Phantasm

Vault Collection: Sitting down with Angus Scrimm

Horror fans and critics alike have praised actor Angus Scrimm for his unnerving performance as the “Tall Man” in Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm – a role that made him one of the worlds most beloved screen villains. In an exclusive interview, Angus discussed memories from production, and the impact the film made on his life since its release in 1979.

Angus Scrimm picked up acting at a young age, looking up to the icons of classic Hollywood. “Well when I saw my first movies, I wanted to act. I remember very early talkies with Gary Cooper. I idolized him. I wanted to be like those actors. When I was in grade school they had little plays. So I did the little plays in grade school, and I just never stopped acting.”

Looking back on the early filming days of Phantasm, Angus shared how events in his family life helped shape his attachment to the film. “It was an odd time in my life when we were shooting it. My mother, who was in her eighties, due to an overdose of iron from her doctor, had a series of small brain eruptions. She went into a kind of old age dementia and had to be looked at carefully. We kept her at home, we weren’t about to let her go into an institution, and so between making the film and tending to my duties at home, it was a busy time in my life. Doing Phantasm was a bit of a relief from the sometimes-despairing moments of my life. I just remember strange, melancholy, touchingly bittersweet memories of that era. My, I just got awful personal didn’t I!"

With great success, Phantasm ultimately turned into a series of movies, all of which star Angus as the “Tall Man”, a character that took on a life of its own. Traveling around the world meeting fans of the film chain is something that gives Angus a tremendous amount of joy. “It’s a constant state of elation, especially at these conventions. To have so many people bestow what is virtually adulation. It’s beyond any expectation that I ever had. I do enjoy everyone so much. It’s so satisfying to meet so many delightful people in so many areas of the world. I’ve done these conventions for years now - all over the United States, and Germany, Canada. It’s a satisfying life.”

Beyond acting, Angus is also a brilliant writer for magazines and music studios. He has written for major publications such as Cinema Magazine, and held a long time position at one of the largest record companies in the world, doing liner notes for everybody from The Beatles to Frank Sinatra.

In the mid 1970’s, Angus went on to receive a Grammy for his work in the music industry. “I wrote for years. Also, during the era of making Phantasm, I was writing freelance for Capital Records, where I had been on staff for almost ten years. I was mostly a writer of the notes on the back of LP Jackets. I won a Grammy for best album notes in 1976. Unfortunately, it fell off a low coffee table in a minor earthquake and split in half – so actually, I have two chunks of a Grammy.”

Angus’ career in horror films continued with hits like I Sell The Dead, Deadfall, and Wes Craven’s Wishmaster. He also did an appearance in the popular television show “Masters of Horror” in 2005. According to Angus, the best part of his career was not the awards, but rather the people involved. He recalled, “I remember just before Linden Johnson died, he told the press that the great thing he remembered was that it had put him in contact with so many wonderful people. He was a likable fellow I heard, and made friendships with all the greats of the day. My acting – and my writing - has put me in contact with an array of splendid people. In this life I learned, I really love people.”

Phantasm is now considered a cult classic, something Angus Scrimm feels privileged about, saying: “I don’t think anybody could have anticipated the overwhelming success over, what is it, four decades now, of that film. It has never been unavailable on the market. Whenever one company’s lease on it runs out, somebody else grabs it … it is wonderful to know that it has a lasting impact.”

**The last installment of the Phantasm franchise, PHANTASM: RAVAGER released in 2016, the same year Angus passed away.