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Plot:
The horror that is the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) rises again as he goes in search of a successor in this Phantasm series installment. Our hero, Mike (Michael Baldwin), is trying to learn how and why the...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:July 30, 2008As a PHAN I liked it but it was becoming obvious the budget was really tightening up. The clips used in the movie would have been better shown on an extras disc. Really leaves you hanging at the end too.
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MCT:May 30, 2008Extremelly dark. Good dosis of gore for horror fans. Needs patience and an opened mind, I say...
68/100 -
MCT:May 14, 2008
...and be completly disapointed. After such a great ending in the previous installment this just doesn't give you the satisfaction you crave after staying up far too late on a work night watching a triple bill. Roll on Phantasm V!
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MCT:October 31, 2007In case you didn't get that, that's Phantasm: OblIVion.
I put off buying or watching this sequel for a long time, not because I was bored of the series or disinterested in seeing more, but because I heard it was not the end. I hate being left hanging, and I'd heard that was the case here, with rumours flying for some years now about the possibility of a Phantasm V (supposedly in pre-production now, 9 years later...). But, since it showed up cheap and I'd been planning to re-watch Phantasm and Phantasm III from the new Anchor Bay Collection releases, and have been on the prowl for good cult-y horror stuff to watch, I snagged it. AS BEFORE: Don't read this if you haven't seen Phantasm through Phantasm III.
Since I just re-watched Phantasm III, I figured, "What the hell, may as well while it's still fresh, so I can put together the things I should be able to." Well, this was a definite step up from Phantasm III. Kinda funny, in the same sort of sense as Critters 4 was, which I also watched earlier today after its own prior installment. It's more "adult" than the previous film, though in this case not in being cynical or bleak, but in being more philosophical, epic, and apocalyptic. Reggie (Reggie Bannister, as always the man) and Mike (A. Michael Baldwin, still continuing after his hiatus for Phantasm II) have gone on separate paths after the incidents in Phantasm III, and Reggie is trying to abandon their lifelong quest to stop The Tall Man (still the awesome Angus Scrimm), while Mike is trying to avoid or change his current situation, or do something to finally stop The Tall Man.
This film is a lot less busy, a lot more ponderous and thoughtful as it addresses Mike's newfound condition (sorry, not explaining that one!), bringing to mind the more internal westerns I've seen as much of it is set in a very desolate desert with Mike in a hearse stolen from the Tall Man experimenting with newfoudn powers, use and abuse of the tools of the Tall Man and introspection all his own. It's fascinating and Baldwin is more and more capable of the role as time goes on. Reggie is a little more restrained (though we do see a repeat of his sexual antics, it's a lot more low-key and a bit more amusing when seen as a parallel to the previous one) and a bit more tired as a character--in the sense of physical and mental exhaustion, that is. One never gets tired of Reggie, who is best thought of as a more "everyman" version of The Evil Dead's Ashley "Ash" J. Williams (or, more appropriately, as he appears in its sequels). He's an ice cream vendor--and I've got to mention he does, in fact, put the suit back on--who has taken on a quest to stop an unrelenting evil assault on the world.
We finally learn who the Tall Man is and where he came from, even if not what, or how, exactly he is. We see more of his fatalistic approach that began to show up in the sequels to the original, seemingly painting him slightly less clearly as villain--I've even got theoretical possibilities that suggest he isn't. We see the introduction of an all-new element, too--time, and time travel. Now, when I say that, it's like when I say Clive Barker writes "fantasy." Immediately someone thinks, "Oh boy..." and banal clichés dance through their heads, but that isn't at all what I mean. The vibrational "dimension forks" that we've seen through all of the movies (and rarely, but occasionally, seen into) are now shown to breach the walls of time, showing Mike one of their own earliest incarnations. More mysteries crop up around Jodie, some dispelled, some muddied even further. The nature of Mike's new existence is also both muddied and clarified, both to a level of simultaneous satisfaction and eagerness to find out the final truth.
Honestly, this is probably the best made of all of the Phantasm movies. It's well-produced, paced, written, plotted and performed. The tone is even and clear, the humour is not darkened to match the dark tone, but manages not to feel quite so incongruous or over-the-top at the same time. I am very excited for Phantasm V now, which is pretty much exactly what I didn't want since it isn't even financed yet. Alas. Catch onto this train now, and when we get some unbelievably awesome box set of all five movies, I will be quite happy. -
MCT:October 28, 2007
The last (for now) is a pretty good way to finish the story.
These movies work good watching them back to back and that's what I did over 4 days...Top stuff
Boyyyyyy!!! -
MCT:August 29, 2007The first two films in Don Coscarelli's excellent Phantasm series were prime examples of how imagination and dedication can transcend budget and still ensure that a film project is successful in spite of being made on a shoestring. The third part of the series was a big disappointment in relation to the other two, however, and the same can be said of this third sequel. The film isn't any worse than the third part, which was something of a surprise; it's just more of the same quality. I was worried before seeing this film as I had read the plot outline and it became apparent that Coscarelli has seen fit to do what most filmmakers do when it comes to a third sequel, and just go and do some back story building; which often turns out to be rather dull, and doesn't bridge any of the gaps anyway. But yes, Phantasm 4: Oblivion is one of those films that attempt to fill some holes from the first films, and here we are treated to finding out how 'the tall man' became 'the tall man'. Actually, it's not THAT bad.
While the film lacks the brilliant invention of the first two, the back story that Coscarelli has created is intriguing and while he could have delved a bit deeper into it, if you don't go in expecting too much; Phantasm 4 will not disappoint fans of the series. Poor man's cult hero Reggie Bannister returns along with his usual arsenal of cheesy one-liners and womanising 'skills', and although it can become a bit tiresome after a while, it's always entertaining and seeing this completely non-hero guy battling legions of the undead has a subtle and absurd twinge of humour to it, which is nice. Unfortunately, the original Mike, A. Michael Baldwin returns once again to his character, and this is a shame as his replacement in the second instalment, James LeGros, did a much better job in the role. All the usual Phantasm staples are present in this film, from The Tall Man himself to the creepy little dwarfs, all the way to the very cool shiny metal balls that fly around and stick in people's heads. Shame about the atmosphere, but this is still a nice film. -
MCT:July 20, 2007Very slow moving, but it goes deeper into the history and storyline behind Phantasm. Don't watch it if you're not a buff.
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MCT:June 30, 2007
Live and learn, will it ever end? There's only so long a movie can drag on before it loses its creepiness.
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MCT:June 2, 2007
Yay, again, however it was really wierd, don't quite understand this one. Perhaps one should watch again a couple of times to see if one understands then...
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MCT:May 19, 2007
sometime they get carried away with a good movie idea..and by the 3rd or 4th in a series it starts to show..this was good..but not as good as the earlier ones.
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MCT:May 7, 2007
After the overblown hysterics of Phantasm III, Don Coscarelli tones it down in the bleak and rather effective Phantasm IV: Oblivion.
The concentration is firmly back on atmosphere (which was always the series' trump card), telling the story of Mike's destiny, and thankfully demoting Reggie squarely back to sidekick status. The film cleverly uses deleted footage from the first film to fill in some story gaps, but just as many questions are raised as answered, and the ending is perfect in its Lynch-like ambiguity (what was real/what was imagined?).
This fourth instalment is the most beautiful looking so far - some of the photography is hauntingly powerful, and the location footage in Death Valley is both entirely fitting to the story and provides beautiful scenery that works as a nice opposition to the bloody violence. It's a pity in fact that the atmosphere isn't sustained throughout, but Don Coscarelli can't resist the odd goofy one-liner or providing Reggie with yet another sexy female sidekick, which detracts from the main story somewhat and makes you want to get back to Mike.
On a side-note, I found it interesting to learn that Roger "Pulp Fiction/Rules of Attraction" Avary wrote a script that together with Don Coscarelli they tried to pitch to all the major studios, with no backers. The film was to have been a medium-budget movie set in the near future, where the Tall Man and his workers have devastated much of central North America leaving towns deserted and trails of living-dead corpses roaming the land, leaving it to our heroes Mike and Reggie to put a stop to his plans once and for all.
For now though, Phantasm IV is a fitting end to a flawed but ambitious story.
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MCT:February 24, 2007
Very under appreciated finale to the Phantasm series. Anyone who was expecting all the mysteries of the series to be solved simply didn't understand what the films were about in the first place. Not as pessimistic as it might appear on first viewing, the film forms something of an ouroborus with the themes presented in the original.
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MCT:December 26, 2006
Look, I know it was cheesy, I know it brought up more questions than it answered, and I know it ended on a cliffhanger that's likely never to be resolved, but I LOVE the way Coscarelli used footage excised from the original film; that's what elevated this one for me.
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MCT:December 8, 2006
Feels more like the first sequel rather than the third due to all the flashbacks. Plot is weaker, but the atmosphere is certainly still there.
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MCT:December 1, 2006
A long winding complex low budge horror series that leaves more questions than it does answers with each eerie chapter.
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MCT:November 14, 2006
this phantasm iz a different look to the films a theres footage that was made for the 1st film but was never used. this whole movie iz really a big build up to the end as this movie isnt has action packed as the others .
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MCT:November 8, 2006
The finale of a great series. I love this just as much as the others. Wonder if they will make a 5th because of the ending. Check it out - You wont be disappointed!
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MCT:September 12, 2006
Obscure and dream-like fourth installment of the horror franchise that is played much straighter than its predecessors. Coscarelli confuses audiences by splicing in old unused footage of the first film, as Mike battles against the Tall Man for what could well be the last time. Clever direction and some spooky shots are what make this movie worth watching, however, fans of the previous sequels might be disappointed by the lack of humour and the overly ambiguous ending (with nobody being pulled through glass).
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MCT:August 22, 2006
Lotsa flashbacks and the orignal cast is all back to tie up some of the original plot line ..hope this isnt the last of the morningside cemetary crew
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MCT:June 25, 2006
There's some incredible imagery in this installment, but it doesn't hold together quite so well. The integration of the deleted footage from the original film is incredible though.
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MCT:April 16, 2006The worst Phantasm movie. When not showing scenes from other Phantasm movies, it kills the momentum of the previous three by doing nothing.
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