Sentinel Sphere

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A sentinel sphere is a deadly weapon used by The Tall Man in the Phantasm series of horror films.

The device is a lustrous alloy ball approximately four inches in diameter (the gold spheres are larger). This sphere is equipped with a number of weapons. The basic design features twin retractable blades with a cranial drill bit and a micro pump. Later models are equipped with rotating three-prong blades and lasers, and a few are seen with nothing but a smaller version of a rotary saw.

A large portion of the shell houses cerebral brain-matter responsible for the basic functions of the unit. In attack mode, the brain activates a number of fine mechanical components that extend the arsenal contained within. The sentinel sphere's mobility is achieved through levitation, most likely by telekinesis. Silver spheres are capable of seeing in only red and black (as shown by the "silver sphere view" in Phantasm), while gold spheres see distorted colors (or possibly infrared, as the "gold sphere view" that is shown in Phantasm 2 is similar to the "infrared tracking missile view" in some episodes of Airwolf and the "werewolf view" in Wolfen).

The silver sphere props for the original Phantasm (1979), were created by Willard Green, who died shortly after production, before the movie was released.