Phantasm - 7 stars out of 10
No fancy special effects necessary. All that "Phantasm" requires to keep you on edge are quick cuts, hooded figures ducking around corners, and a creepy soundtrack as this mystery unfolds. Don Coscarelli understood that you just have to put people into freaky settings (like a cemetery and a funeral home) and the intensity will develop itself... though the silver sphere sequence didn't hurt in adding to the horror. It is amazing how effective Phantasm was on such a low budget, though it is obvious that the actors were paid on a low budget. In the end, very little of "Phantasm" is explained (the silver sphere, how the creatures are created, the other world, the girl in the lavender dress). Part of me wishes that every aspect of the mystery would have been explained, but the other part of me is glad that I'm left to figure things out for myself - I am just worried that I will never fully understand what the heck happened in the final 20 minutes. You'll just have to watch for yourself to decide if you can be at peace with the (sort-of) resolution.
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