What is it about quaint mountain top resorts that attracts ancient evil? Horror writers love the premise. Stephen King explored the theme in “The Shining,” and now comes Dean Koontz’s “Phantoms.” This is why I gave up snow skiing.

When older, more responsible sister Dr. Jenny Pailey (Joanna Going) drags her younger sister Lisa (Rose McGowan) off to the quaint, mountain top town of Snowfield, she thinks she’s doing Lisa a favor. It’s actually a ploy to get Lisa away from their alcoholic mom (there’s an original plot device). For Lisa, it’s out of the frying pan and in to the fire. When they arrive in Snowfield, the streets are deserted. Red flag number one. The phones only work when “they” want to. Red flag number two.

The only remaining townsfolk have had their blood and brains sucked out. Okay, I’m no rocket scientist, but I think that qualifies as red flag number three. Goodbye Snowfield, hello drunk mom. As every horror film fan knows, leaving won’t be as easy as getting there. That leaves the sisters to defend for themselves until they run into the town Sheriff (Ben Affleck) and two of his deputies. Affleck plays one of those battle scarred former FBI agents who accidentally killed a kid during a raid, and has to live with the on-going nightmare.

Child’s play considering what’s living under the city. Now that’s a real nightmare. It’s an ancient evil that feeds on the thoughts and memories of its victims, and uses the remaining survivors to summon an expert on the subject, Dr. Timothy Flyte (Peter O’Toole, who looks like the creature already sucked out his blood and brains). Flyte arrives with the calvary, but modern weapons are no match for the creature. So it’s up to the sheriff, the sisters and Flyte to trick the creature and kill it. Koontz wrote the screenplay for the film, and while it contains some genuinely creepy moments, it never rises above the norm.

The characters are interesting, and the actors play them with conviction. McGowan is fine as the younger sister with some sort of psychic connection with the evil, while Liev Schreiber has fun as a demented deputy who literally loses his head. Affleck takes the high road and creates a strong presence, while Going shows strength and determination as the older sister. O’Toole wanders around like a lost child in the middle of a busy mall, trying to make some sense of why he’s there.

Director Joe Chappelle succeeds in creating an ominous mood throughout. When the soldiers and scientists arrive, the film reminded me of “The Andromeda Strain.” David Williams’ pseudo Bernard Hermann/Ennio Morricone score helps pump up the tension, and Richard Clabaugh’s cinematography maintains the film’s claustrophobic feel. As far as horror films go, “Phantoms” isn’t a milestone, but it does do its job.

COMPLETE CHECK-UP

VISION: [ x ] EXCELLENT [ ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.

As is expected from Disney, the transfer is sharp and beautifully rendered. No traces of artifacts, strobing, or snow (well, there is snow in the film, but not on the transfer). The colors are rich and pure, and the contrasts are confident and strong. The blacks, especially important in a horror film, are impenetrable. “Phantoms” has been transferred in it’s original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, and it looks tremendous on a big screen television.

HEARING: [ x ] EXCELLENT [ ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.

Excellent. There’s a lot of action and spooky noises in “Phantoms,” and the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround puts all of the elements in their proper place. Bullets whiz by from every direction during gun battles, and ominous sounds constantly catch you off guard. The dialogue is strong and the separation perfect. David Williams’ musical score takes advantage of the full range of the sound system, underscoring the suspense and driving the horror home.

ORAL: [ ] EXCELLENT [ ] GOOD [ x ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.

The film is closed captioned for the hard of hearing.

COORDINATION: [ ] EXCELLENT [ ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ x ] D.O.A.

Aside from the chapter search, there’s not much here.

PROGNOSIS: [ ] EXCELLENT [ x ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment DVD’s consistently look and sound great. “Phantoms” is no exception. If you’re really in to this sort of thing, then “Phantoms” will make a nice addition to your collection. If not, then rent the DVD and see the film the way it was meant to be seen.

VITALS: $29.99/Rated R/96 Min./Color/15 Chapter Stops/Keepcase/#14893

ATTENDING RESIDENT: John Larsen

PATIENT: PHANTOMS

BIRTH DATE: 1998

HMO: Dimension Home Video

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2004 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Film Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.