Rating: 
Summary: The Tall Man is Immortal
Review: Phantasm IV Oblivion is a must see if you have been following the Phantasm series which started about 1977, continued through the eighties and nineties and continues still in the Millenium. If you have not caught the other 3 you will be thoughroughly confused. Reggie, Mike and Jody are at it again, trying to save the Earth from the infernal "Tall Man" played with evil glee by our hero Angus Scrimm. The film delves into the past of the Tall Man and offers clues about his origins, as the kindly Jebediah Morningside. The film offers some stunning visuals, especially the scenes at the dry lake bed in "Death Valley". There is great interaction between the four principals, and at this point, if you are a "Phan" you feel as if the brothers, and Reggie are old pals, and one emphasizes with the trials and tribulations that follows as the cursed "Tall Man" constantly tries to overtake Mike and make him evil. The end is not an ending at all but leaves many loose ends that will hopefully be tied once and for all, whenever Coscerelli gets the funds and the boys together for the final confrontation with the greatest screen villain of all, The Tall Man...highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice atmosphere, but where's the plot???
Review: While somewhat entertaining, this movie was a disappointment. I believe I've seen all of the other Phantasm films and was therefore familiar with the basic premise and history. My sister, who I watched it with, had not, and I therefore ended up explaining things like "those little dwarf things work for the tall man" throughout the entire movie. In other words, this one's not for the uninitiated...So, how does it stack up for the initiated? The movie manages to set a nice horror atmosphere through its imagery and progression. It also very nicely integrates a lot footage from previous Phantasm movies and actually manages to tie the old films to what's going on in this one. While this made the film fairly watchable, the plot went nowhere for an hour and a half. A little bit of the tall man's history was revealed (a very little bit), but nothing that was really all that relevant... Right when it felt like the film was actually heading towards some sort of climax, the credits popped up, leaving me staring in disbelief... It's almost like the entire film was made up of just tiny little irrelevant subplots that are mostly repeats of the previous films.. Kill a few dwarfs here... Dodge a sphere there... The normal comedy relief of Reggie attempting to put the moves on a girl... A few car explosions.. Very little was tied together in any way... It was basically like watching a movie with the beginning half hour and last half hour removed... I felt like I had just watched an hour-long episode of a television show that was to be continued next week. That was NOT the experience I was expecting from what the back of the box seemed to falsely advertise as the finale of the film series in which everything is revealed. Perhaps they should release a limited edition DVD version featuring "the never before seen missing hour of the movie".. I gave it 2 stars... While it's almost completely void of any significant content, the atmosphere and use of footage from the older films may make it enjoyable for fans of the series..
Rating: 
Summary: One for the fans, and only for the fans.
Review: Mike, a Silver Sphere imbedded in his skull, is starting a bizarre transformation of sorts - while Reggie is left hanging, literally. The Tall Man hints that this may all be part of a larger design. Director/writer Don Coscarelli's fourth Phantasm movie is a mixed bag of ideas, concepts, and characters. Once again picking up at the ending of the previous entry, this chapter looks the least like a Phantasm movie and, with its jumbles of flashbacks and dimension hopping, it is arguably the most surreal. It is also a radical departure in the series visual tone, as it is set entirely in a desert, with not a graveyard or mausoleum in sight. Mike spends most of the movie having visions while Reggie has repeated seriocomic run ins with The Tall Man's evil helpers (zombies, spheres, and dwarves) as he attempts to catch up with Mike. Why Reggie has carted his ice cream uniform from the first movie around and waited until now to put it back on is beyond me, but it does give the movie a goofy returning to its roots, full circle kind of feel. Ideas take the place of plot. Granted, after Phantasm 2 and 3, the need to bring in yet another cast of characters to tag along with Reggie seems needless (though Coscarelli does a nice bait and switch in that department, and he also drops a hint that the world might be far more decimated than our characters think it is). What Phantasm 4 offers is a glimpse at the world after the Tall Man has emptied it and we get to see a gentle mortician moonlighting as sorcerer transformed into The Tall Man. It also shows that Angus Scrimm can do far more than just scowl and growl "Boooooy!" It is clear that Coscarelli made this movie strictly for the fans - it's almost like a fan movie in and of itself, as it is less interested in repeating the formula than doing something interesting with its characters and world. The viewer needs a solid knowledge of the series history and its characters to fully appreciate it and any attempting to watch it without it will only wind up scratching their heads at the confusing twists and turns. So I can only recommend this to the series most serious fans.
Rating:
Summary: Great sequel, but where's the closure?
Review: By reading the back of the DVD case, you will get the inclination that this film is going to deliver closure to the series. This is hardly the case. A return to the original movie in terms of being scary. Not nearly as comedic as Phantasm III, which was my personal favorite of the series, but Reggie's luck with women again delivers some well-timed comic-relief. Unlike previous movies, Reggie is not the center of attention in this movie. The plot revolves mostly around Mike and his struggle to cope with his change and to discover the origin of the Tallman(which is dabbled into, but again not fully explained, and is also quite contrary to what is expected). The movie has all the makings of a great horror film, but the promise of a final showdown is not fulfilled. Other than those gripes, the movie is left open either for a sequel, or would lead the viewer to beleive that the whole chain of events from Phantasm all the way up to Phantasm IV can be altered, and that our heroes have been given a chance to stop the Tall Man before his diabolical plans can be consumated. Good movie overall, as a fan of the Phantasm series i thouroughly enjoyed it. Phantasm and horror fans alike will enjoy this movie. Hope for a final movie!
Rating:
Summary: A nice end to a wonderful series
Review: Though you will NOT understand Phantasm: Oblivion on the first watch, this film does nothing but entertain and intrigue you. The thing I like about the PHANTASM films -- especially Phantasm 4 -- is how they demonstrate how odd and confusing dreams can be. How sometimes it's hard to distinguish dreams from reality (at least in the few moments after you wake up, ha ha). Though Reggie's acting could have been better (it's been a little more satisfactory in the earlier films, quite frankly), I liked this flick alot. The comic relief really got me laughing at some parts! And I especially loved the reference to Star Wars (if you blink you'll miss it). One of my favorite aspects of Oblivion is that it's...sad. Yes, sad. It plucks at your heart strings. The relationship between Mike and his late brother, and Mike longing for better days. Also sad is the relationship between Reggie and Mike, so beautifully demonstrated in the end of the film, and in various emotinal flashback scenes. It was also nice to see the Tall Man in a different light. By the way, Angus Scrimm, once again, delivered a fine performance. Many people did not get the ending. I did not understand it at first either, but when I was finally told what it really meant, I rejoiced, and sat back amazed, because the ending (when you find out what it means) REALLY makes sense. Another thing that I like about Oblivion is that it is FULL of symbolism (btw, if you are stumped by the ending, you may email me to find out what it means). I still have yet to find out what some small things mean, but all in all, this is a great movie. Though it has a couple of hokey flashback scenes that don't make sense (as to the storyline and continuity of the entire series), and look like they just plain don't belong in the film, PHANTASM:OBLIVION more than makes up for that shortcoming in the wonderful symbolism and beatiful wrap-up to the series at the end. Highly Reccomended.
Rating:
Summary: The Best In The Series (Hopefully Not The End)
Review: Phantasm IV is by far the best in the series. 5 out of 5. Phantasm Phans will enjoy this. Don Coscarelli made this film as a love letter to the Phans. The film uses deleted footage from the original Phantasm movie to further enhance the story line and it works. Phantasm IV begins right where Phantasm III left off. Mike leaves on a quest to escape his transformation, while Reggie fights to save him from The Tall Man. Mike, Reggie and The Tall Man are modern day representations of mythological characters and their adventures are reminders of stories about quest, heroes and villains. Mike must confront his past and the secret of The Tall Man is reviled. I have to say that in the opening of the movie, when Mike gives his speech about "The Last Perfect Day", I was on the verge of tears. Phantasm IV is a masterpiece of film.
Rating:
Summary: Decent film
Review: I rented the movie yesterday and I was happy to see how faithful the movie was to its orginal,I also liked the "flashback" scenes.(especially the rather sad one about the day before the Tall Man comes).I also really liked the fight between Reg and the Cop,I thought the scenes with Mike in the desert were very drawn out,I did like when he tried to kill himself and the Tall Man wouldnt let him,and he flashed back to when he hung the Tall Man,very eerie stuff.Great acting,Angus Scrimm's performance is great!It wasnt that gory but some scenes were pretty disgusting(the cop drooling blood into reg's mouth).I would definitly recommend this movie to longtime Phantasm fans,but for a newcomer to the series I would recommend an earlier movie,because out of the 3 thgis is the hardest to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Reggie must find Michael in Death Valley.
Review: You were left with a cliff-hanger in the earlier film. This film will end that segment for you and give you a new Phantasm story. Once again, A. Michael Balwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury and Angus Scrimm delight you with more silver spheres, suspense, horror and laughter. Angus Scrimm plays a dual role with the other role being quite different than the "Tall Man". He actually plays a role as a decent, nice man. Reggie once again must find Michael and help him. Michael has already entered the world of Phantasm and is in Death Valley. What is a neat idea about this film is that footage from the first film in 1979 is re-used nicely and ties-in to this forth film. I won't say anything more about this film so you can be surprised. Nice boob job though. A fifth Phantasm film is currently in limbo. By the way, 2004 will be Phantasm's 25th Anniversary.
Rating:
Summary: The Nightmare Lives On...But Humanity May Not!
Review: I thought this fourth, and supposedly final, sequel was lacking something...like a plot. It tended to plod along, with little or no direction. As with the other movies in this series, this one tends to create more questions than it answers, which I thought was strange as how this is supposed to be the last Phantasm movie. Somewhat annoying....fans will be happy to see all the original cast members are back, but may be disappointed in the lack of thrills, action, scares, and coherent storyline. The previous movies played the game of leaving things open ended, making things appear not as they seem, but at least there was a fairly linear story to follow. Not here.... As I said, the original cast members are back, all showing their age, especially the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), and I still enjoy seeing him and hearing him utter his line "Booooy!". This movie sort of picks up where the third installment left off. We do find out more information about what's happening to Mike. We also get a little more information about the Tall Man, his origins, but not nearly enough to satisfy fans of the series. I don't know, he just didn't seem as menacing as he did in previous movies, but he did appear to be more powerful, so it was really odd. Reggie is back, and is the one character to appear in all the movies. His role in this movie is less than I would have wanted, as he really didn't get to do too much and wasn't integral to the story. The whole movie seemed thrown together, without much effort given to the story or the characters. One scene that comes to mind is when Reggie gets pulled over by a police car on a lonely road while pursuing Mike. The policeman takes his license and registration, and then disappears. Reggie goes to investigate, and gets attacked by a sort of zombie cop. Reggie takes refuge in the squad car, and attempts to remove the shotgun that's secured to the dash. He's unable to free it, but that's okay, as the zombie cop has conveniently decided to get on top of the roof and try to attack Reggie from that awkward vantage point through a window. Seeing as how the zombie cop is now on the roof, Reggie doesn't need to free the shotgun, but only to pull the trigger. As there was no reason for the zombie cop to get on the roof, it was all a set up to show that cool scene where Reggie is able to use the locked down shotgun and fire through the roof. The filmmaker also used a lot of scenes that were cut out from previous movies to create flashbacks. While it was really cool to see these scenes, the flashbacks got pretty longwinded and tedious and didn't seem to really add to the story. I would have rather seen these scenes re-edited into the movies they came from, or put into an extra features sections, but here they grew tiresome and seemed like a way to pad out the movie. We also see Jody, and Mike. Most of the movie seems to center on Mike, and his 'evolution'. We get to see his use his new powers, but kind of lame as these new powers are pretty useless when he goes against the Tall Man. I didn't really talk a lot about the actual story, as it was so sloppy and slap dash, so I would recommend sticking to the first movie in this series, as it's the best. The next two were pretty good, and had a lot of action, but lacked the creepiness of the first movie. This last movie should probably be avoided, as it's pretty poor and looks more of an effort to cash in on the franchise than a labor of love. I think the fans deserved better. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is one of my favorite Phantasm's....it brings back the original actors in their original roles. It fell more into the realm of the first Phantasm with its hard to comprehend qualities. The more you watch it the more you come to understand. I believe that some people will not like this movie, for the same reason they didn't like the first one. (Phan 2 being thier favorite....NOT mine) It has a sureal quailty that film goers dont like these days. They prefer a movie that spells it out for you and lays it all up front. They lack imagination and expect the filmaker to give them one. If you find this movie confusing its because you haven't actually seen it. Watch it again until you figure it out. If you still think Phantasm 2 was the best of the series then you should stop watching these movies all together and stick to Wes Craven Presents. Your proababy better suited for cattle films like Ghost Ship. If you follow the herd your just another cow!
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