Extras start off with a commentary track that comes courtesy of Don Coscarelli who is joined by Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister. If you've heard any of their tracks for some of the other movies in the series, you already know that these guys get along really, really well together and we're treated to a fun and interesting listen. Reggie and Coscarelli have worked together on almost everything and they go way back, so there's a lot of mutual ribbing going on throughout, but again, there are enough stories and facts delivered through the discussion that it's not hard at all to get a good feel for the kind of atmosphere they were able to create on set. The most interesting aspect of this talk is when Coscarelli details, with some regret, the compromises that he had to make with the money men in order to get the movie even made in the first place. This track has been included on past DVD releases but it's a good one and it's nice to see it carried over.

New to this Blu-ray is Red Shirt's The Ball Is Back, a forty-plus minute high definition featurette that is made up of interviews with Coscarelli, Bannister, Phillips, Scrimm, Irvine and a few other cast and crew members. Coscarelli notes that he loves horror film but talks about wanting to try other things after the success of Phantasm and also briefly discusses how Brad Pitt auditioned for Phantasm 2, though he obviously didn't get the part. Bannister talks about reprising his role here and what it was like working with James Le Gros. Some cool alternate scenes and ideas are discussed here, as well as some effects and establishing shots they wanted to use but couldn't quite perfect, and we get to see some of Paula Irvine's audition footage. There's some interesting behind the scenes and test footage in here and some discussion of how they wound up shooting on what was basically an empty block. Humorously, Irvine talks about her sex scene with Bannister and notes that his wife was waiting right outside, while some of the effects technicians discuss the rubber prosthetics and motion control optical effects used throughout the movie - including what was done differently with the sphere in this second film. It's a very thorough documentary and if it covers some of the same ground as the commentary, so be it, the inclusion of some genuinely interesting footage and the involvement of more people definitely make it worth watching.

Up next are seven minutes worth of Deleted Scenes taken from archival 35mm film elements from Don Coscarelli's archive. Included here is some bits with Liz's internal narration about her visions and connection with Mike, some more bits where Reggie's house explodes and the after effects of that scene, an extended sequence with Reggie and the flamethrower that Mike imagines while camping with Reggie, a scene of dialogue with Liz and her grandmother in the back of a car, a quick bit with the priest noting all of the hearses, more dialogue with Mike and Reggie talking about taking out the Tall Man, and some dialogue between Reggie and Alchemy. None of this is necessarily super important stuff that would change the movie a whole lot had it been included, but it's cool to see it included here and presented in high definition.

Scream Factory have also dug up nineteen minutes of Additional Scenes of alternate takes and deleted gore footage from the workprint version of the movie. Taken from the best available elements, this stuff is far from pristine and it's presented without a score and with only a few sound effects. A lot of this material is just extensions of dialogue scenes but the deleted gore footage is pretty great. We also see here almost four minutes worth of footage with the priest making a phone call before exploring the house and then drinking, some footage of Liz looking out the window and examining a pill jar, Liz trying to find Father Meyers, some footage with Reggie and Mike in trouble in the cemetery, footage with Meyers and a sphere, dialogue between Mike and Liz in the bedroom which segues into a weird love scene where they're up in a tree and then in various other locations (this odd scene is addressed in the featurette), some snippets with Reggie and Alchemy in bed, a whole lot more footage of the film's most infamous 'sphere out the face' death scene, clips of the Tall Man taking the sphere to the face in the embalming room, more with the fire at the end, some awesome 'alternate world' footage with the Tall Man and some alternate footage from the film's ending. The material in this section is presented in full frame with time code underneath in standard definition but it's great to see it, there's some very interesting stuff here indeed.

Also here are two vintage behind the scenes segments, the first of which is Makeup & Effects and runs nine minutes. Here you'll see the cast and crew on set working on a few of the more effects intensive sequences and goofing off and relaxing. There's a lot of what looks like makeup test footage here, including a cool melting hand sequence, and a bunch of footage with the spheres and a bunch of footage of the Tall Man's scene in the embalming room. This is all presented without any context or narration. On The Set is the second vintage featurette and it is nine minutes of footage shot on set showing a few of the stunt scenes and some of the more dramatic moments being filmed. We see the jump from the window, the Tall Man pulling the coffin out of the hearse, some footage of Coscarelli directing his cast and crew, the house being blown up and a fair bit more. Again, this is all presented without any narration or interviews to put it into context but you can more or less figure out what's going on without any problems. Both of these are taken from tape sources and presented in fullframe.

Also worth checking out is a twenty-two minute long featurette called The Gory Days in which special effects wizard Greg Nicotero discusses his work on the series and about the state of special effects work at the time that this particular movie was made. As always, Nicotero is an interesting guy to listen to who absolutely knows what he's talking about and who shows a serious enthusiasm and love for what he does. Some behind the scenes footage showcasing his work is a nice compliment to the interview.

Fans will also be impressed by the inclusion of a rare short film starring Rory Guy (aka Angus Scrimm) as Abraham Lincoln that was made for the University of Illinois. This eighteen minute short, presented in fullframe black and white and in standard definition, is a pretty basic biographical examination of Lincoln's life made out of reenactments. Scrimm plays Lincoln as an adult and it's pretty awesome to see him here, because his voice and face are pretty much instantly recognizable. It's also kind of amusing to see the guy who played the Tall Man give his take on one of America's most beloved figures. It's a fairly wooden performance but it works in the context of the movie and what it's trying to do - which is basically give us an eighteen minute 'soup to nuts' take on the life and Lincoln and his importance in history. The elements used for this were taken from Rory Guy's personal collection.

Rounding out the extras are high definition trailers for Phantasm , Phantasm II and Phantasm III, ninety seconds worth of TV spots for Phantasm II, a Behind The Scenes still gallery, a Makeup Effects still gallery, and a Poster And Promotional Art still gallery. Animated menus and chapter selection for the feature are also included and the Blu-ray comes with reversible cover art featuring some newly commissioned artwork on one side and the movie's original poster art on the other side and comes housed inside a slipcase showcasing the newly commissioned artwork.

So yeah, what's here is great - but there are a few bits and pieces from past releases not included here like some footage of Scrimm from a Fangoria convention and a few bits, including an extensive feature length documentary entitled Phantasmagoria that remain exclusive to the UK boxed set put out a few years back. That doesn't take away from the great work that's been done with this Blu-ray, but the hardcore Phantasm collector types might want to hold on to those older discs for this reason.

Phantasm II is a very different but completely worth follow up to the classic original and Shout! Factory's Blu-ray is the right way to see it. The movie looks and sounds very good and is loaded with extras, and while completists might want to hold on to previous versions for some of those supplements not carried over, this disc still comes highly recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.