Phantasm: Awakening
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Producer: JJ Abrams
Writers: Roy Horne & John Malone
Based on the film series
Cast: Wyatt Oleff, Joe Keery, Wyatt Russell, Christopher Heyerdahl, Lulu Wilson, Meg Foster, Elizabeth Lail, Dean Norris
Plot: Mike Pearson (Wyatt Oleff) runs through a cemetery, chased by mysterious spheres. Every time he avoids one sphere, another sphere comes out of nowhere. One barrels down on Mike, with two sharp razors sticking out of the front of the sphere. Just as the sphere impales Mike in the skull, he wakes up in his bed, drenched in sweat. It was all a nightmare. Mike's older brother Jody (Joe Keery) checks in on him. He ties to reassure Mike, but it is clear that Mike has been shaken by the dream. Jody jokes to Mike that if the boogeyman shows up, he'll run him over with the Barracuda.
The next day, Mike and Jody attend the funeral of a family friend, Tommy, at the local Morningside Cemetery. Mike is nervous about being there due to his nightmare. The ceremony is somber. Tommy's younger sister Lila (Lulu Wilson) is shown to be distraught. Mike notices something strange off in the distance: the undertaker, the imposing Tall Man (Christopher Heyerdahl) effortlessly lifts a heavy casket out of a grave and into the back of a hearse by himself. Reggie Bannister (Wyatt Russell) arrives late for the funeral, driving his ice cream truck right up next to the ceremony. He throws on a tie and some black sunglasses and takes a spot standing next to Jody and Mike.
Lila visits her grandmother, the fortune teller (Meg Foster), after the funeral. Mike follows her there where he is caught spying through the window. Mike enters the house and tells the fortune teller about the Tall Man. Lila admits that she noticed the strange Tall Man as well. The fortune teller waves her hands over a bowl of water, conjuring a ghostly vision of a barred red desert. Hooded dwarves - lurkers - drag bodies toward massive machines under a blood-red sky. The fortune teller warns of a shadow that has claimed their town. The vision suddenly ends. The fortune teller asks Lila and Mike to leave her alone now.
That night, unable to sleep, Mike sneaks out to the cemetery to investigate. He is drawn to the mausoleum where the bodies are stored before burial. Inside the mausoleum, Mike finds Tommy's casket - empty with claw marks on the inside of the lid. As Mike explores further, he hears a strange sound. Turning a corner, Mike sees a lurker tearing into a corpse. The creature screeches and lunges at Mike, but he manages to evade the lurker. A silver sphere - a sentinel - hums through the hallways toward Mike. As it closes in, the sentinel extends blades. Mike sees the sphere and begins to run, diving through the mausoleum doors, slamming them shut just in time. From the shadows, the Tall Man steps into the light, and says "I see you, boy."
The next morning, Mike goes to talk to Jody and Reggie as they are tuning up Jody's prized possession - his black 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. Jody tries to convince Mike that nothing is going on at the cemetery, but Reggie says it might be fun to scope out that night with a few beers.
Later that night, Jody, Mike and Reggie drive toward the cemetery in the Barracuda. When they arrive, they find Lila trying to break in to the mausoleum. Reggie brings a shotgun along for the trip. Jody asks him why, and Reggie says that it is protection in case there are any guard dogs. Jody jimmies the lock, opening the front doors of the building. Mike asks his brother how he learned how to do that. Jody tells him that Reggie taught him a long time ago. Inside the mausoleum, the group discovers a row of bodies suspended from the ceiling, their chests hollowed out. Lila gasps, recognizing one of the bodies as her older brother Tommy. Before they can react, a silver sentinel activates, whirring toward them. Reggie fires his shotgun, blowing the sphere apart. Jody suggests they get out of there before the police respond to any reports of gunshots. The group is attacked by several dwarf lurkers, chasing them through the halls of the mausoleum and out into the cemetery. They all climb into the Barracuda. Jody's driving skills are evident as he skids through foggy paths, shaking off their attackers.
The group returns to Jody's garage. Mike and Lila sit on the floor, their nerves frayed. Lila reveals that she felt Mike's fear at the mausoleum. Mike, in turn, admits that he could feel her pain when she saw Tommy's body. As they talk, they hear the hum of a tuning fork growing louder. They are overcome by a shared vision: the Tall Man stands on the Red Planet, surrounded by lurkers. He turns to them and declares, "You are mine." The vision fades, leaving them gasping. Reggie has witnessed this odd interaction and quietly tells Jody that he's worried about Mike.
At dawn, Jody takes Mike into the woods to teach him how to shoot. Using beer bottles as targets, Jody walks Mike through the basics of handling a rifle. Mike's first shots miss, but with Jody's guidance, he begins to improve, eventually shattering a bottle. Jody repeatedly stresses the importance of Mike learning how to protect himself as he won't always be around to protect him. Mike becomes nervous with how Jody is talking, suspecting that his brother is going to leave him.
Jody and Reggie, needing a break, decide to lay low at a local dive bar. When a beautiful woman in a lavender dress (Elizabeth Lail) catches Jody's eye, Reggie encourages him to go talk to her. She doesn't say much, but she expresses an interest in going into the restroom with Jody. Reggie gives Jody a thumbs up as Jody and the lady in lavender go into the bar's restroom. Once the restroom door is locked through, the lady in lavender takes off her dress, but suddenly transforms into the Tall Man. He grabs Jody by the throat, holding him in the air. Jody manages to break free from the Tall Man's grasp and rushes out of the restroom. He scrambles back to Jody and tells him that they have to leave now. The two flee in the Barracuda. Jody convinces Reggie they need to regroup at his house to prepare for whatever comes next.
Desperate for help, Mike goes to the local police station to report the horrors at Morningside Cemetery. Sheriff McAllister (Dean Norris) dismisses Mike's story as a ghost story and sends him away, insisting there are real police matters in town that takes priority over some kid being spooked. Outside the station, Mike thinks he sees the Tall Man's silhouette under a flickering street light, but it vanishes when he blinks.
Back at the Pearson house, Mike senses danger as he hears the hum of the tuning fork filling his ears. Suddenly the windows shatter, and the hooded lurkers swarm inside. Reggie fires his shotgun, blasting one apart, while Lila stabs another with a kitchen knife, its blood steaming as it hits the floor. Mike hesitates, frozen in fear. The Tall Man bursts through the front door and grabs Mike. Jody charges the Tall Man, breaking Mike free from his grasp. Jody goes down to the basement where he has a stash of dynamite hidden. He passes some to Reggie, and the two strategically place several sticks of dynamite throughout the house. The group flees the house, trapping the Tall Man and his lurkers inside. Reggie lights the fuse on the dynamite and the house erupts in a massive fireball. The group watches from the lawn as the Tall Man emerges from the flames unscathed. Without a word, the group piles into the Barracuda and speeds off.
Jody tells the others that they cannot keep running and have to take the fight to the Tall Man. Reggie hesitates, asking if Jody is talking about going back to Morningside. Jody nods.
The group visits Lila's grandmother, the fortune teller. She reveals to them that the Tall Man is not bound to their world, but to a dimensional rift located within Morningside Cemetery, and that he steals life to fuel his own. After the others leave, she grabs Jody by the arm. She warns him that a terrible sacrifice may be required to save Mike. Suddenly the room grows frigid, and the fortune teller urges the group to leave. The walls begin to warp and twist. As the group fells, a silver sentinel sphere hurtles through the air, striking the fortune teller in the forehead.
The group breaks into an abandoned service station on the edge of town to regroup. Reggie rigs together a flamethrower using spare parts. Jody double-checks the groups ammunition. Mike sharpens an old machete. Lila is clearly shaken by her grandmother's death. Mike takes her hand, giving her momentary comfort.
Under the cover of darkness, the group drives back to Morningside Cemetery. Jody orders everyone to stick together. As they enter the mausoleum, the doors suddenly slam shut behind them. The group presses on, knowing there's no turning back.
Deeper inside the mausoleum, the group discovers a massive hidden chamber lined with strange, alien-like machines. Lurkers scurry between them, dragging corpses toward a glowing portal suspended in midair. The air crackles with energy as the group approaches. The Tall Man appears, declaring that they've come there to die. Reggie torches several lurkers with his flamethrower. Jody shoots his rifle at the Tall Man, but does not seem to be causing any damage. As chaos erupts, Mike is drawn toward the portal, his psychic connection pulling him closer. Jody realizes what is happening and shouts for Reggie and Lila to protect Mike at all costs.
The Tall Man reveals his plan - he intends to pull Mike fully into his dimension, using him to stabilize his control over both worlds. Jody, seeing no other way to stop him, grabs the remaining dynamite from Reggie's pack and charges toward the Tall Man. Jody shoves the dynamite into the Tall Man's chest and ignites the fuse. The explosion rocks the chamber, sending the Tall Man and Jody hurtling toward the glowing portal. As the dust settles, Mike screams for his brother, but the portal begins to collapse, sealing the dimensional drift.
With the rift closed, the remaining dwarf lurkers collapse lifelessly. Reggie, Mike, and Lila stumble out of the mausoleum, battered and bloodied but alive. Reggie drives them away from the cemetery in Jody's Barracuda, rumbling down the road. Lila stares out the window, silent tears streaming down her face. Mike clutches Jody's jacket, his heart heavy with grief.
Later at a motel, Mike has a vivid dream of Jody standing in the barren Red Planet. Behind him looms a colossal machine, its gears grinding ominously. Jody tells Mike that it is not over. The Tall Man will find a way back and he needs to be ready. Mike wakes with a start.
In the ruins of the mausoleum, the stones slowly begin to shift. A silver sentinel sphere emerges, hovering in the air. The faint sound of footsteps grow louder and louder. The Tall Man's shadow looms over the tile floor.
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