Phantasm 4: Oblivion

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The concluding installment of the popular horror series brings back the principal heroes Reggie, Mike, and Jody (Reggie Bannister, Michael Baldwin, and Bill Thornbury) for their final battle against the evil Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). Mike is trying to escape the Tall Man's designs on turning him into a servant of the interdimensional body thieves, while Reggie is trying not to get involved, despite Jody's pleas for help. When a demonic cop with a skinned man in his trunk pulls Reggie over along a dark highway, and spits Reggie's mouth full of yellow slime when shot, it becomes clear that he will have to play too. After crashing his hearse in Death Valley, Mike dreams about the days of the Civil War, where he meets Jebediah Morningside (Scrimm), the Tall Man's pleasant former self. By the time he returns to the earthly plane, the dimensional forks introduced in previous installments have multiplied into over a dozen. While Reggie is occupied by a pretty undead blonde who ends up having two of the Tall Man's silver Death Balls for breasts, Jody turns out to not be quite dead either, being able to change his own body into the Death Balls at will. As the forks continue to multiply, Mike constructs his own Death Ball and skips through various dimensions with Jody looking for the Tall Man. Eventually, the brothers slip into the past to the night when Morningside turned evil in an attempt to stop the horror before it could begin. Needless to say, everything comes back to the cemetery for the chilling final battle, but it doesn't stay there for long. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Audio commentary with director Don Coscarelli and actors Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm
  • Phantasm IV: Behind-the-scenes
  • Promo

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Reggie Bannister - Reggie
       Michael Baldwin - Mike
       Bill Thornbury - Jody
       Angus Scrimm - The Tall Man
       Bob Ivy

• Director:

  Don Coscarelli

• Producer:

  Don Coscarelli

• Screenwriter:

  Don Coscarelli

• Cinematographer:

  Chris Chomyn

• Composer (Music Score):

  Christopher L. Stone

• Editor:

  Scott J. Gill

• Production Designer:

  Naython Vane

• Co-producer:

  A. Michael Baldwin

• Costume Designer:

  Shelley Kay

REVIEW:

• Phantasm IV has atmosphere to burn, and benefits greatly by managing to reunite the primary cast. Like the same year's Halloween H20, there is a sense of having grown up with the struggle between the heroes and The Tall Man, and some unexpected moments of pathos result in between all the gore and weirdness. That being said, this is really one of those sequels that one has to have seen previous entries to understand. That's not just because of the added resonance, but because writer/director Don Coscarelli doesn't give many crib-notes for novices here, wisely using flashbacks as emotional touchstones rather than expository padding. The downside of that, however, is that newcomers to the series are likely to be completely baffled. After the lackluster Phantasm III, Coscarelli and his players are back in fine form, capping the story in as satisfying a way as a multi-part horror series finale to date, with the final shot being absolutely perfect. Highly recommended for fans, and almost good enough to recommend other horror devotees seeing the entire series just to fully appreciate this one. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi