Film Review: Phantoms

Director: Joe Chappelle

A 1998 science-fiction film based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz that was universally panned by critics upon its release. The film became known because of references being made to it in the Kevin Smith films Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back where many characters include Affleck himself quoted "Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms". Infact this in-joke is what drove me to see the film itself.

Sisters Jennifer (Joanna Going) and Lisa (Rose McGowan) arrive in the small resort town of Snowfield, Colorado but find the town is deserted. They soon discover corpses and severed heads which leads them to believe a serial killer is on the loose, they run into Sheriff Bryce Hammond (Affleck) and his two deputies Stu Wargle (Liev Schreiber) and Steve Shanning (Nicky Katt). As the strange goings on continue at a local hotel they realise that it's something all together different that is terrorizing the town.

Sheriff Bryce Hammond (Ben Affleck) and Jennifer Paige (Joanna Going)

The early setup in the film is intriguing as you'd expect in a horror sci-fi movie, there are attacks but you have no idea what is causing them and how they are doing it. Incredibly tense even if the music is a little clichéd but as with so many films of this type it's hard to know how to portray the antagonist without sucking out all the fear and tension from the film. This is where Phantoms really falls by the wayside, ignoring the almost laughably bad script and terrible acting from the likes of Rose McGowan and surprisingly Liev Schreiber. This film really wanted to be like the next Alien franchise but ends up being another poor and forgotten horror movie (if it wasn't for Kevin Smith).

1.5/4 Dreadful script and plot development kill off any early potential but Affleck was the bomb