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The Tall Man
Jebediah Morningside
The Tall Man – a vacationing
space alien working full-time on planet
earth as a supernatural undertaker – is on a
mission to recruit dwarf-zombies as slave
labor. Well, if you plan on world universal
domination, you need some back-up. And why
go through all the hard work of killing
people when you can have your very own
dwarf-zombie army do it for you?
 But it isn’t easy recruiting
dwarf-zombies – The Tall Man has to first
acquire a corpse (so he did have to get
messy as some point with a starter corpse),
shoot them up with yellow liquid, shrink
them down, and voilá – a mean and nasty
little dwarf-zombie. Working in a mortuary,
it’s a virtual smorgasbord for the The Tall
Man. He also likes to play with killer
spiked silver balls and has a penchant to
shout “B-o-o-o-o-y!”
The Tall Man is a morose,
creepy guy. He's rather quiet and calm,
likes to
 take his time. He certainly is not
colorful and flamboyant like Freddy. Has the
occasional outburst. He is not overly
bloodthirsty as some of his counterparts,
but he is quite dogged when he sets his
sights on you. Case in point: Mike
Pearson. He also likes a good challenge,
as with Reggie. He actually allows
him to live in Phantasm IV, sort of
giving his worthy adversary his due respect.
 
Killer flying silver spheres
called Sentinels. These nasty little
balls come equipped with sharp blades and a
drill that target the victim’s brain. It
wasn’t until Phantasm III that the
silver spheres were given the name
Sentinels.
The Tall Man also uses his
dwarf-zombies, otherwise known as
Lurkers since Phantasm III.
Lurkers are created from the bodies of the
dead and serve their master by killing
people. More dead people means more
potential dwarf-zombies.
 We
also wonder if it is indeed a Tall Man
tactic to to keep Mike guessing
whether or not he has been dreaming
(right), because we see this
recurring theme in all of the Phantasms.
“Was I only dreaming?” Mike constantly asks
himself. It sure seems to leave Mike
vulnerable. That clever and sneaky Tall Man.
The Tall Man wears your basic
morbid mortician clothes – a black suit and
tie.
Any human body will do. Does
not discriminate. However, he has a
particular penchant to get that
“B-o-o-o-o-y”, Mike Pearson.
 
In the first Phantasm,
Mike Pearson (Michael Baldwin)
and his older brother, Jody
(Bill Thornbury) proved to be nuisances.
However, it's Jody’s musician, ice-cream
truck driving friend, Reggie
(Reggie Bannister) that really gets under
The Tall Man’s skin. However, only Mike and
Reggie escape The Tall Man – did Jody really
die in a car accident or at the hands of The
Tall Man? In the following sequels, both
Mike and Reggie continue to fight The Tall
Man.
 Michael
Baldwin played Mike in every Phantasm except
for Phantasm II. Mike was played by James
LeGros in the second sequel. Reggie
Bannister (left) played Reggie in all
the Phantasms.
Reggie Bannister's hometown
of Long Beach, California is near the very
site where many scenes of the "Phantasm"
films were shot.
Banister's parents were used
as extras in the funeral scene.
 
Any and all mortuaries.
Morningside Funeral Home (right)
is the first one we know of. He is also
known to travel to other towns and
mortuaries and render them into ghost towns,
such as Perigord, Oregon, Holtsville,
Boulton. Occasionally visits Death Valley
and the Funeral Mountains.
 The
historic Dunsmuir House (left) in
Oakland, California was used for the
exterior shots of the mausoleum.
Sunnyside Cemetery and Mausoleum in
Long Beach, CA was one of the inspirations
for Morningside’s name. The early funeral
chapel scene and the shot of Jody’s grave at
the end of the film were both filmed at
Sunnyside.
Today, Sunnyside is known as
Memorial Chapel at Forest Lawn.
The Phantasm theme, of
course. This chilling music was created by
composers Fred Myrow and Malcolm
Seagrave and can easily rival the
creepiness of Halloween’s or The Exorcist’s.
We think it’s the creepiest of them all.
 
Angus Scrimm. He
appeared as The Tall Man in Phantasm
and all three sequels, as well as the
impending 2008's Phantasm V. Scrimm’s
real name is Lawrence Rory Guy. Just doesn’t
have the same effect as “Angus Scrimm.” He
must have thought so too because he changed
it to Scrimm for his role as The Tall Man.
Why choose “Scrimm” as a
stage name? Angus said he could not find it
in any of the phone books of major U.S.
cities at the public library.
During Tommy’s funeral, Mike
spies The Tall Man single-handedly lift the
heavy coffin into the hearse. Does The Tall
Man eat a lot of spinach or is he
supernatural? We vote for the latter.
When hurt, The Tall Man bleeds yellow
“blood.”
 At
an antique shop, Mike comes across an old
photograph (right) of The Tall Man
riding an old-fashioned hearse – which
eerily comes to life! When the Tall Man
suddenly turns and looks at him, you know
something just ain't right.
How tall is The Tall Man?
Angus Scrimm measures 6’
4”. Not exactly a basketball player, but
next to many actors, that's pretty damn
tall.
 Who
did Angus Scrimm model The Tall Man after?
The Grim Reaper
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