Phantoms [DVD]

This is a decent Koontz adaption (he wrote the screenplay) 90's feel thriller with decent cast, Rose McGowan is in this and it was produced by Harvey Weinstein (she later exposed him as a Hollywood s*x pest) but this is a good movie,,some good effects, acting is decent, including Peter O'toole sipping tea from fine china to offer a level of class to the flick ( didn't really lift the film to Academy award level though) but take it for what it is,,a good late night mystery/thriller/horror movie that is entertaining and will keep you interested, there is enough here to enjoy and if you like Dean Koontz, then there are worse Adaptions of his work, 7/10

This review is for the movie and the Italian Blu-ray import.PLOT...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.Released in 1998 Phantoms is a decent enough horror to have fun with, a supernatural horror thriller about an old and ancient entity that has been wiping people out on earth to feed, now a small group of survivors must stop it, the cast is decent, Affleck is an ok lead as well as the sexy Rose McGowan in her tight nipple jumper just like in scream! The effects and make-up for the creature and mild gore is pretty decent budget, a few CG effects but good overall, a decent music score. its not perfect but great fun none the less, a pretty original late 90's horror worth checking out. Not available on Blu-ray in the UK but this import is great and plays in the original English language audio.Blu-ray had a decent HD picture.Features include a small featurette and cast interviews (20mins total) trailer.Region FREE ABC for UK. Running time 96mins. 1998.English language movie and plays in the original English audio. Plus Spanish.English and Spanish subtitles. (can be turned off)Comes in a slim black case. Features play in English (subtitles can be turned off)

A good rendition of the book, though an element of the story missed out. Not to its detriment though. Creepy and edge of the seat at times, it's well worth a watch.

Yes, this film has that. It also has pretty decent practical fx and Peter O'Toole to lend some actual credibility to its existence. The film is based on a story by Dean R Koontz and is rather solid. A small village in Colorado vanished (its citizens) and the outside world needs to know why. As it turns out, a ancient evil has awoken to take over the world, or something to that effect.There are a lot of questionable situations with this movie, but since it turned out better than I remembered it it gets three stars from me.

This is definitely not the greatest film ever made, not the greatest horror flick either, but if you like this kind of thing (Sci-Fi / Horror revolving around an outbreak of a deadly disease) it may keep you entertained on a slow evening. It's certainly atmospheric with numerous sudden frights. But don't expect too much, it's mediocre at best.The greatest attraction of this film is likely its cast including the late and great Peter O'Toole, Liev Schreiber, Ben Afflick and Rose McGowan. However, it's not really worth buying this for any of their performances. O'Toole's is lazy and he rattles his lines in a rather bored fashion and goes through the motions seemingly on autopilot, Afflick looks nice, as do the two girls, but they all seem too young to be sheriffs and doctors and act a bit like novices. Liev Schreiber, on the other hand, is great fun to watch as the creepy deputy.As to the DVD: The version I bought is a Region 1 product and was clearly marked as such, so this is not a complaint and not the reason for the less than stellar rating I gave it. That is purely due to the film. However, beware that at least one of the buying option is a foreign product which will not play on standard European Region 2 device. Read the product description carefully before ordering. If you're still inclined to order the Region 1 DVD: Picture and sound quality are good and English subtitles are available for those who may need them. The run time of the film is 96 mins and it's nicely presented in a 1.85 : 1 widescreen format.

Decent film, watched long ago and still entertaining

Amazing that this has such a low rating today. When it was first released back in 1998 I saw it theatrically and it was the Horror that was talked about and had to bee seen. But that's how perceptions changes through the years, we are now spoiled for choice and people try and match that horror against a new horror and they no longer stand up. I was a fan of this in 1998 and I still am today, does it have it faults... yes. If you like creepy movies in the vein of The Void and Vanishing on 7th Street then like me this is for you. Picture Quality is pretty good.

In its time, Phantoms was reportedly considered unimaginative. I consider that pretty harsh; it may be another movie about some people in a deserted location with a monster, but those behind it at least made their own interesting take regarding this scenario.Too many horror movies these days - especcially big-budget horror films, for which its a ridiculously high number of non-sequels/remakes - are highly derivative of either The Ring, Saw or build around one of the main ingredients of Saw (excessive gore, a villain who's ultimately trying to teach his victims an important lesson, or an unpredictable twist ending).Phantoms is also genuinely creepy in places, and keeps jump "scares" to a minimum.Affleck and O'Toole are pretty good throughout their roles, the actress playing the younger sister does well with what shes given, and Schreiber is pretty effected at playing the creepy cop.Incredibly, the pacing is pretty good here, unlike some monster films from the same time period.The main disappointment I have with Phantoms is after being introduced as the supposed protagonists, the sisters don't get to contribute much during the finale.Thankfully the creature's final form isn't really shown clearly making this monster feel like some indescribable monstrosity.