Phantoms Review

When watching the movie “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, in a pivotal scene Jay yells out “Affleck, you the bomb in Phantoms”, and runs out of the scene. While throwing a party, in which many people that I invited didn’t show up, I had the chance to watch Phantoms again, and boy did it leave a different impression than the first time I saw it all the many years ago.

First and foremost, the movie is based on a novel that was written by Dean Koontz. That guy can throw out literature as fast as Stephen King and it’s debatable who has more money at this point. Either way, the movie follows a very “Stephen King” adaption route, as Koontz wrote the screenplay as well. You really feel that this movie was adapted, from the first scenes where a couple of girls are arriving home after a trip. When they discover that their hometown is empty, they find that people are falling out dead, and there’s more to it as they discover that the people still alive, aren’t sure what’s going on.

To sum this movie up into a simple thing would be as simple as saying it’s about alien invasion. It’s really interesting to see how this develops, but it’s not quite the same “aliens” that you expect. In fact, it’s more of a biohazard than anything else, but the alien substance attacks and creates killer zombie like beings, and dogs, and well, you have to see it to truly understand. Mix a few things like “The Blob” with “The Stuff” and throw in “The Thing” and you start to see where the movie goes in terms of a villain.

As the movie progresses the crack shot team headed by the sheriff (played by Ben Affleck) go through stages of hell where they kill off anything that moves in hopes of getting rid of the enemy at large.

The movie breaks a few taboos, including killing children, but overall it’s a tame ride through 90 minutes of predictable alien like invasion. The movie does flow nicely, with a lot of cliché and one-liners thrown in for good measure. This lightweight horror film is not going to shock most, but it’s well done, fast paced, and worth checking out. I must admit, Jay was right, Ben Affleck is bomb in Phantoms, which is surprising considering everyone hated this guy….until he made the best movie ever…”The Town”, or at least a great one. Anyways, check out Phantoms again it’s worth it. I loved it, you might love it too.



Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a Hellraiser Boxed Set. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.