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Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Angus Scrimm, Bob Ivy ... see more see more... , Heidi Marnhout , Chloe Kay

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 t... read more read more...he 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

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41% liked it

6,477 ratings

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25% liked it

8 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Don Coscarelli

Release Date: October 13, 1998

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DVD Release Date: August 14, 2001

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Stats: 235 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (235)

  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    This franchise is getting boring now! Nothing happens and nothing is really explained. Don Coscarelli relies too heavily on the artistic licence that horror movies can have i.e. not having to be Oscar winning, just scary, fun and memorable. This film is none of the above, in fact... read more it?s one of the worst horror films I?ve ever seen. Half the film is basically everything that was cut from the first film!! oh, and Reggie will never be as cool as Ash!!
  • matertenebraum
    August 29, 2007
    matertenebraum
    The first two films in Don Coscarelli's excellent Phantasm series were prime examples of how imagination and dedication can transcend budget and still ensure that a film project is successful in spite of being made on a shoestring. The third part of the series was a big disappoin... read moretment in relation to the other two, however, and the same can be said of this third sequel. The film isn't any worse than the third part, which was something of a surprise; it's just more of the same quality. I was worried before seeing this film as I had read the plot outline and it became apparent that Coscarelli has seen fit to do what most filmmakers do when it comes to a third sequel, and just go and do some back story building; which often turns out to be rather dull, and doesn't bridge any of the gaps anyway. But yes, Phantasm 4: Oblivion is one of those films that attempt to fill some holes from the first films, and here we are treated to finding out how 'the tall man' became 'the tall man'. Actually, it's not THAT bad.

    While the film lacks the brilliant invention of the first two, the back story that Coscarelli has created is intriguing and while he could have delved a bit deeper into it, if you don't go in expecting too much; Phantasm 4 will not disappoint fans of the series. Poor man's cult hero Reggie Bannister returns along with his usual arsenal of cheesy one-liners and womanising 'skills', and although it can become a bit tiresome after a while, it's always entertaining and seeing this completely non-hero guy battling legions of the undead has a subtle and absurd twinge of humour to it, which is nice. Unfortunately, the original Mike, A. Michael Baldwin returns once again to his character, and this is a shame as his replacement in the second instalment, James LeGros, did a much better job in the role. All the usual Phantasm staples are present in this film, from The Tall Man himself to the creepy little dwarfs, all the way to the very cool shiny metal balls that fly around and stick in people's heads. Shame about the atmosphere, but this is still a nice film.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 13, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    The Phantasm series comes full circle, literally, as they cleverly intercut Phantasm IV's new scenes with unused footage from the first film. The end meets the beginning, as the Tall Man's origins and future takeover are glimpsed, while the present-day battle between Mike and the... read more Tall Man comes to an explosive conclusion. All of this sounds more exciting that it really is; which is very small and low budget like Phantasm III. I think what was supposed to be The Tall Man's Red Planet was instead changed to Death Valley Desert. But the story is good, with a big time-loop built into the plot. I'm afraid the ending is open for interpretation. I liked it a lot, but was somewhat let down initially that there was no epic showdown between Mike and the Tall Man.

    Favorite Scene: When Mike remembers the last perfect day before the Tall Man arrived.
  • nuheart
    December 26, 2006
    nuheart
    Look, I know it was cheesy, I know it brought up more questions than it answered, and I know it ended on a cliffhanger that's likely never to be resolved, but I LOVE the way Coscarelli used footage excised from the original film; that's what elevated this one for me.
  • danieljparsons
    May 7, 2007
    danieljparsons
    After the overblown hysterics of Phantasm III, Don Coscarelli tones it down in the bleak and rather effective Phantasm IV: Oblivion.

    The concentration is firmly back on atmosphere (which was always the series' trump card), telling the story of Mike's destiny, and

    ... read more thankfully demoting Reggie squarely back to sidekick status. The film cleverly uses deleted footage from the first film to fill in some story gaps, but just as many questions are raised as answered, and the ending is perfect in its Lynch-like ambiguity (what was real/what was imagined?).

    This fourth instalment is the most beautiful looking so far - some of the photography is hauntingly powerful, and the location footage in Death Valley is both entirely fitting to the story and provides beautiful scenery that works as a nice opposition to the bloody violence. It's a pity in fact that the atmosphere isn't sustained throughout, but Don Coscarelli can't resist the odd goofy one-liner or providing Reggie with yet another sexy female sidekick, which detracts from the main story somewhat and makes you want to get back to Mike.

    On a side-note, I found it interesting to learn that Roger "Pulp Fiction/Rules of Attraction" Avary wrote a script that together with Don Coscarelli they tried to pitch to all the major studios, with no backers. The film was to have been a medium-budget movie set in the near future, where the Tall Man and his workers have devastated much of central North America leaving towns deserted and trails of living-dead corpses roaming the land, leaving it to our heroes Mike and Reggie to put a stop to his plans once and for all.

    For now though, Phantasm IV is a fitting end to a flawed but ambitious story.
  • jk2two
    June 24, 2011
    jk2two
    Coscarelli made this fourth sequel some 20 years after the original film. Number four has the same characters and cast and the same confusing non-linear storytelling. Mike travels through dimensions and time, once again confronting the Tall Man in a bewildering and seemingly aiml... read moreess fashion. Fans of the series will get what they've come to expect - a visually striking and fx-heavy string of disconnected sequences that loosely hold together as a complete film. Four films in the franchise and I still couldn't tell you what the hell these movies are about, but they're entertaining and uncompromising. Coscarelli should be respected for believing in his franchise and never letting anyone else monkey with it. This leads to the consistency that makes these crazy films make some bizarre sense. Oh yes, Heidi Marnhout is hot too.
  • kingmob6
    November 2, 2010
    kingmob6
    Beginning immediately after the 3rd film ends, this one goes further into the connections between Mike and the Tall Man, culminating with a full on showdown between the two.

    Not a bad entry in the series, but also a bit too involved for even a casual viewer, I'd definitely say y... read moreou need to be a fan of the series to appreciate this one.

    Rental.
  • antwanleeroyphillips23
    February 13, 2010
    antwanleeroyphillips23
    phantasn IV oblivion is a great sequel of the tall man series this one is dark it had made the tall man more insane and A. michael baldwin returns as mike the protagonist of the series
  • VTAcinephile
    June 15, 2009
    VTAcinephile
    Improvement over Pt. 3. Tall Man origin story good. I think pt. 5 should take place in the old west as a prequel. If you do one more Don (while Angus is still with us) make it a good one!!
  • TheMovieDuuude
    July 30, 2008
    TheMovieDuuude
    As a PHAN I liked it but it was becoming obvious the budget was really tightening up. The clips used in the movie would have been better shown on an extras disc. Really leaves you hanging at the end too.

View All Phantasm IV: Oblivion Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tim Brayton
June 21, 2011
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

[Brings] back the surrealistic creepiness of the original film, and then some. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
April 11, 2006
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

yeah, i have no idea what's going on Full Review

Nick Schager
October 31, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

A stinker of the first order. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
April 3, 2005
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

As a big Coscarelli fan, I still have to ask .. "What the hell's goin' ON here?"

Alex Sandell
November 9, 2004
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

Another great entry into the series.

Emanuel Levy
July 27, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Jeremiah Kipp
January 27, 2002
Jeremiah Kipp, ToxicUniverse.com

Click to read the article Full Review

Erik Childress
July 24, 2001
Erik Childress, Apollo Guide

Click to read the article Full Review

John Paul Powell
June 18, 2002
John Paul Powell, Jam! Movies

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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