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Phantasm 4: Oblivion

Phantasm 4: Oblivion

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All TRUE Phantasm fans will love this...
Review: Phantasm Oblivion can be a relatively challenging film if one isn't properly acquainted with the series. I don;t mean to talk down to casual Phantasm fans or those looking for a cheap scare, if you don't know the first three films rather well, part IV here will certainly confuse you.To those who have come to love these characters, Oblvion takes them all through quite the ride. Mike is struggling with his newfound 'power', the Tall Man wishes to seduce Mike into becoming like him while Reggie is still hot on his trail. There is a considerable amount of emotion evident here, director Coscarelli knows that at this point we know and care about our heros, the stakes are raised in this flick and hidden truths are finally revealed. The fascinating thing here is while some older questions are wrapped up, Oblivion opens many new questions up to the fans. There is enough happening in this film alone to keep them debating for years to come. It's all fasciating and Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man is still a very intimidating screen presence. The budget on this film was quite low (under 1 million), so you tell me, after watching this film, can you even begin to be impressed with what Coscarelli has done with his limited budget. If you know anything about filmmaking you must appreciate it, but of course, working miracles with no money still does not make a great film.Phantasm Oblivion is a success in every other way also, from the use of unused footage from the original, to the showcasing of Tall Man's origins, to the spectacularly sad ending, Oblivion may not be as scary as the orignal, but when you get this far into the series, being engrossed is much more important than being scared. Coscarelli engrossed me 10 times over and I'm hungry for more, the mark of a truly great film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Phantasm 4 hopefully not the final chapter
Review: I just got finished watching the movie and I just want to say that I don't think that it lived up to the original but it was pretty good anyway. The only thing I didn't like about the movie is when they added in scenes to this movie using outtakes from the original Phantasm they just didn't seem to tie in to this movie. Also I would've liked for them to have explored the character of Jebidiah Morningside a little bit more. And for once I wished they could've at least finished the film on a happy note but once again the Tall Man! triumps over all.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A WORTHY SEQUEL TO THE SERIES
Review: Phantasm: OblIVion (1998)

Phantasm: OblIVion,is the fourth installment in the Phantasm series.It's a little better than Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, but still does not match the tones and scares of the first two films,Phantasm and Phantasm II.

It's very nice to see the humor from Phantasm III gone and were back to being scary again.The music score of Phantasm IV is absolutely stunning.Christopher Stone is a brilliant composer and in my honest opinion,his score was better than Fred Myrow's score from Phantasm,Phantasm II,and Phantasm III.It's arguably the best score of the entire Phantasm series.

It's great to know "The Tall Man's" true idenity.His real name is Jebediah Morningside,and he was warm and friendly before he became the cold-hearted,sinister "Tall Man".

Phantasm: OblIVion was a thrill ride from start to finish.The music score blew me away,the special effects are top-notch,and the performances are great.This is far better than Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead,but it still can't match Phantasm and Phantasm II.It's still recommended though.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Phantasm and the Sequel Syndrome
Review: The legend of Phantasm continues with the fourth and most recent installment: Phantasm OlbIVion. Though the first Phantasm did not seem to need sequels (see my review), the director/writer makes enough "clarifications" to the story of the Tall Man to allow for the 3 sequels.

As with all horror sequels that suffer from the "sequel syndrome", it is a must for things to get a little more out-of-hand, more unreal, and more supernatural. The villain, in this case the Tall Man, becomes virtually indestructible. Whereas there was one sphere in the first, he we have as many as 30. While there were a limited number of deaths in the first, here we have whole towns that have been killed.

The story is very simple. Something has happened to Mike Pearson and he is afraid he will turn into another Tall Man. So, he races to the place where he can confront the Tall Man. Of course, the Tall Man also wants this confrontation, so he guides Mike to where he has his followers and his dimensional doors.

Reggie, concerned about Mike, follows closely behind. At the beginning of the movie, he is trapped by the Tall Man, who frees him for no apparent reason. And no, the reason does not become apparent later in the movie. Though dead since before the first movie, Mike's brother Jody also appears in this movie. Mike is having trouble figuring out whose side Jody's incarnation is on. So did I.

This director/writer has a penchant for unpopular endings. The ending of Phantasm I was a let down to the point that it was "clarified" to allow for sequels. (The beginning of this movie actually attempts to clarify what has happened in I to III in a manner that seems to make it all fit together.) Notwithstanding, the director/writer again chooses an unpopular ending.

Perhaps hoping for another sequel, the story ends when Mike is left dying (and we believe he will die), and the Tall Man has won. Reggie chases after the Tall Man, but we don't see him again. Instead, we see a scene of Reggie and Mike when they were younger in Reggie's ice-cream truck driving along in their hometown. In the background, we hear the voice of a dying Mike. Somehow, I also hear sequel. This is also a common symptom of the "sequel syndrome" (ie, having to leave the door just a little open).

The most eerie aspect of Phantasm IV is that it stars all of the original actors. They all look (much) older and should, since this movie was filmed 19 years after the original. This allows the director to insert scenes of the original, even outtakes, to help complete his story and to help explain what is happening. This really adds a sense of realism otherwise difficult to accomplish.

Overall, it is a good movie. However, it does not have the emotional depth of the original. Furthermore, the triumph of evil over good, the apparent death of Mike, and the apparent second death of the Jody "incarnation", added to the disappointment I felt as the movie concluded.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Film
Review: All I can say is that this film rocked and that the excellent easy to follow story line made this one of the best films I've seen this year.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Tall Man returns for an excellent encore!
Review: Phantasm: Oblivion is a challenging film. It may take several viewings to understand the sublime concepts this film presents. But, for the dedicated Phantasm fan, Oblivion is the jolt of Phantasmic adrenaline we have all been waiting for. The Tall Man is back with a vengeance...and yes, Reggie finally beds a babe, but with shocking results! A cool DVD with a rockin' Dobly Digital soundtrack. Buy it, BOY!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This shouldn't be a part of the series!
Review: The following review contains REALLY big spoilers. Read with extreme caution!

I'm a really big phan of the series.I loved the phist,loved the second just as much and thought the third was neat.This is without a doubt the worst of the series.I cannot believe that it's actually part of the series.I've heard that this is possibly the phinal chapter.I certainly hope not! This would be a terrible and unforgivable way to end the series (remember the Friday The 13th series and how they ended it with "Jason Goes To Hell"?) Phantasm IV-Oblivion has so many flaws that I don't where to start,but I'll try. Phirst off,the storyline is extremely confusing. So many things are happening at once.Reggie fights demon cops that vomit yellow blood,encounters girls with silver spheres for breasts (totally uncreative).Mike meanwhile travels through dimensional portals and see's images of his previous encounters with The Tall Man.There's just too much happening all at once! Second,I was surprised by the direction.Don Coscarelli's direction is usually excellent,but this was his phirst bad effort.He doesn't know what he wants to happen,nor how the plot should move.Third,half of P4 is made up of cut footage from the original Phantasm.It WAS interesting to see the footage,but it just confused me.What connection do the scenes truly have? They basically didn't serve ANY purpose whatsoever! The ending is one of the worst movie ending ever in the history of philm (right up there with the ending from Friday The 13th Part 8 if you want the added insurance). Mike somehow is young again,then Reggie pulls over in his ice cream truck,takes Mike,and that's it! That's totally awful! I hated not seeing Reggie and Mike together and Reggie's new one-liners were really lame. I hate to say this. I really do,because I'm a big phan of the series and there are many more out there too.The only things I liked about P4 was the introduction of the new "Rambo" sphere (finally,a new sphere!), the music was once again excellent (especially the song that plays in the ending credits) and I liked the phact that we learned that The Tall Man's real name is Jebediah Morningside.It's about time we knew his real name! Other than that, this is a terrible movie that's a disgrace to both the Phantasm series and the horror philm industry. And that is NO joke.The only reason I own a copy is because it is a Phantasm philm,and I have collected them all.Easily and undoubtably the worst of the series.Buy Phantasm 1 and 2 (and three if you must watch a third movie),but try to avoid this (unless you enjoy being ripped-off).Rated R for very little violence,some bad language and a pretty strong sex scene.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BEST SEQUEL!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Phantasm:Oblivion is undoubtedly the best sequel in the Phantasm series, it goes deeper into the psychilogical aspect of the film, instead of secrets being revealed through speech, it is revealed through motions and thought of the viewer. I hope they make a 5th movie. LONG LIVE THE TALL MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: look up at maltin's review, he did not even watch it!
Review: god i hate leonard maltin! what a jerk! i hate that buttcowboy! well this is a good end to a good series, if you did not get it, too bad. no one will ever explain it to you cause nobody can figure it out. sure, many people have thier own beliefs what the hell that was about but they are all wrong. i wish it was not so damn high!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great movie with lots of twists
Review: This was a very good movie. It just didnt really have enough gore. I really liked the scenes for the original Phantasm, even though they didnt fit in anywhere. All inall this was a very intriguing and satisfying way to end a great series of movies.


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