Directed by Don Coscarelli • 1979 • United States
Starring Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister

A mind-bending cult classic of DIY horror, Don Coscarelli’s epic tale of the Tall Man, his deadly silver Sentinel Spheres, and a group of small-town friends who must band together to stop his dimension-hopping schemes was made on a shoestring budget by a cast and crew comprised largely of friends and family, but its sheer audaciousness, gonzo visuals, and haunting exploration of the dark side of childhood fantasy have ensured that its legend has lived on (spawning four sequels along the way). Suffused with a mood of dreamlike dread and featuring an epic, eardrum-pounding synth score, PHANTASM took indie horror into new realms of delirious imagination.