Phantoms (film)
| Phantoms | |
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| Directed by | Joe Chappelle |
| Produced by | Dean Koontz Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein |
| Written by | Dean Koontz |
| Starring | Peter O'Toole Rose McGowan Joanna Going Liev Schreiber Ben Affleck Nicky Katt Clifton Powell Michael DeLorenzo |
| Music by | David C. Williams |
| Cinematography | Greg Littlewood Richard Clabaugh |
| Editing by | Randolph Bricker |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | January 23, 1998 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $5,624,282 (USA)[1] |
Phantoms is a 1998 American horror film adapted from the 1983 novel Phantoms by Dean Koontz. Joe Chappelle directed the film, and Koontz wrote the screenplay. It stars Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Liev Schrieber, Ben Affleck and Peter O'Toole. The film takes place in the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado, where something evil has wiped out the community. It is up to a group of people to stop it or at least get out of Snowfield alive.
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[edit] Plot
Sisters Lisa (McGowan) and Jenny (Going) arrive at the resort town of Snowfield, Colorado to go skiing. They discover that the town is empty, but also find the bodies of their cleaning lady and a police officer. They join Sheriff Bryce Hammond (Affleck) and his deputies Stu Wargle (Schreiber) and Steve Shanning (Katt) in investigating.
Deputy Shanning, going to investigate screaming heard outside, then disappears in a flash of light, leaving behind his gun, hat and shoes. When they arrive at a nearby hotel, they are attacked by a creature who kills Deputy Wargle. Responding to a scrawled message in a hotel room, they contact Professor Flyte (O'Toole), who tells them the creature is an Ancient Enemy who periodically wipes out civilizations. An Army commando unit arrives with plans to destroy the enemy, and is systematically wiped out by it. Flyte discovers that the creature's body is physiologically almost identical to crude oil, and theorizes that bacteria bioengineered to break down oil spills (of which they conveniently have a sample) should kill it. Bryce is determined to kill the creature after it takes the form of a boy he accidentally killed during an FBI drug raid. Bryce sprays it with the bacteria, destroying the creature.
Bryce reassures Lisa and Jenny that it is gone, but Flyte thinks it won, and announces he is going to tell the world what happened. Flyte releases a book titled "The Ancient Enemy", which is based on his experiences. Later, two bar patrons argue about the existence of alien life. Nearby, a sheriff's deputy starts to laugh. The deputy, formerly known as Stu Wargle turns around and asks them,"Do you want to see something?"[2]
[edit] Cast
- Peter O'Toole as Dr. Timothy Flyte
- Rose McGowan as Lisa Paige
- Joanna Going as Jennifer Paige, M.D.
- Liev Schreiber as Deputy Stuart 'Stu' Wargle
- Ben Affleck as Sheriff Bryce Hammond
- Nicky Katt as Deputy Steve Shanning
- Clifton Powell as Gen. Leland Copperfield
- Rick Otto as Scientist Lockland
- Valerie Chow as Scientist Yamaguchi
- Adam Nelson as Scientist Burke
- John Hammil as Scientist Talbot
- John Scott Clough as Scientist Shane
- Michael DeLorenzo as Soldier Velasquez
- William Hahn as Scientist Borman
- Robert Himber as Scientist Walker
- Bo Hopkins as Agent Hawthorne
- Robert Knepper as Agent Wilson
[edit] Influence
The creature's abilities and form greatly resemble John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing. The 1988 remake of The Blob bears several similarities to Koontz's original novel leading some to erroneously believe this film was a ripoff of the remake made in 88. The film adaptation was made ten years after the remake of The Blob and shares some very similar scenes with it.
[edit] In popular culture
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Ben Affleck as Holden McNiel says "Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms." Also Jay yells to Affleck: "Affleck, you da bomb in Phantoms, yo!" when he and Silent Bob are fleeing the set of the fictional film Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. Sav Bhandari from Degrassi: The Next Generation also says the same thing in Degrassi Goes Hollywood (which featured appearances by "Jay" and "Silent Bob" actors Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=phantoms.htm
- ^ "Phantoms > Overview". Allmovie. http://www.allmovie.com/work/158868. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
[edit] External links
- Phantoms at the Internet Movie Database
- Phantoms at Box Office Mojo
- Phantoms at AllRovi
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