A re-mastered Phantasm played at select locations throughout the U.S. yesterday as part of Art House Theater Day, and you better believe I was at the Capitol Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio for this event. I'll try to not go sappy nostalgic, but that might be difficult. See, I went with a few close friends, one of whom I had originally seen Phantasm with at another theater ... back in 1979. 1979. Seriously?
I couldn't have seen Phantasm: Remastered at a better venue. The Capitol, located in Cleveland's Gordon Arts District, is a cool and regal-retro-classy old school theater, a place that shows not only mainstream flicks but indie, foreign and grindhouse/cult films. That's the way to see Phantasm, and it was theaters like the Capitol that Art House Theater Day was celebrating.
Before getting there, we stopped by nearby Platform Beer Co. which runs a brewpub out of its brewery. The place was packed, the crowd friendly, the beards in full swing and the beer flowing. Since the weather was perfect, large bay doors on the side of the seating area were left open to an awesome open-air patio. I tried a few styles, my favorite being the Platform Double Red Cup, served in a snifter given it's 9% wallop. Platform currently sells a few beers in cans in a limited distribution range, but the majority are only available on tap.
The name Platform stands for more than tasty beer. The Platform Brewery Incubator program helps home brewers take the next step, providing them a showcase to publicly try out their own recipes, offering training, even assisting in business planning -- in essence, offering a platform to enter the craft brew business. Pretty cool.
| Mangus at Platform Beer Co. |
The name Platform stands for more than tasty beer. The Platform Brewery Incubator program helps home brewers take the next step, providing them a showcase to publicly try out their own recipes, offering training, even assisting in business planning -- in essence, offering a platform to enter the craft brew business. Pretty cool.
A Phantasm Party
The Capitol Theatre had a party atmosphere when we arrived, and it's a safe guess that most of the people there knew Phantasm. These were true horror fans -- you could tell from the shirts. In addition to plenty of Phantasm tees, we saw tees showing Pinhead, Jeffrey Combs in Re-Animator, They Live, Godzilla and others. I find comfort in the company of horror geeks.
The trailers for upcoming screenings -- 1970's I Drink Your Blood, 1981's The Pit, 2016's The Greasy Strangler -- primed the audience. I'm writing this largely assuming you've seen Phantasm, but if you haven't, know it's an enduring, and exceptionally strange, horror tale, the brainchild of Don Coscarelli who wrote, produced and directed this indie classic (Coscarelli is also responsible for John Dies in the End and Bubba Ho-Tep). The movie led to three other Phantasm movies, and a fifth and final installment is coming out in October, 2016. With the exception of Phantasm 2, in which actor James Le Gros plays a grown up version of Mike, the teen from the first movie (originally played by A. Michael Baldwin; Baldwin returns as Mike in the rest of the Phantasm movies), a particularly endearing element of the movies is the consistency of the actors. This is a franchise that has lasted 35 years with the same core cast. That's a lot of history.
And here I was, 35 years later, watching that flying silver sphere race down a corridor and drill into someone's head, That's a lot of history.
Of course a lot has changed since I was a kid in 1979, not the least of which this time I was watching the remastered Phantasm drinking a Great Lakes Brewing Commodore Perry IPA. People still smoked in restaurants and hospitals in 1979, but concession stands at movies didn't sell beer then (and I wasn't old enough to drink them). Life is good.
Of course a lot has changed since I was a kid in 1979, not the least of which this time I was watching the remastered Phantasm drinking a Great Lakes Brewing Commodore Perry IPA. People still smoked in restaurants and hospitals in 1979, but concession stands at movies didn't sell beer then (and I wasn't old enough to drink them). Life is good.
The movie was amazing, and watching it was like simultaneously watching it now and watching it in 1979, the two times layered over each other. The audience was animated, and while some laughter occurred during certain scenes that might not have been intentionally funny, the laughter wasn't mocking or cynical; there was a respect for the movie and it's legacy here. This was a community.
So here are a few Mangus suggestions. 1. See, or re-see, Phantasm 2. Get Ready for Phantasm V: Ravager, and 3. Find, visit and support your local art house theater, especially when it shows vintage horror. There's not many of these theaters left, and the experience of being among other horror fans and seeing an older movie on the big screen simply can't be replicated at home.
If you find a theater like the Capitol that serves beer, even better.
Cleveland's Capitol Theatre, photo http://clevelandcinemas.com |
