PHANTASM. BtVS Intertext/Allusion.
In
"Fear Itself" Xander
discovers that he has mistakenly brought home Fantasia
from the videostore instead of Phantasm,
his preferred Halloween scary movie rental.
Here is a summary and commentary on the film from the Video Graveyard site (http://www.geocities.com/vidgrave/p/phantasm.html):
Two brothers (Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury) and their good friend (Reggie Bannister, showing little of the charisma he had in the sequels) must take on the evil "Tall Man" (Angus Scrimm in his career role), an evil mortuary attendant who's been doing some strange things to the dead bodies. Seen today this cult classic is somewhat dated and silly but the first appearance of the silver sphere is unforgettable and there's enough nifty ideas on hand to forgive the sometimes amateurish acting and so-so effects (like the insect). A total low-budget drive-in flick that's okay viewing if held back a bit by its B-movie execution. A favourite of horror fans is worth seeing at least once and sports an effective musical score. The DVD version is a complete joy for fans with tons of extras, good insight and fine print quality. Followed by three sequels.
