Don't Believe the Hype

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"Phantasm IV: Oblivion" picks up where the previous movie left off, with Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) escaping into the night and Reggie (Reggie Bannister) given a reprieve by the nefarious Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). The resulting story continuously moves from dimension to dimension, and between various points in time, as Reggie once again determines to find and save his younger friend while Mike thinks that he may know the answer to dealing with his nemesis. He's given some insight into the Tall Mans' origins, while receiving suspect advice from his ghostly brother Jody (Bill Thornbury).It's nice to see the original gang back together again as writer / director Don Coscarelli attempts to put some closure (so to speak) on his characters and this universe he's created. It forgoes the comedy content of the previous sequel to create a mind-bending horror / sci-fi hybrid, one that has the usual amount of weirdness and atmosphere. There's still a lot of value to be found in the settings, with so many locations rendered desolate and mute thanks to the machinations of our villain. Christopher Stone does an excellent job with the music, as does KNB with the makeup effects.As could be expected, Coscarelli refrains from over explaining things, and tries to keep viewers on their toes with his style. Performances are all as good as could be. Bannister is still a hero with strong rooting interest, and yet The Tall Man is also compelling in his own way and fun to watch. Joining the guys this time around are the fetching Heidi Marnhout as lone traveller Jennifer and stuntman Bob Ivy as the "demon cop". The fact that Coscarelli had shot lots of unused footage for his first film enables him to incorporate it here, and it is fascinating to see our actors at different ages throughout.It may not be altogether satisfying for some of its viewers, but it's still more interesting than most output in the genre, in the way that it gets its audience thinking and leaves events open to interpretation.Seven out of 10.

Like all the sequels in this series this one picks up right where the previous installment left off. Mike (Baldwin) with a silver sphere stuck in his head steals one of the Tall Man's (Scrimm) hearses and drives into the desert into Death Valley. He seems headed for an eventual showdown with the Tall man. Meanwhile, Reggie (Banister) having no idea where Mike has gone decides to quit from this crazy life. Jody (Thornbury) again appears through a sphere and tells Reggie that Mike is counting on him. Reggie hits the road along the way encountering a cop from hell in a scary and fun sequence in the middle of the desert he also hooks up with a blonde (Heidi Marnhout) but still can't get laid as her demise is ghastly. Using outtakes from the original, Don Coscarelli cleverly splices them together into the current storyline making it very interesting seeing the characters from the original in comparison to how they are today. Another very nice scene has Mike going back in time and meeting Dr. Jebediah Morningside (Scrimm) who was the Tall man before he became the Tall man. You can clearly see Jebediah is all ready experimenting with things that would eventually turn him into the Tall man. A thoughtful scene that Angus Scrimm nails to the wall and makes you wish you could see more of this origin of how he becomes evil. It still remains unclear as to why the tall man wants Mike so bad and why he is so important to his plans. This sequel is more focused than part III and there is an intensity to it that keeps things on edge. The effects and scares are there as usual and Coscarelli doesn't really bring outside characters into the storyline this time. We just focus on Reggie, Mike and Jody battling the spheres, jawa creatures and the Tall man, everything fans of this series want. Clearly left open for more, part IV departs from the type of road movie II and III were and the change sprinkled new life into this bizarre, scary, and original series.

Eschewing the campy sensibility and full-bore action of the previous installments, writer/director Don Coscarelli instead puts a much more noted emphasis on the lonely and hopeless plights of the recurring characters of Mike (a fine performance by A. Michael Baldwin), Reggie (the wonderfully earnest and engaging Reggie Bannister), and Jody (a solid portrayal by Bill Thornbury) as they all grapple with their own personal agendas concerning the malevolent Tall Man (Angus Scrimm in splendidly sinister form) and try to figure out a way to stop him before it's too late: Mike finds himself trapped in a strange inter-dimensional limbo, Reggie travels the countryside in search of Mike, and the spectral Jody offers assistance from an alternate realm. Those expecting the usual plethora of wild thrills and colorful graphic carnage will be deeply disappointed, for Coscarelli this time is more interested in exploring the Tall Man's origins while still taking time to ably create and sustain a supremely bleak and spooky gloom-doom atmosphere -- the shots of desolate and abandoned towns and cities in particular possess a genuinely eerie and unsettling power -- and maintaining a generally more grim and serious tone that recaptures quite well the surprising surrealism and unpredictability of the original. Moreover, there's an overall tragic and melancholy vibe evident throughout which gives this picture an extra wrenching poignancy. The strong and appealing chemistry between Baldwin, Bannister, and Thornbury helps a whole lot. The hulking Bob Ivy makes a memorable appearance as a vicious demonic state trooper and the lovely Heidi Marnhout plays spunky blonde babe Jennifer with considerable sexy aplomb. Chris Chomyn's sharp cinematography offers a wealth of striking oddball images. The spare shuddery score by Christopher Stone and Fred Myrow does the shivery trick. The ending is quite sad, touching, and daringly ambiguous. A worthy closer.

This movie keeps on getting better and better by the minute! Mike(A. Michael Baldwin) and Reggie(Reggie Bannister) keeps on trailing the sinister Tall Man(Angus Scrimm). Every time they go after him, they keep on finding things that weakens him. Time after time Reggie finds something, so did Mike. On the last movie, one of the silver spheres attacked the Tall Man was Mike's brother Jody. Not only Reggie was a Ice Cream truck driver, he was also a musician on the side. And he encountered the silver spheres himself. When he was spending the night with a woman, she later had spheres for breast. That was very freaky. All the other footages from the last three movies have been very helpful. The encounters, the people, and the unstoppable evil that constantly plagues the town that they are in. They remember that the sphere were not only weapons, they can be used as a key to open the portals. I liked the part when the ball was used to take out the minions of the Tall Man. When Reggie left in the Ice Cream truck, the question remains, "Is it over?" The movie puts the "I" in Intensity, out of all the other horror movies, Phantasm is tops! 5 stars!