While I haven't exactly been a follower of the series (I've only seen the first one when it was on TV once...) I've always been intrigued by its daft setup and its weird nemesis "The Tall Man". Acquiring a comprehensive Phantasm release was somewhere on my to-do-at-some-point list, so I was very happy with these sets showing up. Being in Europe, I ordered the Arrow set and it looks damn nice. The box is big enough to count as a cube, and contains a replica of the evil Thin Man's feared ball-weapon.
I'm not one for busts and statues normally, but that ball is cool, and Arrow included a decent book so I'm sold. Here is a gallery of shots. Click on the edge of the pictures to scroll through them, or at the center of each to see a bigger version!
And here it is: a BIG box, covered in stairways.
Under the lid we see "the ball" and a book.
Taking out the, eh, ball-holder, we spot a stack of digipaks.
All contents taken out: the ball, the book, the five films, and a bonus disc.
All contents opened.
The digipak covers are really nice, especially when seen next to each other.
The ball comes in three (plastic) pieces and has to be assembled.
I won't lie: I actually had trouble with this. I know fellow collectors who managed to slide the two prongs in without any trouble on their sets, but I had to file and scrape the ruts for a considerable time before I could get anywhere.
The ball, assembled.
Plastic or not, this is still a damn cool prop.
The book is a 150-page softcover.
In it, you get essays on each of the films, the press materials for all of them, interviews, and plenty of pictures. Together with the huge amount of extras on the discs, this provides a great overview of the series.
The (back)end.
It's a great set, and a veritable museum for the films in it!