Ben Affleck called his 1990s horror movie Phantoms “utter garbage,” but for the first half, it’s something of a hidden gem. Despite being a major rival to Stephen King during the 1990s, Dean Koontz’s adaptations were fairly thin on the ground.

There were some good ones like Demon Seed, but for the most part, movies based on Koontz books resulted in duds like Watchers or Hideaway. One of Koontz’s best horror tales is Phantoms, a 1983 book where a group of characters are trapped in a small town by a seemingly demonic force.

There were hopes the belated 1998 adaptation would lead to a new surge in Koontz movies, but Phantoms grossed less than $6 million (or $13.5 million, when adjusted for inflation), and stands at a bleak 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is largely forgotten now too, though it does have a small cult following.

Ben Affleck’s Phantoms Is A Genuinely Creepy 1990s Horror Movie For 45 Minutes

Phantoms might be one of the most forgotten Ben Affleck movies too, with the baby-faced star somewhat miscast as a former FBI agent turned sheriff. In spite of its critical sledghammering, Phantoms is for the first half a genuinely creepy and atmospheric horror film.

It plays out like a blend of the original Silent Hill game and The Thing, with the opening scenes featuring the protagonists searching an abandoned mountain town. While it features some irritating jump scares the tension is allowed to build, and it follows Koontz’s novel in the way the mystery is teased out.

There’s also a startling creature attack sequence where a major star has their face eaten in a matter of seconds, which does a fine job of establishing the threat lurking within the town. Unfortunately, Phantoms makes the same mistake the book does, where the military rolls in and the story overexplains what’s going on.

While the science behind the Lovecraftian monster is creative, this section completely deflates the tension. Phantoms turns into a silly CGI monster creature feature by the end, and not even the introduction of screen legend Peter O’Toole can help prop it up.

Roger Ebert Gave Phantoms A Terrible Review

Roger Ebert is one of the most important movie critics who ever lived, and whether he loved or hated a film, his commentary was always welcome. The filmmakers behind Phantoms might disagree with that take, as Big Rog gave the movie a withering one-star review that tore its logic apart.

Ebert found it an uninspired amalgam of other, better monster movies like Tremors, but he did give credit to O’Toole. Of the veteran star, Ebert stated: “It takes years of training and practice to be able to utter lines like ‘It comes from the deep and secret realms of our Earth” without giggling.”

Ebert does seem to argue that Phantoms has some good parts, but that it “… quickly degenerates into another one of those Gotcha! thillers in which loathsome slimy creatures leap out of drain pipes and sewers and ingest supporting actors.”

Overall, Ebert’s view on the film is less that he hated it, and more that he was just intensely indifferent. Ebert felt Phantoms was a lesser version of a formula he’d seen many times before, and not even a game cast could help it.

Phantoms Became Immortalized Thanks To A Jay And Silent Bob Meme

While Phantoms has its fans, one reason it lived on is because it became an early meme thanks to Affleck’s pal, Kevin Smith. In 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Affleck played two roles: himself while filming the fake sequel Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season, and as Chasing Amy’s Holden.

Holden is the one who introduces Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) to the “joys” of early noughties movie websites. While talking about Miramax and “those kids from Good Will Hunting,” Holden states that “Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms” before being high-fived by Jay.

After the тιтle characters meet the real Affleck in Hollywood, Jay reiterates, “Affleck, you the bomb in Phantoms, yo!” For a film loaded with cameos and easter eggs, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’s Phantom gag is one of the funniest. It’s bizarre and random on one hand, but Mewes and Affleck’s commitment to the bit makes it sing.

Ben Affleck Also Hated Phantoms

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’s Phantoms riff is all the funnier now, considering the way Affleck has slated the film. Considering it was his first movie after the acclaimed Good Will Hunting, Affleck was likely embarrᴀssed his next effort involved chasing a monster around a sewer.

In 2025, Affleck reflected on Phantoms in GQ, where he revealed that he loved “getting stoned with Peter O’Toole,” but he didn’t think much of the final product. He also highlights that he was completely wrong for the role he played too.

I was the bomb at Phantoms, everybody knows that. Peter O’Toole, by the way, Peter O’Toole signed my Lawrence of Arabia poster that’s out there on Phantoms. Nicky Katt, Liev Schreiber. I loved doing that movie. Well, no, I didn’t love doing the movie, but I liked those people. The movie was a sewer monster movie, let’s face it. And I was a sheriff in Colorado, I was, like, 20 years old. It was totally absurd. And the movie was utter garbage. But I did get to ski. I made, like, $100,000, so I was like, ‘I’m set for life, I’m retiring’

Phantoms is far from the worst movie on Affleck’s CV, which features the likes of Daredevil, Surviving Christmas and Gigli. Compared to those, at least Phantoms is a fun B-movie, which features a wildly overqualified cast and a first half that lives up to its premise.

Phantoms seems to have scared Affleck off horror too, as it’s his only real outing in the genre. Not that he’s actually aged into the role, maybe Affleck should consider returning to the original Koontz novel and making a version of Phantoms where both halves are actually scary – the odds of that feel very slim though.

Source: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert.com, GQ