Ben Affleck Blasts One of His ’90s Movies: “Utter Garbage”

There’s at least one film in his past that Ben Affleck would like to forget.

April 17, 2025, 6:15pm

Ben Affleck has already enjoyed a storied Hollywood career and he’s only in his early 50s. The actor/writer/director burst into the public consciousness with Good Will Hunting in the late ‘90s, and that picture put him on the map and scored Affleck his first Oscar at a tender age. He has continued to deliver quality work in the years since, taking home a second Oscar statuette for his work on the universally celebrated film Argo. The Boston native is surely proud of much of his oeuvre, but there are a couple of efforts in his filmography that he remembers less fondly and might even like to forget. With that in mind, the fine folks at GQ pinned the prolific actor down to speak to every film he’s ever made, including Phantoms, a ‘90s sci-fi picture he might rather forget.

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“I was the bomb at Phantoms,” Affleck joked with the outlet. “Everyone 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 that movie, but I like 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’s totally absurd. 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.’ And I met Peter O’Toole and, like, got stoned with Peter O’Toole. I was like, ‘What else happens in my life that tops this? Nothing’”

Phantoms unfolds in an idyllic Colorado town, and when a rash of mysterious deaths plagues the community, some residents initially assume a serial killer may be preying on the unsuspecting residents. They soon learn that the truth is far more shocking: an ancient creature is unleashing havoc on the small community.

Phantoms is based on the 1983 Dean Koontz novel of the same name. Koontz took point adapting the tome for the screen and Joe Chappelle (television’s The Wire) sat at the helm.

The picture was a box office bomb, pulling in less than $6 million globally. Adding insult to injury, critics weren’t particularly taken with the picture, either. The flick has an utterly abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score of 9% fresh, but at least Affleck has fond memories of his time on set.

In addition to the cast members Affleck name-dropped, Affleck stars alongside Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Clifton Powell, and Rick Otto. If you missed the flick during its ‘90s theatrical release and subsequent stint on VHS, you’re in luck. Phantoms is streaming on Pluto as of the publication of this post.

What do you think of the film? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.