Also known as: Phantasm IV: Infinity (alternate title), Phantasm: Phorever (working title)
Release Date: July 31st, 1998 (Canada – Fantasia International Film Festival)
Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Written by: Don Coscarelli
Music by: Christopher L. Stone
Cast: Reggie Bannister, Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Angus Scrimm, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy
Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 90 Minutes
Review:
“I didn’t abandon you Mike. I was taken.” – Jody
When I reviewed the third film in this series, I mentioned about how it relied too heavily on the audience knowing the details of the previous films. Well, this one is probably completely unwatchable to those that don’t know any of the backstory. Even then, this is pretty confusing and hard to follow unless you are a true Phantasm die hard.
So if you aren’t a hardcore fan that has seen everything before this, you probably don’t want to waste your time on this picture and frankly, it could just turn you off from the series.
For the rest of us, this is a really intriguing movie. It unveils a lot of the mystery but in answering questions, it really just creates more. Nothing is settled in this film and it ends fairly anticlimactically. For a long time, this was how the franchise ended but the fifth film was finally made and released in 2016 but that made things even more confusing; I’ll get to that once I review it.
The biggest problem with this film is that it is the most interesting in the franchise from a narrative standpoint but it is also the most boring. Even though things are revealed and we start to understand this bizarre mythos on a deeper level, there isn’t a whole lot that happens otherwise.
This is mostly devoid of action and just features Mike wallowing in a desert with suicidal tendencies and Reggie driving around a lot. And then there is just some random weird shit thrown in without much expanation: like the zombie cop, the hot chick with killer spheres for tits and poorly written and nonsensical fights (like the one with the zombie cop).
I really wanted to know more about the Tall Man’s backstory. This gives you a lot to think on and digest but mostly just leaves you hanging.
I like this movie, overall. Like I said, it is the most interesting in the series but it is also the hardest to get through. And again, if you aren’t familiar with the story, up to this point, you’d be wasting your time and your experience might inspire you to never check out the incredible first film.
Rating: 5.5/10
Pairs well with: The other Phantasm films.
Talking Pulp 