El fantasma IV - El olvido

First off, let me say that Angus Scrimm is a National Treasure and any Phantasm movie is worth watching just for his performance.

The first two Phantasms were excellent, pure works of imagination that are unlike any other horror series. As for part 3, I've only seen part of it on Sci-Fi and as its not available yet on DVD, I don't remember it too well but presumably OblIVion takes over where that one left off...Mike is heading off into the wastelands and Reggie is pinned to the ceiling by a bunch of silver spheres.

The story has Mike once again trying to stop the Tall Man and Reggie trying to catch up with him. This time we jump through space, time and dimension to find the Tall Man's origins and get a glimpse of the future he has in store for the earth.

This is a fairly good installment but it seems like there's more story then fits into the ninety-minute format. It sort of reminded me of Stephen King's Dark Tower series and I think would have been more fun if there was more time to explore some of the story lines hinted at. But if you're a fan of the other films, there's no reason not to check this one out.

What makes this series so consistent is the fact that the same writer/director, Don Coscarelli, is responsible for all four entries. Some phans prefer the second film for its tendency to lean more toward being an action film, while others like the cartoonish, over-the-top aspects of the third entry. Personally, I think this one (IV) is the best sequel. I love the fact that it is more in the moody, psychological vein of the original, which is by far the best in the series in my opinion. IV uses some beautiful locations- a rocky beach, a desert with intricate rock formations, and a completely unpopulated downtown Los Angeles (I'm assuming that's what city it is). These serve as really interesting backdrops for Mike, Reggie, Jody and the Tall Man (all the original actors returned, too). All this is beautifully shot by D.P. Chris Chomyn, who did a great job. The plot is not completely clear, but also not complex. The Tall Man is after Mike with the intent to turn him into another "Tall Man" sort-of undertaker. Meanwhile there's a subplot where Reggie encounters a beautiful female on the road (as he does in both other sequels). The dialogue is sparse and much of the meaning is implied. One of the most impressive things about the film is the way they were able to incorporate so much unused footage from the original (19 years earlier) into the story. Despite the time difference, the new film and the old footage work together perfectly, and that is a really cool thing to behold. The film actually ends with a flashback- a poignant and subtle scene that is unlike the endings of the other three movies, leaving the series with what could be a perfect close. But if Coscarelli and Co. want to come back and do another one, what Phantasm phan is gonna dispute it?! Not me!

A horror movie that is fourth in a series should be terrible. This one actually stands on its own as a good movie, though perhaps not great as fourth in the series.

As other users have commented, this movie does not answer questions about the Phantasm series. It shows a little background on the tall man, and that's it.

On the other hand, looking at it as a stand-alone-movie, it works! It has very coherent and often beautiful art direction. There are very few characters (I assume to save money), but that works. It keeps the movie from bogging down in goofy dialogue and laughable characters like Phantasm III.

The movie actually gets rather artful at times. Just observe the desert scenes with the field of metal rods to see what I mean. The Tall Man doesn't seem too threatening in this one. He come across much more as a constant pressure instead of an acute danger.

The individual characters aren't really developed any more than the previous films. They are reaching archetypal roles of heros, seekers, fighters, etc.

This is not a slasher film. It almost is not a horror movie. Oddly enough, it is almost stepping out of its low-brow beginnings (except for the breast scene in the hotel) and nearly reaching art movie status. I would love to see Phantasm V taken further in this vein. Unfortunately, I think this is the last of the series. Enjoy it if you can find it!

Just watched this series of movies for the first time, and was very disappointed at the ending of Oblivion, there was so much promise in the story and characters, even tho it was getting pretty silly. In the end they just "dropped the ball" on everything, so to speak..

I strongly recommend these movies to any horror/action movie fan, but its a huge shame the last movie was so.. just overall crappy. In lack of a better way of describing it. All the suspense and mystery was totally gone towards the end, and replaced with confusion and despair, as the movie suffered towards its inevitable credits text, leaving the viewer feeling sad and empty, almost betrayed.

I struggled to give this movie a 4 rating.

This is one of my favorite series of movies. The other day, my wife, and I found ourselves watching all four 'Phantasms'. Unlike the 'Friday, the 13th' series, they all tried to be different, but at the same time be true to the concept. Even in the first movie, you walked away (in my case drove away since I saw it at a drive-in) saying to a point, what happened here? Didn't Reggie get killed, and Jody survive? That I think is part of the mystique of these movies. You find yourself discussing with your family, and friends what happened here. Hey, it came many times at at Christmas, and Thanksgiving at my house for quite a few years, NO KIDDING!

This one, I liked, but I'm a little disappointed with it. As I'm typing this up, I have the first one playing, and I still don't quite get IV. For one thing, the idea of explaining why the tall man doesn't die because he comes from different dimensions. Like 'Dr. Who', he travels through time, and space can appear at any time, or place. Okay, I'll buy that. But, why is he so hell-bent on capturing Mike? Does he have some kind of vendetta against Mike, and Jody's family? As Jody said in III,"seeing is easy, understanding takes a little more time." I'm getting a headache trying to understand. There must have been a ton of stuff on the cutting room floor, or someone found a great actor to play Mike from 1979, because a lot of this one bounces back to the first one as they try to tie all of this together.

I understand, unlike 'Star Wars', the complete story was not written out ahead of time, it was made up as it went as it went along. Don Coscarelli is good on keeping us guessing, and I see there one more coming, and judging by the title, this will be the last one, so PLEASE Mr. Coscarelli, If this is the last one, finish it up with style, don't keep me guessing!!!!