06 August 2005

Coscarelli (1982-1988)

1982 - The Beastmaster - Never really congealed into a solid universe for me. There seemed to be a lot of Marc Singer running around barren landscapes and inside of pyramids. And, unfortunately, the stunt fighting was pretty bad. The mix of Celtic, Greek and Mayan mythology was unique, however. I can't figure out why they painted a tiger black?

1988 - Phantasm II - All you need is a 70s muscle car and a trunk full of weapons. Coscarelli leaps forward as a director; he's far more confident with his camera than he was before this. Reggie Bannister establishes himself as one of the (sadly, seldom recognized) gods of the horror hero pantheon. P2 is in the top tier of 80s horror movies and one of my favorite post-apocalyptic films.

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