PHANTASM (1979) TURNS 45!!!

PHANTASM (1979) d. Don Coscarelli (USA)
PHANTASM II (1989) d. Don Coscarelli (USA)
PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD (1994) d. Don Coscarelli (USA)
PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION (1998) d. Don Coscarelli (USA)
PHANTASM V: RAVAGER (2016) d. David Hartman (USA)

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When Phantasm premiered in early 1979, it was unlike anything horror fans had seen before. It was a coming of age tale that also dealt with death, loss, and abandonment. It had science fiction elements, Villainous morticians, bizarre magic, and gory set-pieces, all centering around a mysterious estate and an evil, if convoluted, plot to steal and enslave the dead, with terrific special effects on a minimal budget. The film was a huge hit in theaters, and found an even wider fanbase on television and home video, ultimately leading to four sequels and a labyrinthine mythology surrounding the Tall Man and his army of brain-sucking chrome spheres.

THE LAST WINTER (2006) Blu-ray Review

The Last Winter (2006) d. Larry Fessenden (USA)

An unscrupulous American oil company, hell-bent on drilling into the fragile Alaskan tundra, hires renowned environmentalist James Hoffman (James LeGros) to supervise and (hopefully) endorse their efforts. When the "greenie" takes a little long for comfort and profit margins (due to increasingly erratic temperature fluctuations), company man Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) is dispatched to expedite matters, specifically to get the ice roads approved so that heavy equipment can be brought in. Camp leader Abby Sellers (Connie Britton) is caught in the middle, involved in a romance with Hoffman but intent on getting the project up and running. Just as the imminent war of wills begins its opening salvos, a supernatural presence begins to exert itself over the health and sanity of the various skeleton crew members on site, including resident mechanic Motor (Kevin Corrigan), Pollack's nephew Maxwell (Zach Gilford), cook Joanne (Dawn Russell), go-to guy Lee (Pato Hoffmann), and tech assistant Elliot (Jamie Harrold). Is Nature rebelling against its most potent enemy at long last?

THE LAST WINTER (2006) movie review

EDIT 11/12/2015: CLICK HERE FOR FULL BLU-RAY REVIEW

Last Winter, The (2006) d. Larry Fessenden (USA)

Via his breakthrough films, Habit and Wendigo, NYC indie director Larry Fessenden fashioned multi-layered characters dealing with supernatural situations...subtly informing viewers what we’re really scared of. In his largest scale effort to date, he approaches a much broader and overtly political canvas (that of global warming).  Unfortunately, by placing the fate of the Earth itself center stage, his usually reliable storytelling techniques lose some of their potency.