Director – Tory Jones (The Wicked One, They See You)
Starring – L.C. Holt (Late Checkout, Party Bus), Celeste Blandon (She Burns in Hell: Chapter 2, Jack O’Chan in Halloween Fight Night!), and Jace Carson (They See You, How I Got Here)
Release Date – 2023
Rating – 3/5
I’ve been a fan of slashers since I was a kid. I remember watching Friday the 13th and several sequels with my grandma at her house. Watching the random slashers that would pop up here and there on cable and the plethora of tapes I rented from my local video store. I remember snagging films like My Bloody Valentine, Tourist Trap, Sleepaway Camp, and so on from Dewey’s Video to watch all weekend while destroying a case of generic Mountain Dew and potato chips.
Slashers are a huge part of my collection and I always go out of my way to review any indie slasher I can. Over the years I’ve reviewed several films from Tory Jones and Jonestown Films. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to review several of their films and when I was browsing Tubi I found one I had never seen before. In the past I was able to review their films The Wicked One, Wicked Ones, Angel, and They See You but I had missed Phantom Fun-World somehow so when I saw it on Tubi I jumped on it.
**Spoiler alert** The film follows a young woman taking care of her teenage brother after her mom suffered from addiction issues. She lands a job at Phantom Fun-World before it’s grand re-opening. There are rumors that the place is haunted but the real story is that the owner’s son went crazy and killed several teens that were bullying him. Now, as the fun world prepares for it’s big day someone is stalking the new employees and killing them one by one. **spoiler Alert**
I went into Phantom Fun-World completely blind, and I honestly enjoyed the movie when it was said and done. It’s not a slasher that I see myself revisiting anytime soon but it was a fun first-time watch. I really enjoyed the cast and while the story is predictable it still works especially for a slasher.
The acting in this one is a lot of fun. The entire cast does a fantastic job in their roles. Their dialogue comes across as genuine, the characters are all very grounded and easily likable, and their on-screen interactions are fantastic. The story for this one is a solid slasher spin set against an indoor fun park. The slasher’s backstory is extremely generic, and the so-called twist is very predictable. With that being said, I loved how the characters are written and how everything works very well with the film’s location.
Finally, the film has several great slashers inspired deaths with solid practical effects. It’s not the goriest slasher I’ve seen but the practical effects we do get look fantastic. Overall, Phantom Fun-World may not be one that has a lot of replay value but it’s fun especially if you are looking for something new. I highly recommend checking it out on Tubi when you get the chance. If you dig it then look into watching Jonestown Film’s other releases.
