Saying Goodbye to Bowie, Lemmy, and Angus

So, it's been a rough past few days hasn't it? Motorhead frontman/icon Lemmy Kilmister passed away at the age of 70 before New Year's. Then late Saturday night news of horror icon Angus Scrimm passing at the age of 89 had spread. Then, finally, I woke up this morning to the news that the living legend David Bowie had passed away as well.

Lemmy. Angus. Bowie.

If there's any silver lining to these three passing, it's that each of them made a hell of an impact in the film and music worlds (and surprisingly, all three had varying degrees of success in both industries), and lived long lives and have subsequently left unparalleled legacies.

Lemmy was first exposed to me in my teens through discovering Motorhead through the music of Metallica (yeah, I said that). His music was full of attitude and badassery that made little teenage Nick swoon. I wanted to be just like Lemmy, minus the warts. As the years would go by and I'd get into horror flicks, I'd discover Lemmy making appearances in various horror films like Richard Stanley's "Hardware" and various Troma movies. Plus, being a pro wrestling fan, I'd look forward to seeing Triple H make his way to the ring just so I could hear his Motorhead theme song.

Angus Scrimm was an imposing man. Before he became a horror icon for playing the Tall Man in Don Coscarelli's "Phantasm" franchise, he won a Grammy way back in the day for writing liner notes. After the original "Phantasm", Scrimm would make appearances in many horror flicks throughout the years, ranging from "Subspecies" to "Mindwarp". I had managed to meet the man once at a convention years back. He was very cordial and an overall nice man, and he seemed to genuinely love interacting with fans.

David Bowie. David. Fucking. Bowie. I can't say anything about him that would do the man justice. His legacy and impact is unparalleled. I was first exposed to him in my youth, like many others my age, by seeing him in Jim Henson's "Labyrinth". I'd later discover his other acting works including Tony Scott's "The Hunger" and "The Man Who Fell to Earth"; both of which had their fair share of impact on me. But more so than that, it was his music. I really didn't appreciate Bowie's music until I got older, mainly because I don't think my brain was developed enough at the time to fully appreciate his genius...or maybe because I didn't get my hands on hallucinogens until much later. Regardless, saying Bowie had an impact on me is saying it lightly.

The fact that all three of these guys are no longer among us makes the world a worse place to live in. Thankfully, their art will be eternal and forever beloved, and I can't thank the three of them enough for that.

Where the Hell is PHANTASM V?????

There is a shitload of horror franchises out there. Think of as many as you can off the top of your head right now on the spot. What are the ones that automatically pop in there? "A Nightmare on Elm Street"? "Halloween"? "Friday the 13th"? "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"? "Saw"? "Scream"? Yeah, that's a shitload of movies right there to be sure, but does anyone ever think of "Phantasm"? The "Phantasm" movies are probably some of the absolute most underrated flicks the horror genre has to offer. Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, the series started in 1979, with the last film in the franchise to come out in 1998. The series ended on a bit of a cliffhanger (which isn't a surprise really because every film in the franchise ends on a cliffhanger to begin with), and fans have been clamoring for years for another movie. Years and years went by, with a tad of promise thrown at us by Coscarelli now and then, followed by nothing.

Then, something happened.

In March of 2014, news started coming in saying that not only were we getting a fifth "Phantasm" film, but filming had secretly been completed. This was followed with a surprise teaser trailer the following day after the news had come out. Yes, it's really happening: we're getting a fifth, and final, "Phantasm" movie.

But no one really knows when.

Tentatively titled "Phantasm V: Ravager", the film is indeed complete, but is now stuck in the hell that is known as WAITING TO FIND A FUCKING DISTRIBUTOR. Coscarelli says we'll get it sometime in 2016, but that's not really guaranteed. Films can sit on the shelf for years on end before finding a willing distributor. Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" sat on the shelf for almost three years after Universal backed out at the last minute until Lions Gate Films scooped it up. So who knows? We may see the film in 2016...or we may not.

Now believe me when I say, no one is happier than I am that we're getting another "Phantasm" movie that just might wrap up everything, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hesitant a bit. There's always been years-long gaps between all the films: the original in 1979, "Phantasm II" in 1988, "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead" in 1994, and "Phantasm IV: Oblivion" in 1998. In all that time, has the audience for "Phantasm" really gotten bigger at all? I doubt it since no one really talks about these movies much at all. Combine that with the fact that the stars of the franchise, namely Angus "The Tall Man" Scrimm and Reggie Bannister, are older than fucking dirt now, doesn't help matters in terms of progressing the story...especially considering how the last film ended...so where the fuck is this all going now? Oh, and Coscarelli isn't directing this new film. Instead he is co-writing and producing, while new guy David Hartman gets director duties.

So basically, what the fuck are we going to get here? I'm trying to keep an open mind about "Phantasm V", but it's really hard for me to do so. I know I usually cry about needing to know when to let horror franchises end and all, but the "Phantasm" franchise is one of the few horror series' I actually wanted to see another installment of.

Please, please, please, please, please don't suck. Please "Phantasm V", please be something awesome that ends the franchise on a high note and be more than worth the wait. No one wants this more than I do.