Phantasm

Phantasm (1979) accurately captures the feel of a suburban summer night as seen through the eyes of a child. It has the vivid imagination, the palpable terror, and yes, the rampant immaturity of a yarn spun by a 12-year old neighborhood kid sitting in a grassy back yard on a hot summer night trying to scare the shit out of his friends. The floating killer ball, the Tall Man, the evil temptress, eerie funeral home-- creative, childlike minds came up with this. Unfortunately, Phantasm is both childlike and childish, incapable of editing and hence resultant in narrative incoherence, and sporting some extremely rocky supporting performances and dialogue. Still, buoyed by the masterful central performance of A. Michael Baldwin, giving one of the best child performances ever, Phantasm definitely earns its place in the B-movie horror movie canons. And oh yeah, the rock-synth score kicks ass. Seriously.