The duo of Jay and Silent Bob may be pot-dealing slackers, but every now and then, theseKevin Smithcreations actually offer some true gems of wisdom.Jay and Silent BobStrike Backis full of good-natured jabs at Hollywood, internet culture, and even the actors in the film itself, but one of the most memorable moments is Jay yelling, “Affleck, you da bomb inPhantoms,yo!” It’s a meta-joke to the extreme, asBen Affleckis playing an exaggerated version of himself in that scene, but he also plays Holden McNeil, a completely separate character inthe View Askewniverse– and that character is the one to first compliment Affleck-the-actor for his role in the 1998 sci-fi horror. It’s obviously meant to be a tongue-in-cheek line,asPhantomshas a pretty bad reputation, but the thing is, Affleck kindaisthe bomb in that movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a messy movie, but considering the cast,which also includes acting legendPeter O’Toole, and an effectively eerie first half, Jay and Holden may have been onto something.
Ben Affleck Was Perfect For the Role of the Sheriff in ‘Phantoms’
Phantoms, based on the book of the same name by Dean Koontz, followsJoanna Goingas Jenny Pailey, a small-town doctor returning home with her rebellious younger sister, Lisa (Rose McGowan), in tow, only to discover thatvirtually everyone else is either missing or has mysteriously and violently died. Ben Affleck is Sheriff Bryce Hammond, who joins up with Jenny and Lisa along with two deputies, Steve (Nicky Katt) and Stu (Liev Schreiber), to try and figure out what’s happening and escape with their lives. This build-up ofthe mystery behind the town’s demiseis one of the thingsPhantomsmanages really well; more and more bizarre events keep happening, like people’s heads tumbling out of an oven and strange noises coming from the phones and drainpipes, and in addition to severed body parts, the crew also find piles of metal trinkets and medical implants.Each new discovery is more unsettling than the lastuntil finallya demonic-looking creatureappears and murders Stu.
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Speaking of Stu, the performances inPhantomsaren’t half-bad either.Schreiber chews every inch of the scenery around himas the bizarrely unfazed deputy,making his character’s creepy and unhinged behavior fun to watch. Meanwhile, there’s Peter O’Toole as the British-born academic with all the answers about the “Ancient Evil” behind everything.Few critics could deny that O’Toole is one of the highlights,bringing a sense of gravitas and dry humor to the movie. And, of course,Affleck plays the more grounded and heroic sheriff, which is honestly a perfect fit for him. He has just the right mix of stoicism and charm (and good looks) to make Hammond easy to root for, and the competency of the character as a law enforcer saves the audience from watching too many of the stupid decisions common in silly horror movies.
‘Phantoms’ Pulls From Lovecraft and Sci-Fi Horror Classics
Critics weren’t very kind toPhantomson its release, and neither were audiences for the most part.I’m not saying it’s a misunderstood masterpiece, either;the direction, editing, and cinematography are all pretty sloppy, and the powers of the entity behind the deaths, while cool, aren’t very cohesive. But there is still something fun about watching a solid cast play around ina story that blends together staples of the sci-fi and horror genres.The original book leaned heavily intoLovecraftian horror, and while the movie version isn’t as direct, the influence is still obvious. The Ancient Enemy feels like a Great Old One fromthe Cthulhu mythos:it’s a centuries-old life-form that lies dormant for long periods of time, then resurfaces to consume entire civilizations, eventually absorbing enough information from its victims that it sees itself as a great demon who demands worship.
As for its powers, it feels like Koontz and the production team just went for whatever would be creepiest for the audience, and it kind of works. The Ancient Enemy can take over the bodies of its victims andchange its shape; one of its forms is a dog, which at one point has gooey, tentacle-like appendagesbursting from its back like something out ofThe Thing.There’s alsostrongAndromeda Strainvibeswhen the government flies in to help Affleck and the other survivors figure out what’s going on. People in Hazmat suits run around collecting samples and examining corpses witha clinical, scientific approach, before they’re all violently murdered and absorbed by the Ancient Enemy, of course. There’s no denying that a lot of the scares inPhantomsare derivative of other movies, but at the same time, it does execute these moments pretty well, soat leastthe movie never feels boring.
All in all,Phantoms’ status as a throw-away joke in a Kevin Smith movie feels a little too harsh. This is far from Affleck’s worst performance (looking at you,Paycheck), so his involvement alone should bump the current Rotten Tomatoes score up by a few percentage points, and that’s not even mentioning O’Toole’s and Schreiber’s efforts. It’s dumb, fun, and Affleck is in his prime – that’s enough to warrant a watch in my book.
