While Don Coscarelli has always remained the writer and director and sole caretaker of the Phantasm phranchise, that’s nothing to stop phans from creating their own phiction. This is nothing new in the Internet world, but appropriately for this series, Phantasm’s phan phiction is something different. A certain spec script, Phantasm 1999 A.D., was put together, written by one Roger Avary – noted Hollywood producer and freaking co-writer of Pulp Fiction. The man’s no slouch! So impressed was Coscarelli that they decided to go ahead and philm his story, now retitled Phantasm’s End.
The intended movie was to be a massive epi,c truly exploring the multi-dimensional realm Coscarelli had created. It would move Phantasm phurther from horror even closer to the fantasy/sci-fi/horror hybrid it wishes to be. We’re talking a wild, Aliens-esque action extravaganza, with Reggie alongside a platoon of commandos (possibly led by the incomparable Bruce Campbell!) assaulting the Tall Man’s great “Plague Zone” that now comprises the majority of the United States. This story would irrefutably put an end to the present series narrative thread, even while it opens up the possibility for a phuture trilogy to follow it. Coscarelli was set to make this, and all his regular actors were in place. Nothing could stop them!
Except the budget. Though Phantasm’s End wouldn’t be costly in absolute terms, it would altogether cost way too much for a bizarre niche series like this one. Still, by 1997 all the production elements were in place to make some Phantasm movie, and Coscarelli was riding an enthusiasm for the series. The decision was made to create an entry to precede Phantasm’s End, something that could drum up interest and phunds for the phollow-up. That movie is today’s subject, Phantasm IV Oblivion (and note how the “iv” in “Oblivion” becomes the numerical “IV”).
The movie begins, as we’ve already seen so many Phantasm and non-Phantasm sequels begin, with extensive footage from former entries bringing us up to speed. The editing here is far more effective than before, setting a tone more than a concrete explanation – one of the major concerns of this movie, and one that’s fitting with the series as a whole when you factor in the dreaminess of the original Phantasm. And counting the original Phantasm is far more important here than for most sequels, since extensive phootage phrom that philm phinds a phooting here. (Okay, I’ll stop that “ph” thing.)
The original cut of Phantasm was reputedly around 3 hours long – meaning a lot got cut out to render it the crazy hour and a half we now love. Coscarelli happened to find archives of his old footage around the time Phantasm IV was in production, and opted to supplement his picture with never-before-seen deleted scenes reincorporated into this story. This helps flesh out a movie with a rather minimal budget. It also works under Phantasm’s premise, as time travel, dreams, alternate universes and realities are increasingly becoming the name of the game here – our characters from two decades past can somehow still have an impact. And since the same cast remains in place, the old footage bridges the gap between Phantasm and Phantasm IV, communicating time’s passage quit effectively.
I’ll just go ahead right now and offer up my impressions of this movie as a whole before I go and dissect it like the Tall Man does Mike Pearson. This is a really peculiar beast, requiring knowledge of the three films preceding, and even an engaged involvement with the wilder extremes of those entries. For phans who have grooved on the action/comedy/horror tone of the last two entries, Phantasm IV is a shocking departure, returning to the seriousness of the original Phantasm without sacrificing an inherent playfulness (the humor here is not as overtly pronounced as in the other sequels, but its dry delivery actually makes me laugh far more). The wildness remains, as Reggie (Reggie Bannister, cult film god) always delivers, but the focus here is more and more on a brooding minimalism. It’s almost a tone poem told through the contours of a sci-fi horror mash-up, and I dig it. Answers are provided here, not to fully clarify everything going on, but to present enough tangible mysteries to leave fans with something to debate while creating a palpable emotional resonance. This is far, far more than Phantasm III ever aimed for.
In regards to answering the cliffhanger that ended that film, this movie just tries to move past it as best it can. The characters themselves seem to be of this mind too. The wicked, extra-dimensional undertaker Tall Man (Angus Scrimm, his age no longer a problem with how his role is written) has Reggie at his mercy, with dozens of CGI Sentinel Spheres. (I am not a CGI fan, and that goes double for late 90s CGI, but the Sentinel Spheres are that sort of chrome creation that works perfectly with the technology.) So the Tall Man can do with Reggie as he wants, and he simply lets him live, considering Reggie not worth the effort. “Take great care how you play. The final game now begins.” By the way, we never see nor hear anything about young Tim, captured in Phantasm III’s final image, and that’s really just as well. Let’s just treat the worst elements of that film like the leprous pariahs they are.
Mike Pearson (A. Michael Baldwin, the best he’s been) drives a black hearse alone through the desert darkness. He recounts through voice over the recent surgery and “evolution” he is undergoing, facing the Tall Man’s efforts to, presumably, make him one of his own. Mike recalls footage removed from the first Phantasm, recounting the final day of childhood peace before the Tall Man came to town. Lovely scenes of Mike, Reggie, and Mike’s brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) precede the Tall Man’s arrival, his hearse violating the idyll and murdering a dog. The nature of these flashbacks is in question, how it relates to the reality of the present story. This is the sort of ambiguity this series does at its best, equivocating between dream, real, and various modes of untrustworthiness.
The Tall Man is now endlessly connected to Mike, his power to affect him, create portals, etc. far more limitless than ever, as his swath of desolation seems to spread endlessly across the country. In vague terms, the Tall Man appears to Mike in the hearse to entice him to, essentially, come over to the Dark Side – so to speak. It’s never remotely as clear cut as in Star Wars. Mike, for his part, realizes his only option is to entice the Tall Man away from his element for a final duel of wills. With this in mind, Mike heads for the dead center of Death Valley, a vacant wasteland totally lacking in human refinements – like Detroit.
But while I may be grooving on this minimalist embrace of the void, we must rejoin Reggie for a bit of wacky horror-violence nonsense. Parked on the side of the desert highway, Reggie faces off against a demonic state trooper revenant. I don’t wish to go into details about this random moment, so I’ll simply recount the best part: The cop pukes yellow blood into Reggie’s mouth! Good times.
It is the middle of the day, and Mike’s hearse has overheated in the middle of Death Valley – this setting is thankfully distinct from the now-tiresome mausoleums. Mike crawls through a maze of lovely rock formations, somewhat resembling Kirk’s Rock, while evil dwarves stalk him at a distance. At this stage Mike recalls the Tall Man’s forced surgery, which leads to an unexplained black and white flashback to the Civil War, where a period Tall Man operates in a period tent on period Mike. Period. There are many interpretations to this bit, not worth exploring here.
Despite occasional cutaways to Reggie’s random, this movie prefers to remain with Mike, and just Mike, as he succumbs to his own mind in the desert. That indicates just how different this is from the other sequels, what with their nunchukas and chainsaw duels and pink Cadillacs. Mike encounters a tuning fork portal alone in the flat sands, a nice improvement on the Dali-esque surrealism we briefly saw in Phantasm III. Then Mike just goes right ahead, apropos of nothing and yet so appropriately, and hangs himself from a dead tree. He dangles, somehow not dying, as he recounts a truly revelatory new scene from Phantasm’s footage…
Here, Mike and his brother manage to hang the Tall Man from a tree, leaving his deathless body there to rot. The Tall Man contacts young Mike telepathically at home: “Boy…Cut…me…down!” Thus, in spite of all morality and self-preservation, Mike indeed cuts down the Tall Man. They face off, each going their own way without conflict. In light of the Tall Man’s recent wooing of the increasingly-conflicted Mike, new light is shed on this old footage.
The Tall Man appears like a monolith, head blocking out the sun, as Mike tumbles from the tree. He offers out his hand, a starling image that sums up the film. “I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.” A portal fades in, finally justifying how these items can appear at the Tall Man’s convenience. Mike passes through it, not heeding the Tall Man’s warning: “Careful what you look for…You just might find it.”
Mike is in a 19th century home, surrounded by Tesla-like inventions, notably two old-timey electrical rods resembling a steam punk tuning fork portal. Out on the porch he finds – da dum dum! – the Tall Man!...Wait, hold up. It is Angus Scrimm, but he reacts with surprising human decency towards Mike, introducing himself as Jebediah Morningside. That’s right, this is the sort of late sequel that sees fit to write an origin story for its villain. Fortunately, Coscarelli never bogs us down in this material, pretty much just presenting it and moving on. And it does offer an insight into the Tall Man’s origin, and what might be in store for possible successor Mike. For Jebediah is creating a dimensional portal, a means to further explore notions of death beyond our mortal realm. The result, shown later in the film, is that Jebediah passes through the portal and instantly returns as the alien Tall Man. This explains some, but still retains the Tall Man’s source of power as an eternal mystery. As it should be.
Mike returns to the desert to experience further temptation from the Tall Man, turning this into something quite rare – a possible Christ metaphor that doesn’t piss me off with clichés. Roughly a dozen dimensional portals await Mike in the sands. (It’s like a horror movie directed by Gus Van Sant…Oh schnikeys!, wait, Psycho!…Never mind.) Mike rejects this teleporter temptation, and rather Mike muses in the maze, discovering his new psionic powers can crush scorpions (and dwarves) with boulders. Soon Mike is hard at work on the hearse’s engine, creating a steam punk Sentinel Sphere all his own – possibly inspired by Jebediah’s handiwork. The spirit of Jody makes continual appearances to Mike, as he has throughout this self-imposed exile, with questionable aids of help.
Obviously Mike’s presence has been beefed up considerably, making up for his long absence in Phantasm III. But the less thoughtful phans are here to see Reggie shoot midgets and bang hotties, so let’s have a little fun with that material. Reggie encounters something truly unusual out on the highways – a new character. This is Jennifer (Heidi Marnhout), who quickly crashes her car to avoid a tortoise (shades of Blade Runner). Reggie rescues her from the overturned car, which promptly explodes, as cars in this series are endlessly wont to do – a peculiarity Reggie actually points out here. They make their way to a motel, where Reggie tries to put the moves on Jennifer – contrasted nicely with Mike huddled around a nighttime campfire, alone in the expanses of Death Valley. Reggie once again learns the error of his horndog ways, as he finds Jennifer’s breasts are actually Sentinel Spheres. The mere motel setting, as opposed to a mausoleum, seems like a revelation for a Sphere confrontation, and the boob thing makes this more interesting too. Reggie defeats the Spheres with his musician’s tuning fork – carried over from the original Phantasm – and puts an end to the zombified Jennifer with a sledgehammer. In another entry, this would be a scene full of wackiness, but here it’s downplayed somewhat to avoid conflict with the tone of Mike’s travails.
Speaking of those travails, they are soon ramped up in terms of otherworldly eeriness. Jody leads Mike on a trans-dimensional tour of space and time, highlighted by a visit to the completely abandoned Wilshire Boulevard in L.A. Now this is a cool update on the standard vacant Main Street visual from before. Reportedly, Coscarelli and crew couldn’t achieve this moment through legal means, so they employed guerilla filmmaking to visit Wilshire at sunup when it actually is deserted. Truly creepy… (Those jerks who did I Am Legend could learn something about achieving a stark cityscape without sacrificing millions of dollars in the process.) Dialogue hints, and we are left to assume, that this is the future, once the Tall Man has truly effected his war of eradication.
Reggie reaches the hearse in Death Valley, driven here by some unexplained compass. A fun horror-comedy montage sees Reggie suiting up for a final battle, readying his famous four-barelled shotgun, and awesomely donning his old ice cream salesman uniform. It’s odd what sort of weirdnesses we’ll accept sometimes, because this is fist-pumpingly cool. Reggie then proceeds to have one of his little shootouts with the multitudinous dwarves, prompting his to comment on how good he’s getting at this particular feat.
Mike returns through a portal, having had a temptation session with Jody on a ghost beach. He embraces Reggie in reunion, whispering into his ear not to trust the Jody ghost. Reggie passes Mike the tuning fork, at which point Mike suggests to Jody a plan for truly stopping the Tall Man – a return to the time of Jebediah to prevent him from using his “portal switch.” Off they go, to enact a plan that shortly proves impossible, seeing as Mike now exists in a different dimension than Jebediah (a nice solution to the time travel paradox issues we’ve briefly courted here – Phantasm movies consider time in wildly unusual ways).
Jody reveals his ultimate betrayal, acting as one of the Tall Man’s revenants as he and the Tall Man pin Mike down in a cemetery, ready for more unnecessary surgery. I’m going to hurtle through this climax stuff. Mike escapes by using Reggie’s tuning fork, killing Jody in the process – at this point a slim sliver of the human Jody pokes through, clarifying for good that the real Jody did indeed die in a car crash way back in 1978-ish.
Mike returns to Death Valley for a final battle against the Tall Man (Reggie proves barely capable of lifting a finger against the hyper-powered Tall Man). Mike’s main plan involves battling the Tall Man with his homemade Sphere, and since there’s an unexploded hearse nearby, the Tall Man’s death is accompanied with its explosion. What Mike didn’t count on, despite four films’ worth of experience, is that with a nearby portal, a new Tall Man can instantly emerge, resurrected by whatever extra-dimensional process accomplishes such things. This Tall Man, following some mysterious motivation, siphons the golden Sentinel Sphere out of Mike’s skull, leaving him to die on the desert floor. The Tall Man leaves back through the portal, while Reggie has a final moment with his dying friend. Then, against all fear or reason, Reggie arms himself and leaps through the portal for further adventures.
The final scene is one from Phantasm, recounting a heartfelt moment between young Mike and Reggie, driving along in the ice cream truck. Voiceovers interact with twenty-year-old dialogue to suggest that Reggie (and maybe even Mike) have somehow returned to their former selves, but with knowledge of their entire decades-long battle. They drive into the darkness, a possible temporal cycle established, as we fade out without the standard glass-smash ending I’ve grown so tired of. This, as much as anything else, marks Phantasm IV as an entirely justifiable ending to the series, even if this world remains murky and dark.
So what lies in the Phantasm phranchise phuture? Phans remain hopeful despite all hope that Phantasm’s End might someday be made, and kick ass to their wildly heightened expectations, despite evidence Coscarelli has no current plans to do anything with it. Hell, Coscarelli has spent most of the past decade (when he’s not busy directing a single episode of “Masters of Horror”) struggling to get a Bubba Ho-Tep sequel off the ground. There’s been so little success on that front, it seems even less likely for another Phantasm. Factor in Scrimm’s wildly-advanced age, and things seem pretty dire on that front.
Ah, but the original Phantasm dates from 1979, and is an acknowledged horror classic – with sequels. As we are presently living in the Age of the Remake, that puts it in huge danger of being remade, surely something no phan wants, and something no one else could care about. Thankfully, Don Coscarelli has retained control of his series over the years, and he is vocally opposed to remakes in general! He understands, as an auteur far, far in advance of a businessman, the pointlessness of remaking Phantasm. That’s not the way to bring new phans to the phranchise. It’s a cult series, with a slow trickle of people who find these philms, yet they remain eternally devoted to them. I think Phantasm is just phine as it is, and I’m really glad I made this journey.
Related posts:
• No. 1 Phantasm (1979)
• No. 2 Phantasm II (1988)
• No. 3 Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
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