Phantoms (1998)

Starring - Peter O'Toole; Joanna Going; Rose McGowan; Ben Affleck & Liev Schreiber Director - Joe Chappelle MPAA - Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language. Phantoms is a very pleasant surprise. I have to admit that I wasn't really expecting very much from this horror film based on the Dean Koontz story. Two sisters return to a small northwest town to find it apparently deserted. Although they soon discover that the town isn't deserted but that everyone has been killed by someone or something. They also realize that the same thing that killed everyone has also trashed the engine in their car so that they are unable to leave the town. It turns out that not everyone is dead, and the two sisters are joined by a few members of the local sheriff's department who were out on a call when the carnage ensued, and avoided being killed. Unfortunately, whatever killed the rest of the town intends to make sure that they don't stay alive very long. I can't say a whole lot about the thing doing the killing in this film without giving too much away, so lets just say the audience is kept guessing throughout most of the film. While Phantoms was better than expected, I wasn't really expecting a whole lot. The movie was not incredibly scary, but it was fun to watch. The cast was the usual assortment of attractive young actors including some names that you may actually be familiar with. These include Liev Schreiber and Rose McGowan (both were in Scream) and Joanna Going who isn't a big name yet, but my money says she will be. Rounding out the cast was Ben Affleck who made this film before going on to win an Academy Award for Good Will Hunting. All gave pretty good performances, at least as good as you can expect from a horror film. I won't knock the writing too much since it was penned by horror master Dean Koontz; who knows a good scare when he sees one. The production values are high and the special effects are stylish, if not overly spectacular. The idea behind phantoms is a good one, and it comes across on the screen fairly well. Phantoms is a good choice for a little scare, just don't rent it expecting it to become you new favorite movie. 5/10 Reviewed July 26, 1998 by Joe Chamberlain