Why glorify the weapon creation and then shortchange the suit-up?

There's a definite glorification of weapons and sheer firepower that exists in movies made during the 1980s. We see it in everything from 'First Blood' to 'Commando' to 'Police Academy'. But mind you though, there also exists a sub-genre of this weapon fixation, whereby, we see heroes toting custom weapons. Take the red lazer site trend, seen in movies like 'Cobra' and 'Tango And Cash'. Or the 'helicopter Gatling gun', seen in Schwarzenegger gems like 'Predator' and 'Terminator 2' (granted, the later was from 1991, but screw you).

It's of this sub-genre that a special moment in cinema exists in my childhood memory. I remember staying up late, and watching movies on HBO. Once all the family entertainment was over, HBO would program seedy 80s schlock fests like 'Reform School Girls', or 'Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama', or 'Eating Raoul'. But they'd also program horror films. Movies like 'CHUD' and 'Return of the Living Dead'.

Movies like 'Phantasm II'.

The scene in this movie that stuck in my brain, as not only a glorious moment of sheer bad-assery, but also as a crucial example of this sub-genre of modified weapon glorification, is where Mike and Reggie break into the gun shop to secure some gear for their revenge mission against The Tall Man. Note: this scene is NOT the suit-up scene. Like previous reviews of mine, it's the pre-suit-up ritual.

While Mike creates and fashions his own flamethrower, Reggie literally creates a four-barrel shotgun, by welding two double-barrels together! Again, only in the 80s.

Once our two heroes are geared up, they head out to the creepy funeral home in the middle of nowhere. They scout the location out, ready to go explore and hopefully kick some ass.

A close-up of Mike's face (played by suit-up alumni, James LeGros), triggers the suit-up. A trunk is flipped open and, in a sort of baffling fashion, our two heroes begin picking up their weapons and suiting up. I say baffling, because it's tough to read the tone of this scene. The score conjures up some distant tension. But the look on Reggie and Mike's faces, is a little blah. They don't look too fired up to go do their mission. The cutting of the scene is decidedly paced, at a medium speed. No slow dissolves. And no quick-cuts. But most of all, not nearly enough great shots of these awesome weapons they've modified. The scene is additionally, lit so darkly, that you can barely make them out.

For shame... Why spend showcase so wonderfully, the moment of showing the creation of these beautiful weapons, and then not ramp it up a notch with sound effects, better lighting, tighter close-ups... when you actually show the two heroes suiting up with them? Again... shame.

Overall, a sort of flat suit-up. If only it could match the fun excitement of the weapon store gear-up that preceded it.

Coscarelli gets points for 'The Beastmaster' though, so he's 1/1.