April 21, 2007
Spectre of 'Phantasm V' looms
By BRUCE KIRKLAND - Sun Media

Don Coscarelli's horror fans can rejoice. He is forging ahead with a sequel to his brilliant Bubba Ho-Tep and may also finally come up with a fifth and final instalment in the Phantasm franchise.

"It's something we're all interested in doing," Coscarelli tells Sun Media about continuing Phantasm. "Right now, we're just trying to find the time.

I've been working on the sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep. So it may be a few months before we all get really serious about it (Phastasm V)."

Phantasm, the 1979 cult hit, and Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), both arrived on DVD this month. That has intensified interest.

"On one hand," he says, "I feel that Phantasm IV could serve as the finale to the whole thing. But it's funny, people still come in with their interpretations, they seem to want more exploration, more answers."

The sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) is called Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She-Vampires. "It started off as a joke," Coscarelli says. The title was flashed up at the end of the original to give people a chuckle after a downer climax.

But people responded. "This guttural roar came up out of the audience: You could tell that they really wanted to see more adventures of Elvis (played by Bruce Campbell). So we have a little plan. I think it could expand the franchise and do something really fun."