Phantasm Sphere Box Set

Fysh

Can't find the thread where this was mentioned before, but my Phantasm Box Set arrived today! An Post did their best to break the damn thing on the way, by the look of the box, but I will soon be having a marathon session and watch all the films back to back. The case is pretty nifty all right, it certainly looks the business.

Anyone else order this? What do you make of it?

TCamen

Yeah I got mine in the post from Play.com last Thursday. One corner of the cardboard box was a bit dented but the sphere itself was mint condition. It's pretty nifty - very reflective

I've seen the first two (maybe three) movies before, but I'll rewatch 'em all soon. Haven't put in the Extras disc to see what it's like.

It's the first time I've ordered anything other than a CD or game from Play.com -- they packaged it with plenty of airbags so I'd definitely order bigger sets from them in future.

Fysh

I'm digging the sphere more and more, not least after realising that by holding it I can get a reflection not unlike an old MC Escher painting, which is quite cool.

Watched the first 3 films over the weekend and was quite impressed with them - aside from Oblivion, I haven't seen any of them all the way through in years, but they were still as good as I remember. More importantly, Phantasm is the only horror series I can think of that has the same core cast but an ever-expanding storyline. It works so well and is a refreshing change from the Freddy/Jason/Michael Myers-style franchises. The only other films I can think of that succesfully build on their initial premise would be the Living Dead series, but even then they don't use the same core characters...

So yes, as you can see, I'm all full of Phantasm love at the moment. Can't wait for the extras. There's a nice little TV spot of Angus Scrimm at a Fangoria convention on the second disc, which is pretty funny, but the guts of the stuff is on the 5th disc...

garred

Is this the same one guys:

http://www.sendit.com/video/item/7000000106317

Slightly cheaper €38 and certainly worth a punt at that price. Like those quirky box sets, might order the hellraiser puzzle box set aswell.

Fysh

Yeah garred, that's the same one. You can't see the blades in the box as you fix them onto the sphere afterwards. Definitely worth a buy, especially at that price. Not so sure about the Lament Configuration Box set as I only really liked the first Hellraiser film, but if you're into them it's pretty cool, certainly better than just having the normal dvd cases.

The Recliner

Have both the Phantasm box and the Hellraiser one, both are well made and look cool

Saw this in HMV over the weekend, might pick it up after the expense of Christmas is out of the way

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A0XTSA/qid=1132738945/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_8_1/202-7986837-7119836

The blood moves when you poke the front of the box

Some of the movies aint bad either

garred

Recliner, was gonna order the Hellraiser one but read on another forum that the disks can sometimes break in this set they way they are squeezed/packed into it. Did you find that or is it someone just being moany??

monkeyfudge

I got my sphere a while back too... It's pretty amazing alright.

It has been absolutely years since I've seen the films but I find they hold up pretty well still.

Don Coscarelli is able to some great work on such tight budgets.

The little sleeve notes that come with the sphere are very good... it's a shame Phantasm IV didn't turn out the way it was originally planned.

The Recliner

garred wrote:

Recliner, was gonna order the Hellraiser one but read on another forum that the disks can sometimes break in this set they way they are squeezed/packed into it. Did you find that or is it someone just being moany??

Haven't had a problem with the discs to be honest

I imagine you could snap them if you weren't careful but you could do that with lots of cases and discs.

I would say that they are no more likely to snap than any other boxset, go buy it and enjoy it and if you are worried about them after you have the box just be a little careful taking them out.

I would imagine you would have to reef them out of the case to do any damage to them

Fysh

monkeyfudge wrote:

The little sleeve notes that come with the sphere are very good... it's a shame Phantasm IV didn't turn out the way it was originally planned.

I quite like Oblivion in terms of how it ends, in that it's not a happy or hugely satisfying ending, but it does feel like a fitting conclusion to the series. What was the original ending? I remember reading about a planned Phantasm V which was set another 12 years in the future and dealing with a huge conflict between the Tall Man's army and the special forces of what remains of the US - is that it?

monkeyfudge

Fysh wrote:

I remember reading about a planned Phantasm V which was set another 12 years in the future and dealing with a huge conflict between the Tall Man's army and the special forces of what remains of the US - is that it?

That was the original plan for Phantasm IV. But the funding wasn't there.

Bruce Campbell was onboard to play the part of the special forces leader and he teams up with Reggie and co to fight the tall man.

Got mine ages back and watched them all in one sitting. I think that on of the reasons that the films are so good is that unlike many horror icons of the past decades, the Tall Man did'nt turn into a wise cracking parody.

Fysh

Deleted User wrote:

Got mine ages back and watched them all in one sitting. I think that on of the reasons that the films are so good is that unlike many horror icons of the past decades, the Tall Man did'nt turn into a wise cracking parody.

Yeah, definitely. He's the only horror villain I can think of that still has any kind of credibility, because he never ended up with cheesy lines. Reggie gets those, and most of the comic relief, but even then it works because that's the kind of character he's meant to be.

I also like the way the films all follow pretty much straight on from the events of the previous ones - annoying back when I didn't have all of them on DVD, but as a box-set it makes it feel more like a complete series of films and less like a blatant franchise compared to, say, the Friday 13th or Halloween films.

Fysh

Fysh wrote:

I also like the way the films all follow pretty much straight on from the events of the previous ones - annoying back when I didn't have all of them on DVD, but as a box-set it makes it feel more like a complete series of films and less like a blatant franchise compared to, say, the Friday 13th or Halloween films.

The Phantasm sequels were acutual sequels in that they furthured the story unlike Nightmare on Elm Street which never really went anywhere.

I watched Nightmare 1-7 recently and the most entertaining thing about 2-6 was the number of now highly respected individuals involved.

Tusky

Phantasm III is on BBC1 at the mo. Ive never seen any of them.

spooky donkey

ah great movies. Dam I raad this post too late and theres me watching wanted while this was on.

Fysh

Tusky wrote:

Phantasm III is on BBC1 at the mo. Ive never seen any of them.

For some reason 3 is the only one I ever see on TV these days - I've seen it at least 3 or 4 times on various channels. I never saw the first or last one on TV, tho I think I saw the second one once years ago.

Odd, that. Still, me and my shiny box set care not for TV schedules now (Which reminds me, still have to go wade through that extra features disc...)

Phantasm 2 was on BBC 1 or 2 the night I got my sphere in the post.