Phantasm IV: Oblivion Review (Film, 1998) #31DaysofHorror
content warning: gore, animal abuse, death by suicide, gun violence, nudity
Phantasm IV: Oblivion is the fourth entry in the long-running Phantasm series. The actual history of production makes the passage of time a significant part of the story. The original debuted in 1979. Nine years later, Phantasm II came out; six years later, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead; four years later, Phantasm IV: Oblivion. In the world of the story, time has barely passed. Most of the films pick up immediately after the last story and go running off in a new direction. In reality, 19 years have passed. People change a lot in 19 years and that’s a powerful tool to use in a film series set in and around graveyards, mausoleums, and the nature of life and death.
This is the first sequel that does not literally pick up where the last story left off. Instead, we get a fast cut montage of different moments throughout the series while The Tall Man stalks the mausoleum and Mike drives a hearse. Then, there’s a voiceover from Reggie recapping a select history of the series. It is quite refreshing to have a clear recap of events that bring focus to the story. It does eventually return to Reggie’s moment at the end of the last film, pinned to a wall by the Sentinels in the mausoleum.
Phantasm IV: Oblivion is the first entry in the series to use significant computer generated effects. Considering the budget of most of the series and where this technology was in the mid-90s, it actually looks pretty good. A swarm of Sentinels has just the right amount of depth as it races towards the camera. The effects on the series have always been high quality. The computer graphics allow for more of the fantastical elements of the series to be showcased onscreen.
One of the hallmarks of the Phantasm series is the use of b-roll footage. Writer/director Don Coscarelli goes back with each sequel and layers in more meaning with previously unused footage. So much of Phantasm IV: Oblivion’s narrative is about reconciling the present with the past that these scenes standout far more than they usually do. They’re largely idyllic scenes of small town life with Mike, Jody, and Reggie that get recontextualized with additional footage of The Tall Man doing something that disregards the value of everyday life.
While the core characters in the film have split up before, Phantasm IV marks the first time that they’re not starting their adventure together. Mike fled from the group at the end of the third film, searching for answers about his physical transformation. Jody got pulled away in his orb form and Reggie got left behind. They all have unfinished business with The Tall Man, but splitting up like this has never helped with the fight. The Tall Man can seemingly appear anywhere he wants. He is limited to one location at a time. Splitting up means the villain that they’ve never been able to subdue without a strong team working together can target them one by one.
The greatest danger here is not The Tall Man himself but the progress of time. His minions, the unfortunate side effect of the process that turns the spirits of people into the Sentinels, have grown so large in number that they’ve safely been able to grow and take on their final forms. They do not stay small forever. They grow to the size of adults and gain the ability to mask as regular humans. The fear of the unknown, the inability to distinguish reality from fantasy, takes on a new level of danger here. It seems The Tall Man only requires time to make his plans come to fruition.
Time impacts us all. For Jody, the longer he spends as a Sentinel, the less desire he has to actually interact with his old friend and brother. For Reggie, he grows more used to his identity as a soldier and even starts to posture as an action star with cheesy one-liners to help him cope with his new life. For Mike, the changes are the most radical. Time loses its meaning as he gets closer to The Tall Man. He begins to have flashbacks to what could only be past lives. The Tall Man appears more and more in his memories, making him question the very nature of reality as we know it. If the Tall Man has always been there, watching, altering the progression of time and reality, how can any of our linear understanding of the passage of time and aging be true?
Phantasm IV: Oblivion is the most philosophical entry in the series. It’s a return to the far more experimental origins of the series without abandoning the action and world building that made the series a cult classic.
Phantasm IV: Oblivion is streaming on Shudder.
