Phantoms (1998) (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Joe Chappelle

Cast: Peter O’Toole, Rose McGowan, Ben Affleck

Release Date: July 16, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

In the small village of Snowfield, Colorado, something evil has been awakened from its centuries-long slumber … something with the power to wipe out humanity as we know it. The unsuspecting Dr. Jennifer Pailey (Joanna Going, Kingdom) brings her sister Lisa (Rose McGowan, Scream) to Snowfield, only to find the town empty but for a few survivors. As the tension and terror mount, only the few who have been left behind — the Pailey sisters, a noted journalist (Peter O’Toole, Lawrence Of Arabia), the town sheriff (Ben Affleck, Gone Girl), and his deputy (Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan) — stand between the mysterious entity that lurks beneath Snowfield and the rest of mankind … if they can survive.

Based on the book by suspense master Dean Koontz (who also wrote the screenplay), Phantoms is a slickly pulse-pounding sci-fi/horror thrill ride!

‘Phantoms’ follows Jennifer and her sister Lisa as Jennifer brings an unenthusiastic Lisa with her to the small town of Snowfield only to arrive and discover the entire town seemingly abandoned. As the two begin to search the local surroundings and buildings they soon discover the entire population either dead or missing before running into a group of law enforcement officials led by the town Sheriff. As things become more concerning and odd, the group tries to hole up together after mysterious creatures attack, while the government enlists a scientist who might hold the key to the events and sends him to explore the town and try to determine a path forward, assuming they can survive that long.

‘Phantoms’ was directed by Joe Chappelle from a screenplay credited as being written by Dean Koontz (how much of his actual script was utilized remains somewhat up for debate) and based off of Koontz’s novel of the same name and Chappelle does a decent job at the helm guiding along the film and maintaining an eerie tone and dark atmosphere throughout. The film’s cast includes Peter O’Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Liev Schreiber and Ben Affleck.

‘Phantoms’ made its theatrical debut in 1998  and brought one of Dean Koontz’s most beloved novels to the screen and with a screenplay credited to Koontz no less. Many diehard fans of the novel were disappointed by the many changed implemented within and it quickly became another case of the Weinsteins trying to pander to younger audiences and requiring numerous changes and alterations. I’ve always enjoyed the film a great deal for the most part and while I won’t claim it’s a tremendous film, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an awful lot of fun when you look at it as its own entity.

Liev Schreiber absolutely steals the show and offers a splendidly eerie performance as a Sheriff’s deputy that stands out throughout the film, while Affleck does a solid a job as well (after all, we all know that Affleck was the bomb in ‘Phantoms’ yo) and a surprisingly dedicated performance by the tremendous Peter O’Toole also helps it substantially. It’s a creepy little film that doesn’t get everything right but is hard not to enjoy for the eerie fun it delivers throughout. If you’ve never had the chance to check this one out I would encourage doing so, especially if you tend to enjoy similar ‘90s sci-fi and horror films from Dimension and aren’t overly familiar with the novel by Koontz.

Scream Factory brings ‘Phantoms’ home for the first time in 4K Ultra HD featuring a rewarding new Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision taken from a new 4K Scan from The Original Camera Negative that was approved By Director Joe Chappelle and has the film looking better than ever before by a good margin. The noteworthy new UHD video presentation is only nicely boosted by a fully capable multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that holds up nicely in its own right. The release also includes a Blu-ray copy of the film which features the film in High Definition and is additionally taken from the new transfer, along with a couple of enjoyable new extras in the way of interviews which are exclusive to the release. It may not be a jam-packed offering but for fans of the film there’s no question that the release delivers the best presentation ‘Phantoms’ has ever seen. If you’re already considering a purchase then the release is definitely recommended and worth adding to your collection.

VIDEO:

The Scream Factory 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Phantoms’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio, featuring a new 4K Scan from The Original Camera Negative Approved By Director Joe Chappelle. The video presentation looks wonderful altogether and delivers a clean, sharply detailed presentation from start to finish that looks better than the film ever has before. Detail is sharp and crisp on character faces and clothing, along with the bleak city streets and interiors, while the Dolby Vision HDR complements much of it by contributing some richer, more robust colors noticeable on jackets and vehicles, along with more. Black levels are great throughout and for a film that’s very dark for much of its run time it holds up impressively and keeps any issues or faults from seeping into the dark corners. Overall, this is a great Ultra High Definition video presentation that breathes some gorgeous new life in the film and should more than please fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack provides a solid and often fairly immersive soundtrack that holds up nicely throughout. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send some music, eerie and nature related effects, plus creature noise and more whipping throughout the various speakers when appropriate, while never causing any simultaneously occurring dialogue or other audio elements to become negatively affected in the process. Overall, this is a very nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that contributes to the fun of the viewing experience and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Scream Factory 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Phantoms’ features a few solid extras including a couple of brand new Interviews exclusive to the release; all of which can be found on the included Blu-ray disc. Included are ‘”Terror From Below: Making Phantoms” – An Interview with Producer Joel Soisson’ (running approximately 14 minutes in length) and ‘Chaos in the Flesh: Filming Phantoms” – An Interview with Director of Photography Richard Clabaugh’ (running approximately 24 minutes). Also included are a ‘Home Video Trailer’ (approximately 1 minute) and a ‘TV Spot’ (30 seconds) for the film.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Phantoms’ is Now Available to Own in a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Set from Scream Factory!

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You can purchase ‘Phantoms’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE or purchase it directly from Shout HERE!

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