Phantasm IV: Oblivion
Short description
Picking up immediately after the previous installment, this science fiction horror film follows Mike as he travels through time and different dimensions to uncover the origins of the Tall Man and the truth behind his brother's death. While Mike searches for clues about his enemy's past, Reggie fights against undead legions and spheres to find him. Their efforts to stop the Tall Man's war against humanity lead them through a portal where they encounter the antagonist's former identity as a surgeon and occult student.
Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, this was his fifth feature film and the fourth in the Phantasm series, following the 1994 entry Lord of the Dead. The movie stars Angus Scrimm, who plays both the Tall Man and Dr. Jebediah Morningside, alongside A. Michael Baldwin as Mike and Reggie Bannister as Reggie. The cast also includes Bill Thornbury, Heidi Marnhout, and Bob Ivy.
The film has received mixed to mediocre reactions from viewers and professionals. It holds a rating of 5.5/10 on IMDb based on 9,100 votes and a 5.2/10 on TMDB from 240 votes. These audience scores are slightly higher than the rating provided by film critics, which stands at 4.2/10 from 7 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film consists almost entirely of fragments from the previous three films, presented as Mike's memories.
- The film was shot in 23 days.
- Due to the small budget, the film crew was unable to block off one of the widest streets in Los Angeles, which, according to the plot, was supposed to be deserted. Instead, filming was scheduled for early morning after Thanksgiving, and the street was actually completely empty for 10 minutes.
- The reaction to the third film in the franchise, “Phantasm III” (Don Coscarelli, 1993), was mixed, and the reviews were quite critical. The director and screenwriter, Don Coscarelli, decided to move away from the emphasis on action and comedy and “return to the roots” by creating a low-budget “horror film” focused on the horrors and surreal aspects of what was happening – in the spirit of his film “Phantasm” (1978). On the other hand, materials from the original film that started the franchise, long thought lost, were discovered. The combination of these two factors predetermined the main features of the film “Phantasm IV: Oblivion.”
- The scene in which Reggie Bannister’s character stops at an abandoned motel in the desert was filmed without the owners’ permission. In reality, the building looked old and incredibly dilapidated, but it was tidied up for filming.
- While performing the stunt with the exploding police car, Bob Ivy suffered burns to his legs.
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