Samuel and Beckett are brothers who grew up without a mother. They live with Warren, their alcoholic father who used to be a Shakespearean actor. Any money they manage to scrap in from performing or stealing on the streets of Santa Monica are used to feed Warren’s gambling addiction. The brothers make attempts from propel themselves out of poverty and the circumstances that trap them by laundering counterfeit money. ‘Phantom Halo’ hit theaters on Friday, June 19. The film was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America.
IMDb rated the film 6.5/10 based on ratings by 97 users. Metacritic gave the film a Metascore of 37 based on reviews by 8 critics. It received 1 positive review, 2 mixed reviews, and 5 negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 9% on its Tomatometers with an average rating of 3/10 based on 11 reviews. It received 1 Fresh review and 10 Rotten reviews. Its Audience Score is at 0% with an average rating of 2.5/5 based on 55 user ratings. The film runs for 89 minutes.
“You know, to outrun time that would be it; racing along like the Phantom Halo. Then we could just disappear to another place,” says Samuel wistfully in the film. “The Phantom Halo uses radioactive powers to break himself free from the mud that trapped him for millions of years!”
‘Phantom Halo’ stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Samuel Emerson, Rebecca Romijn as Ms. Rose, Luke Kleintank as Beckett Emerson, Sebastian Roché as Warren Emerson, Clare Grant as Carlene, Tobin Bell as Smashmouth, Gbenga Akinnagbe as Roman, Taylor Coliee as Girl #1, Ashley Hamilton as Donny, Susan Park as Grace, Laila Odom as Actress, Jose Rosete as Smashmouth’s Bodyguard, Audrey Ellis Fox as High School Girl #1, Jeff Seymour as Adam, Lauryn Morse as Girl with Dog, Shawn Woods as Mr. Shee, Raymond Ma as Mr. Lee, Mariangela Pagan as Miranda, Jeanne Carr as Sexy Woman in the Casino, Lea Vonn as Waitress, Jordan Dunn as Little Larry, Sammi-Jack Martincak as High School Girl #2, Taji Coleman as Tamara, Lauren Foulk as Martial Arts Woman #2, Nikita Vora as Rosa, Terumi Shimazu as Seamstress, John Kenward as Teenage Boy, Bernyce Cruz as Cocktail Waitress, Shu Sakimoto as Henchman #2, Ugo Bianchi as Pablo, Myeshialynn Butler as Casino Patron, Chris Bloch as Bodyguard, Mario Martin as Bartender, Jerome Alfonso Gabut as Carl, Jack Huddleston as Doorman, Allan Wong as Henchman #1, and Morris Lowe as Promendae Crowd.
The film was directed by Antonia Bogdanovich. It was written by Antonia Bogdanovich and Anne Heffron. The producers of the film are William Blaylock, Anna Thea Bogdanovich, Peter Bogdanovich, Brian Espinosa, and Gabriela Revilla Lugo. Cinematography is by Gavin Kelly. Music was by Jason Lazarus, Colleen M. Lutz,and Todd Porter. The film was edited by Javier Alvarez and David Moritz. Casting was by John Jackson. The production companies behind the film are Station 8 Films and Optimism Entertainment. Production design was by Stephanie Hass. Art direction ws by Jackie Linke. Makeup was done by Francis Ferris, Adrienne Lynn, and Courtney Ullrich. Dave Haus and Jason Hampton assisted in directing the film.
Art for the film was by Cameron Blake, Marcella Brennan, Sean Harvey, and Michael Trudel Jr. Sound was designed by Ryan Billia, Dean Hovey, Saravoot Kaitkalang, Kennard Morris, Gabriel J. Serrano, and Kent Verderico. Visual effects were designed by Alejandro Bonafina, Asa Fox, Ryan Nonaca, Diego Sepetich, and Ezequiel Zanoni. Stunts were performed by Brennan Dyson, Steve Hart, and Ray Lykins. Costume was by Emma Huser. Film edits were by Kevin Birou, Asa Fox, Asin Matin, Shari Mead, and Tom Purdy. Camera and electrical units were handled by Jerry Franck, Ryan Girkins, Christopher Hamilton, Julien Janigo, Casey Slade, Darrin Stuckwisch, and Andrew Wilsak.
Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes:
“Messy and confused, the film is a mishmash of tropes from Shakespeare, heist movies, family melodrama, and romance novels hastily thrown together,” wrote Tirdad Derakhshani from Philadelphia Inquirer.
“None of it is convincing in the least, although the actors do as much as they can. "Phantom Halo" ends up feeling like a mash-up of two many other mediocre films,” wrote Tom Long from Detroit News.
“A dark, satisfying work that can be forgiven for the moments it succumbs to Hollywood convention,” wrote Helen T. Verongos from New York Times.
“This far too busy stew of various bad ideas, peppered with ridiculously overt violence, never seems to quite decide what it wants to be,” wrote David Noh from Film Journal International.
“Despite the cast's obvious dedicated efforts, Bogdanovich curiously studies her characters at clinical distances, preferring to observe them rather than be them,” wrote Dann Gire from Chicago Daily Herald.
“A good idea -- con artists using Shakespeare for their hustle -- surrounded by a lot of trite and overused ones, which then take over the movie,” wrote Roger Moore from Tribune News Service.
“A genre mishmash cobbled together from the refuse of disparate visual and narrative modes,” wrote Oleg Ivanov from Slant Magazine.