The Correct Order To Watch The Phantasm Franchise
Don Coscarelli perhaps does not get enough credit for crafting one of horror's most enduring franchises with "Phantasm." Dating back to the sleeper hit from 1979 that introduced audiences to Angus Scrimm's The Tall Man, the series pressed on for five films that premiered periodically all the way through 2016. Coscarelli directed the first four entries personally before handing the reins over to David Hartman for "Ravager" (which, for now at least, is the final entry in the series). A segment in "V/H/S/99" even paid homage to "Phantasm." Not many franchises can say they got to five movies across nearly four decades.
But what of those who have never taken the plunge into this delightfully strange universe? What of those genre fans who are interested in seeing what Coscarelli dedicated so much of his life to? We're here to make it easy for you to do just that by providing the correct viewing order for the "Phantasm" movies, as well as some suggestions on how best to go about watching them. Let's get into it.
The Phantasm franchise in order
Fortunately, "Phantasm" isn't like the "Halloween" franchise where the timeline spins off in several directions, necessitating a corkboard to figure out the best way to tackle the films in a specific order. The release order is the correct order here, plain as that, and all but one of the movies are numbered to make it easy. The order is as follows:
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"Phantasm" (1979)
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"Phantasm II" (1988)
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"Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead" (1994)
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"Phantasm IV: Oblivion" (1998)
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"Phantasm: Ravager" (2016)
So there we have it! The original film centers on two brothers who discover that their local mortuary is hiding a legion of killer dwarf creatures, a flying drill ball, and a demonic mortician known only as The Tall Man who enslaves the souls of the damned. If that isn't weird enough for you, it only gets more bizarre from there on out. Buckle up.
The Phantasm franchise is strange yet straightforward
Strange though the films may be, the original is regarded as one of the better genre films of its era, so much so that J.J. Abrams secretly helped to oversee a 4K restoration of "Phantasm" several years back. Beyond that, it truly is straightforward, unlike so many horror franchises that have become mired in messy continuity. This is one of those things where you can pick up with the first entry, and go as far as you wish to.
Now, as far as watching the films go? They're not all readily streaming in one place, though the original is available on several services as of this writing, including for free on Tubi. Beyond that, the "Phantasm" films are readily available on DVD and Blu-ray, with a box set released several years ago that contains all five films. For those who are still okay with physical media, this might be the best way to go.