Went to the Alamo Drafthouse last night with my 18-year-old to watch this old movie. This was a junior high favorite, but it's been that many years since I last watched it. Phantasm was never a great movie by any stretch, but it was always fun to watch.
The Drafthouse guy who introduced the movie to the audience stated that the movie has one famous fan - JJ Abrams. Abrams apparently bought rights to it, cleaned it up, and tacked on the robot logo to the front of this. The guy also stated that the silver brain driller ball served as inspiration to Abrams for creating the Phasma character in The Force Awakens. I never heard that, but I suppose that is plausible, even if the character was forgettable.
The Drafthouse guy who introduced the movie to the audience stated that the movie has one famous fan - JJ Abrams. Abrams apparently bought rights to it, cleaned it up, and tacked on the robot logo to the front of this. The guy also stated that the silver brain driller ball served as inspiration to Abrams for creating the Phasma character in The Force Awakens. I never heard that, but I suppose that is plausible, even if the character was forgettable.