As the music world and world per sé mourns the passing of David Bowie at the age of 69, the horror world mourned the passing of Angus Scrimm this week, who died at the age of 89.
He personified one of the most successful independent horror film franchises, PHANTASM, which bowed in 1979 and has spawned no fewer than four sequels, the fifth of which is due to be released at some point soon.
He was a fine character actor, one of those faces you would see in different projects, but would always be associated with his portrayal of ‘The Tall Man’ in PHANTASM.
The first film was released in a year when several other cult horror classics emerged, among them Fred Walton’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS and Stuart Rosenberg’s THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, films that gained increasing admiration and were an alternative to the likes of Michael Myers and Leatherface.
I have never forgotten seeing TV spots for the trailer and the flying sphere that would do its business. There has never been a film like it – and it is a movie that JJ Abrams is currently preparing a restoration of. Abrams used Scrimm on his excellent TV show ALIAS, which launched the career of Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, the versatile spy.
He may not have wielded a knife like Myers, a machete like Jason, or a chainsaw like Leatherface, but his place in horror history and folklore is assured.
RIP Tall Man.
