Phantasm (1979)
Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm was labeled a “video nasty” but actually played uncut in the UK. I included it because it’s one of the more unsettling horror films I’ve seen from the late-’70s and, really, it shouldn’t be. The film follows a young boy being followed by a grave robber known only as The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). When I saw Phantasm as a teenager it terrified me. Not because of the film’s penchant for supernatural weaponry like floating orbs, but because of how uncompromising it is about death. Much of the boy’s fears of The Tall Man are because the man robs graves and otherwise spends his time in the cemetery. By the time the time the film unveils its twist, it comments more about our communal fear of death and dying than anything supernatural and that makes it scarier. Monsters and ghouls we can understand, but the existential dread of our own mortality?
Angus Scrimm also makes the Phantasm series, which has had multiple sequels, what it is. His booming voice — which usually screams out “Boy!” — gets into your marrow. He’s the old man you were always afraid to cross but never understood why. Phantasm might not be as gory or terrifying as the other films on this list, but it’s a must for all Halloween viewing.
Watch now on Shudder.
Which of these NSFW horror films is your favorite? Have a rec of your own? Let us know in the comments.