Phantasm II - Great sequel (as far as sequels go)

As far as sequels go (and in particular horror sequels) they don't really have a reputation for living up to the original.  Now, I'm not saying (the imaginatively titled) 'Phantasm II' surpasses the original, but it does continue the story quite nicely and even utilises its bigger budget to reasonable effect.

In the first film a young boy discovers a sinister plot by the wonderfully creepy 'tall man' (played brilliantly by Angus Scrimm) who, with the help of his Jawa-like minions, are stealing local corpses for some dastardly scheme.  In 'Part II' the action picks up several years later when the boy comes out of a mental institution after not being believed, only for the tall man to come for him again.

Now, what follows is - mainly - pretty standard stuff, however, what elevated it for me was two three things:  I've already mentioned how creepy the tall man is and, as an antagonist, he really should be up there was horror greats like Freddy and Jason.  But, no villain would be anything without an equally great hero to match him.  Now, if you think I'm going to say that it's the young lad who steals the show then you'd be wrong.  It's actually a bald, overweight ex ice cream seller with an awful ponytail and more than a striking resemblance to 'Hank' from 'Breaking Bad' (seriously, once you see him as Dean Norris, you'll never un-see it!).  Somehow Reggie Bannister makes one of the most compelling and strange horror heroes since 'Ash' from the 'Evil Dead' franchise.  You really can't help but enjoy his performance and root for the tubby little anti-hero and his - awesome - four-barreled shotgun which looks like something Ripley would put together in order to gun down some xenomorphs.

The other thing that really makes the film stand out are the sets.  They're extremely creative in their use of lighting and design.  Now, if you start watching this film you may wonder what I'm referring to as most of the story takes place on the road in very standard locations.  However, these evil forces seem to come from their own dimension and, when the action finally switches to there and we catch a glimpse and where these creatures come from, the sets really so portray a sense of the 'other-worldlyness' of the enemy.

I'd definitely recommend the first 'Phantasm' film if you've never dipped your toe into the series, but if you enjoyed that one then this sequel certainly adds to the overall world created in the original.  Just don't go getting a haircut like Reggie!

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that