4/15 Phantasm IV: Oblivion

4/15/14
Phantasm IV: Oblivion
Otherwise known as 'Phantasm OblIVion

"My name is Reggie. I was an ice cream vendor by trade. Now, I'm a soldier..."

IMDB.com Rating: 5.7 out of 10

Availability: Still in print moderately priced.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7C2I3hvqnQ

Watch Online: Nope.
OH SHIT! Moment: When Reggie pulls off a woman's shirt to reveal two silver death spheres in place of her breasts. Don't worry -- a picture will soon follow.

Food and Beverage Pairing: Warm pretzels with cheese sauce and mustard on the side, and a case of Shiner Bock.

This is a simple food and beverage pairing; but trust me -- it'll taste great. I have no reason for choosing this other than it's simple and appetizing. 

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Tony Schilli, here; and tonight we have a whole lot of death, destruction and, of course, The Tall Man and an army of his evil zombie-dwarf monks with the movie that made the 'Phantasm' trilogy a tetralogy -- I'm speaking, of course, of 'Phantasm IV: Oblivion'. You know, watching these kinds of movies makes me want to be an existentialist. If death is always stalking you, what's it matter how you spend your life -- I mean, it's meaningless no matter how you slice it. I decided if I'm going to be an existentialist, I'd first figure out what kind of existentialist I'd be. There's atheist existentialists and religious existentialists. I'd think being a religious existentialist would be like being a gifted republican -- something just doesn't add up. And to be an atheist existentialist; well, for my own health, I'd better not. It'd be like living out an Andrew W.K. song. I'd die from having too much fun. There's agnostic existentialist, but that's just a indecisive way of saying life is subjective. Am I boring you yet? For obvious reason, I'm not going to be a Christian, black or Jewish existentialist. I could be a feminist existentialist, but I don't really care for Joni Mitchell or acoustic music. Cosmicism believes in astral-projection, but if I'm going to be an existentialist, I'm doing it to have fun. Anyway, long story short, I decided that existential nihilism was the one for me; and boy, I couldn't be happier. I walk around the apartment complex in my bathrobe all day, I throw the neighbor's cats in the swimming pool just to see them poop from fright, I buy things on eBay and never pay for them, I hide packaged meat in the chip aisle at the grocery store, I lock everyone's bicycles together at the community college. The other day, I went to a coffee house, waited until I made it up to the front of the line and took a phone call, all the while holding my index finger up, letting the barista know I'd only be "one second". I don't even drink coffee. I've been making all kinds of risky decisions just for fun. Recently, I even went to Vegas; and yes, I lost all my money. But I didn't lose it gambling -- I just talked on a lot of payphones.

That was a lot of work just for that one joke.

Anyway, tonight's movie is 'Phantasm IV: Oblivion'. Of all the 'Phantasm' films, this is definitely one of 'em. This one takes place where 'III' left off. There's less killing and less blood. But what we do have is a well-paced acid trip that delightfully confuses from start to finish. Mike, Jody and Reggie are back -- somehow. Every movie, they kill off Reggie, or so it appears. And every next movie, we find Reggie was only playing dead, or something like that. I'm cool with it, because that dude's pretty awesome. Think about it -- he shouldn't even be a plot device; but because he was friends with Mike and Jody, he volunteers his service -- and his Hemi-Cuda and four-barreled sawed-off shotgun -- for four movies worth of ass-kicking. He is definitely a deserving face-of-the-franchise.

Reggie is still chasing Mike and The Tall Man across the country. The Tall Man's intentions are finally revealed. He wants to turn Mike into his partner and take over every town together, hellbent on eventual world domination. Mike, unsure of how to react to anything, runs from The Tall Man. His trip takes him through several dimensions.It's interesting we see The Tall Man as more than a representation of death -- but as a normal person. Angus Scrimm does such a fantastic job playing an evil, ancient bastard, you're really taken back when he acts like a normal, pleasing old man. The whole movie is entertaining, but clearly the best is when Reggie loads up with ammo, knives, and -- of course -- his old ice cream vendor get-up complete with black bow tie. 

On my scale:
Overall Enjoyment ----12
Redeeming Qualities---13
Rewatchability---------7
Directing/Quality------7
Plot/Storyline----------6
Pacing-----------------7
Dialogue/Writing-------5
Acting-----------------5
TOTAL---------------62

For a series that plays out like a dream -- surreal and sometimes frightening-- this leaves you feeling paranoid and not in-control. It's those feelings this saga evokes which really emphasizes how great this franchise is. Plenty of gore, blood, and embalming fluid make even the least-best of the series worth a watch. This film attempts to answer the questions from the previous three, but not without leaving you confused. I guess since 'Phantasm V' is about to be released, you probably didn't expect this to end on a happy note. It's almost as though this series was done in the same vein as 'Lost'. Convenient for Don Coscarelli, he filmed a lot of extra scenes during the shooting of the original, so he was able to throw in a lot of unseen footage to tie in the series better. I'd give this effort a solid 3 stars -- maybe 3 and 1/2 on a good day. There's only one way for you to judge this one -- and that's to watch it yourself.