was also where I would first see Phantasm. We had already seen The Fog, which had been released earlier that same year, at the Coliseum Drive-In. There it had been paired with a reissue of House By the Lake (1976). A movie that my father refused to sit through.

My dad did sit through Phantasm and, because he would jerk and jump in his seat, I legit thought it was because he was scared. Turns out he had been writhing in utter agony at having to be forced to sit through what he considered to be a rancid and godawful hunk of cinematic junk. At least he held back his raging contempt for the film until it was over, so my brother and I could enjoy it in peace.

The Fog had been well underway when we had arrived, so dad let us stay and watch the film until it reached the scene we had entered at. That is when he snapped, "We are not sitting through the rest of this thing for a second time, let's go." Which we did.

I also remember the TV spots for this re-release:

Spot 1 -

Spot 2 -

These spots may have gotten a generous amount play during the commercial breaks for the Captain Cosmic show, as well as those for Chiller Diller and/or Creature Features, on KTVU. Which is probably why I remember them with such clarity and fondness.