Fantasm Comes Again

This overlong sequel to Aussie sexploitation 'classic' Fantasm is more or less a retread of said film. It's still very '70s, though it came across to me as being more in the tradition of Picture and People magazine in the way it uses a phony letters-to-the-editor idea to explore more soft porn sexual fantasies for the benefit of the viewer. It's all fairly tongue-in-cheek, and there's little in it that will make it palatable for anyone who isn't a collector of vintage skin flicks.

This time the sex scenarios are prefaced by two writers (Angela Menzies-Will and Clive Hearne) on the night shift reading these letters and then discussing them with lots of double-entendres and laughably obvious sexual innuendos. The other main difference is that this time the sex scenarios actually feature dialogue, which I think made it all a bit funnier. It's the kind of typically contrived dialogue (especially in regards to the quality of acting) that's stereotypically associated with pornography, with all these characters getting into these ridiculous sexual scenarios despite themselves and delivering awkwardly-written lines that stretch the viewer's credibility to breaking point.

The only other noteworthy aspect of this film was that legendary porn star John Holmes was meant to make a special appearance (he had previously appeared in a scene for the first film) but he became difficult just prior to filming and they inevitably weren't able to use him, reducing his role to just a brief cameo. At the time of its release, Fantasm Comes Again failed to make the same impact as Fantasm, mainly owing to the fact that, by 1977, the shock value had worn off for most Australian cinema goers. Some Ozploitation fans claim that this sequel is nothing more than a worthless cash-in on the popularity of the first film, but I'd argue that the first film was equally cynical in motive and that it's hardly any kind of classic. For viewers today, Fantasm Comes Again is every bit as singleminded as its predecessor, and doesn't stand up as a film in any sense other than as soft porn.

DIRECTOR: Colin Eggleston
WRITER/SOURCE: Ross Dimsey
KEY ACTORS: Clive Hearne, Angela Menzies-Will, Rick Cassidy, Con Covert, Dee Dee Levitt, Candy Samples, John Holmes, Serena, Cheryl Smith, Nancy Mann

RELATED TEXTS:
- Fantasm, to which this film is a sequel.
- Director Colin Eggleston is best known for the film Long Weekend. He also directed the Aussie adventure film Sky Pirates.