Don Coscarelli

Among the more surprising developments in recent months was the seemingly-out-of-nowhere announcement that J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot teamed up with genre director Don Coscarelli to restore Phantasm. The cult classic received a full 4k makeover, enhancing both sight and sound to restore the wonderfully weird and creepy horror-fantasy to something even better than its former glory. The remastered Phantasm debuted at SXSW, allowing fans both old and new to rediscover and experience Coscarelli’s cinematic fever dream.

J.J. Abrams counts himself a fan of many things (Spielberg, Star Wars…uh, Spielberg…), but you may not have been aware that the director is quite fond of Don Coscarelli’s classic 1979 horror film Phantasm. Always one to delight in keeping secrets, the director has one specific secret he’s kept very well — since no one thought to look for it. Abrams and his Bad Robot production banner have discretely overseen a 4K restoration of Phantasm, which premiered last weekend in Austin, Texas.