 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
THE LEGEND OF THE PHANTOM RIDER
Produced by Alex Erkiletian, Patrick Roddy, Hans Rodionoff, Tod Swindell
Directed by Alen Erkiletian
Written by Alex Erkiletian and Robert McRay
Edited by Reed Buckles and Hans Rodionoff
Director of Photography - John Roy MorganDenise Crosby-Sarah
Robert McRay-Blade
Zen Gesner-Suicide
Angus Scrimm-PreacherThe year is 1865. Only a few of the town's folk remain in the small western town of Saugus. Everyone else has either been murdered or frightned away by the gang of ruthless bandits that have taken over. Afraid to venture out of their houses, the people live in fear, hoping and praying that someone or something will come and drive the evil outlaws out. Little do any of them know, every couple hundred of years the ultimate battle of good versus evil is waged, and this year the battle is taking place right outside their very homes.
Thus sets up the story for the mti Home Video release of LEGEND OF THE PHANTOM RIDER. A western/ fantasy hybrid staring Denise Crosby (STAR TREK: NEXT GENERATION and PET SEMATARY), Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM's Tall Man), Robert McRay (the TV series CONAN THE BARBARIAN), and Zen Gesner (the TV series SINBAD).
Denise Crosby plays Sarah Jenkins, a frontier woman who becomes a victim of rape even as the bandits murder her little boy and husband only feet away. Now her daughter, who's already in a coma from a gun shot wound to the head, has been taken capture by the outlaws and is being used as a bargaining chip. Pushed well beyond her thresh hold of mental and emotional pain, Sarah's thirst for vengeance becomes so great that it summons the dark and hideously disfigured Phantom Rider.
Denise Crosby does a fine job in her performance and it's obvious she's really into portraying a frontier woman, but I do wish the writer had made her character smarter. Although her strength and resolve are both admirable, walking into the middle of the bandits' hangout and just open firing, hoping a bullet hits someone, is quite foolish and suicidal. I could understand it if she had done this in the heat of rage, but she instead does this much later, after having plenty of time to premeditate. Perhaps the real problem is not so much her character's actions, but instead lies in how the character was portrayed. Only one time did I feel that she was angry, but never did I get the feeling that Sarah was consumed with fury or revenge. I would have liked to have seen her become darker, a little bit scary, and maybe questionably psychotic. As it is, she holds it all together just a little bit to well for me to accept that her anger is raging enough to summon a spirit of vengeance.
Regretfully, I have never watched either of the syndicated television series, CONANAN THE BARBARIAN or SINBAD, but the PHANTOM RIDER actors from these two shows easily steal the lime light here.
SINBAD star Zen Gesner plays Suicide, the second in command of the ruthless gang of bandits. Gesner manages to make Suicide dangerous and intimidating, yet he does it with a wicked sense of humor. It might be that big smile of rotten teeth that makes me grin and laugh, even though I'm feeling uneasy because I know his joking is most likely leading up to something evil and ruthless. There's just something not right with a man who loves and takes better care of his gun than his own teeth.
Robert McRay (CONAN) not only dreamed up and wrote the PHANTOM RIDER story, but he also stars as both Blade and Pelgidium, the battling spirits who reincarnate every couple hundred years to continue their battle of good versus evil. Blade is the charming and charismatic leader of the band of outlaws as well as evil personified. He's polite, attractive, well spoken, and always in control. You can't help but to like him even as he's shooting to death a 10-year-old boy. Pelgidium, on the other hand, is horribly disfigured. He walks like he's been hurt and very rarely has anything to say. He's creepy, dark, mysterious, and he's the spirit of good.
It's never really explained why Blade can be reincarnated on his own where as Pelgidium needs to be summoned by someone with a thirst for revenge. Nor is it ever explained why Blade spends the first half of the movie trying to get Sarah to call upon Pelgidium but then acts like he doesn't really know all that much about him when he does finally show up. I must confess that I'm also confused as to why Pelgidium is horribly disfigured this time around when he looked perfectly intact 200 hundred years earlier (as seen in the film's prologue). Even if he somehow carried the battle axe wound he received beforehand over into this incarnation I still doubt he would look as deformed as he does. These unexplained supernatural elements can sometimes detract from what otherwise might have been a much stronger film. It might have been better if the film makers actualy explained less and left audiences (and movie characters) guessing as to wether Pelgidium was actually a spirit or just a mysterious man.
On the other hand, with the legend already laid out, I wish the film makers hadn't written themselves into a corner by establishing that this battle between good and evil only happens every 200 years. It would have been fun to see some sequels that take place every four or so decades, in different time periods and with different weapons. The next battle isn't scheduled to take place until the year 2065.
Despite my criticisms above, I think writer Robert McRay and effects artist (Troma's SUCKER) turned director, Alex Erkiletian, has made a pretty good flick that is just perfect for killing an afternoon with. LEGEND OF THE PHANTOM RIDER really took me back to the classic fantasy/ adventure films of the 30's through 50's. With no gore or nudity, it might even be a good film to watch with your kids (except for the rape scene, which is tastefully done but they may still have questions).
Even if the thought of a Fantasy/ Western doesn't hold much appeal to you, you might just want to check out LEGEND OF THE PHANTOM RIDER's gorgeous Cinema Photography by John Roy Morgan. His gorgeous wide open shots of the vast desert and blue sky are a perfect cure for the winter time blues. Take a scenic trip to some place warm and sunny without ever leaving your easy chair. I think that alone is quite a bargain for the price of a video rental.
Scott Roberts - March 9, 2003
Scott_R_SSR@Yahoo.com