It was written and directed by Don Coscarelli and stars Angus Scrimm, James LeGros and Reggie Bannister.

The first film's protagonist, Mike, recently released from a mental institution, recruits Reggie and some new friends in an effort to defeat the villain Tall Man.

Liz Reynolds is a young woman whose psychic bond to Mike Pearson and the Tall Man manifests in the form of prophetic nightmares.

Transitioning to where the first film left off, the Tall Man and his minions attempt to kidnap Mike, however Reggie manages to save him by blowing up the house.

Gathering supplies and weapons, they hit the road, discovering abandoned towns, pillaged graveyards left in the Tall Man's wake, and even a few of his traps; including the appreciation of a naked woman.

While Reggie pours acid into the embalming fluid, Mike discovers a dimensional portal that requires a sphere to open.

Dodging the gold sphere's advanced arsenal - including scanners, lasers, and spinning blades - Mike and Liz barricade themselves in the parlor.

Before they can destroy the building, they face the Tall Man, and pump him full of the acid-contaminated embalming fluid, which causes him to melt.

Mike and Liz, trapped in the hearse, try to convince themselves that they're dreaming, but the slot to the driver's cabin opens, revealing the Tall Man.

John Kenneth Muir states that, like many horror films of the 1980s, Phantasm II shifted its focus to guns.

The theme of "bigger is better" means that everything is upgraded: a quadruple shotgun, golden spheres with increased weaponry, a chainsaw duel and the nature of the Tall Man's death.

[11] Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain audio commentary with Don Coscarelli, Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister, new interviews, deleted scenes, and more.

[14] In a negative review, Roger Ebert rated the film one out of four stars, and likened it to an extended dream without logic or a coherent plot, full of nightmarish images and no character development.

[17] Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer described the film as "a series of apparently unrelated horrors visited upon good-looking blond people" and criticized the gore.

[19] Writing in The New York Times, Caryn James stated that "there are some grotesquely stylish and scary moments" but they "seem to take as long to arrive as the sequel did.

[21] In a positive review, Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune stated that "Coscarelli has captured the texture of a disjointed, half-remembered nightmare" and likens it to the 1920s surrealist film movement.

"[29] UGO included Phantasm II in its list of Surprisingly Decent Horror Sequels and called it a "sturdy continuation".