Fans of the deliciously bizarre Phantasm need not worry: despite its bigger budget and major studio backing, Phantasm II is every bit as unusual as the first film. Once again, writer/director Don Coscarelli mines a singular combination of surrealism and shocks as he pits his beleaguered heroes against the otherworldly menace of the Tall Man. Coscarelli also includes the moments of offbeat humor that were so surprising in the first film, the highlight here being a very unusual and raucous bedroom encounter between Reggie and an oddball hitchhiker they pick up along the way. The main difference between the two films is that Phantasm II maintains a spooky atmosphere through the first half of the film as the heroes stalk their nemesis and then switches gears into a more Sam Raimi-styled action-horror mode for an eventful finale. Some might not like this tonal shift, but Coscarelli handles the mayhem with such a gleeful flair that is hard to deny. Another change lies in the casting: James LeGros steps in as Mike, replacing the first film's Michael Baldwin, but he delivers a subtle, slyly funny performance that fits the material nicely (he also has a solid level of chemistry with series regular Reggie Bannister). The end results are showier to be sure, with plenty of pyrotechnics and slick, convincing makeup effects by Mark Shostrom, but no less eccentric in tone. In short, Phantasm II is one of the more underrated horror sequels in recent memory and well worth a look to anyone who enjoyed the first film.