1998 Directed by Joe Chappelle
In the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado something evil has wiped out the community. And now, its up to a group of people to stop it, or at least get out of Snowfield alive.
Ben Affleck Peter O'Toole Rose McGowan Joanna Going Liev Schreiber Nicky Katt Clifton Powell Rick Otto Valerie Chow Adam Nelson John Hammil John Scott Clough Michael DeLorenzo William Hahn Robert Himber Bo Hopkins Robert Knepper Paul Schmidt Dean Hallo Clive Rosengren Edmund Wyson Lucas Elliot Eberl Linnea Quigley Judith Drake Yvette Nipar
Paul Berolzheimer Dean Beville Ricardo Broadus Trip Brock Richard Chaim Harry Cohen Elisabeth Flaum Michael Kamper Alan Kerr Jason Lezama Allen Hurd
Фантомы, Fantasmas, Přízraky, 地心駭客, Aaveet, Fantasmas (Phantoms), Hayeletler, Odwieczny wróg, Fantomok, פנטומים, 벤 애플렉의 팬텀, Vraždiace prízraky, 幻觉, ファントム, Фантоми, แฟนท่อมส์ อสุรกาย..ดูดล้างเมือง
Sweden15
Fantastisk Film Festival Lund
USAR
Australia
Netherlands
Germany16
Austria
Spain12
Iceland16
Brazil
Belgium
UK15
PortugalM/16
Poland
Japan
Italy
Norway18
Argentina16
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Germany
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
UK
USA
Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo.
Can't say the same about the film itself.
Well, technically the “worst” of this flu is over. I’m currently in the stage where you basically cough out so much lung congestion that you really don’t know how you haven’t drowned in your own mucus. It’s gross and it just keeps coming and personally I think this is the worst part of the whole thing, but I suppose in terms of how close you are to death, the whole fever/chills/aches thing is the worst part and that’s over so...yay?
Anywho, I tend to really like Dean Koontz books because they are very easy to read. It’s not that I can’t understand more complex material because honestly I’m just stupid smart, but for entertainment purposes I don’t want to get…
There are other movies called Phantoms but this one is Dean Koontz's. So back off. Seat's taken.
Hey Affleck you da bomb in phantoms yo!!
A really cool little sci-fi chiller. It gets really cheesy towards the end but it’s a wonderful product of the time, and this cast is amazing, name 2 better looking people in 1998 than Ben Affleck and Rose McGowan.
Based on Dean Koontz's novel, Phantoms begins with two sisters riding into town, only to find it deserted aside from a load of dead bodies and a trio of police officers. The first twenty minutes or so is remarkable for just how little intrigue or tension is created - every opportunity is squandered in favour of a cheap shock. Things do get a little more interesting as the story progresses - the narrative opens up on the introduction of Peter O'Toole's character to include aspects of conspiracy theory, ancient evil and explanations for the collapse of civilizations. But once all this is established, it seems like the film doesn't really know what to do with any of it - instead…
I don’t know if I would say he is da bomb, but the film improves significantly upon the arrival of Peter O’Toole, who is top-billed yet totally absent from entire first act, along with the Scream-esque poster filled with young hotties. O’Toole is a scientist and writer for the Weekly World News whose eccentric theories about an “Ancient Enemy” seem to be coming true in an abandoned mountain town.
The rest of Phantoms is tacky and not very scary, but you wouldn’t know it from O’Toole’s surprisingly engaged performance. Plus he gets to yell at Ben Affleck’s cocksure sheriff “This thing is what wiped out the dinosaurs! Which were pretty tough fucking customers!”
Batman vs Sabretooth
Strangers finding themselves trapped in mysteriously deserted small modern towns is one of my favourite premises. One of those sci-fi horrors that keep you intrigued enough, but is a little messy with its explanation/reveal. But at only 90ish minutes with a good handful of actors; it's easily forgivable.
Hadn't rewatched this in ages, so forgot a lot of the minor details, though did not forget Liev Schreiber's sleazy, weirdo perverted cop performance; it's like Harvey Weinstein said to him, 'Just act like me!'.
As for Dean Koontz, I always thought of his writing as The Regulators, with King being more like Desperation (those who've read both books will get it). King was a tad more subtle with…
going to bat for this as one of the more underrated 90s studio horror films; the cast features Ben Affleck as a cowboy cop, Peter O’Toole as a tabloid journalist, Liev Schreiber as a total creep who grows Cthulhu tentacles and does the limbo and Rose McGowan with a shotgun - the late 90s combo of practical gore and CGI works well enough with a particularly gnarly shotgun/exploding head gag
"Is that Deeean Caaain?" -John Mulaney (not in movie)
-Daily Horror Hunt #4 (October '18): boxd.it/23EFo
Day Sixteen: Based on a Dean Koontz story
I guess I hate Dean Koontz. I've always been leaning in this direction but now it's official...I also hate Ben Affleck. Peter O'Toole is fucking crazy in this and is the only reason to watch, in my opinion.
I've read a lot of Dean Koontz's books before but not this one so unfortunately I can't compare the book with the film. I did notice that Mr Koontz did the screenplay though so I would assume it's a fairly true representation.
I quite enjoyed it and thought it was relatively creepy in parts, especially the first half of the movie that had a supernatural feel to it. It went a little too over the top in the second half however still managed to retain a sense of fun. There were a few decent jump scares thrown in and some great old school creature effects that John Carpenter would have been proud of, however the overall production didn't seem to shake off that 'made for TV' feel.
Liev Schreiber and Peter O'Toole both gave good performances however Ben Afflecks was rather wet and insipid - typical his younger acting days.
All in all - entertaining. 6/10
The first half of the film is full of atmosphere, mystery and anxiety. The fear of the unknown hovers over everything, the setting does the rest. The only thing that spoils the impression is the cast's zero motivation charisma, luckily Liev Schreiber is still there. But in the second half Phantoms totally drags, finds no order, delivers unnecessary attempts at explanation and a finale without highlights. A film that is better off in its memory than in the rewatch.
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Die erste Filmhälfte strotzt voller Atmosphäre, Mystery und Beklemmung. Die Angst vor dem Unbekannten schwebt über allem, das Setting erledigt den Rest. Einzig die Kein-Bock-Ausstrahlung des Casts trübt den Eindruck, zum Glück gibts noch Liev Schreiber. Doch in der zweiten Hälfte verschleppt sich Phantoms total, findet keine Ordnung, liefert unnötige Erklärungsversuche und ein Finale ohne Highlights. Ein Film, der in seiner Erinnerung besser aufgehoben ist als im Rewatch.
