So much average

Just so...so bad

Fantastic!

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I admit...I'm writing this review and still have 25 minutes of the movie left to watch - however I know things are not going to change. The Phantasm series descended into an incoherent mess from part 3 onwards. The first was a great horror film...the second though not being many people's favourite, took it in a more action and fun direction. It captured 80's cult horror well - now to be honest even after these 2 films you are left scratching your head at the plot - I don't even think the director had a totality in his head. But it was watchable and you could make sense of it loosely. Phantasm will have its die hard fans who love all the sequels but from 3 onwards it digs itself deeper and deeper with each scene into utter confusion. How difficult would it be to have at least some through line. Each scene just becomes a surreal set piece sometimes completely disconnected with even the scene before it, and within 2 months of watching those sequels I can't really remember anything. Ravager just continues in that vein with one surreal disconnected scene after another.....and then just thrown in for variety, some more totally bizarre and surreal scenes thrown in. You need some kind of plot or logic in a film, even one which is fantastical or surreal or you just get left with nothing. I'm sure within a week I won't remember a single thing. Should have quit after part 2

This is for the 2016 Phantasm Ravager and not the superior Phantasm which Amazon has lumped together in Reviews.The film gives us a recap of Reggie's (Reggie Bannister) battle against The Tallman (Angus Scrimm), his silver spheres and his quest to find Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and maybe his brother. The film has the action taking place in various times and dimensions, jumping from one to the other at random. These include: The desert scene, the hospital, the new destroyed world, and the nether world. Clearly the Tallman is in charge of everything and the whole film was rather meaningless as neither Reggie nor the audience ever know what is real and what is not.The film was more about creating scenes then any attempt of creating a meaningful plot. I found it to be a confused mess. I did not nearly enjoy this as much as my peers and wonder if we watched the same confused mess.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity

Looking at some of the reviews of the film on IMDb it's obvious this film is like Marmite you either like it out loath it, there's no middle ground. I'm so glad to say I'm in the "like it" bleachers. For me, when I watch a Phantasm movie I get a silly smile on my face and feel instantly at home, this instalment was no exception - A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL INVOLVED - your hard work is appreciated.The thing with Phantasm way back in 1979 it was exactly the same way and a lot of people just didn't "Get It". This is the majorly brilliant thing about the film and the series... you're not meant to get it... you're meant to reach out and just about grasp it... only for it to change and slip away from your grasp at the last second.I noticed a few reviews were complaining that there was no real resolve... this is one of those stories where there will never be a resolution. As the Tall Man says in the film, there are hundreds of thousands of him in hundreds of thousands of different dimensions. This means that there's also hundreds of thousands of Reggie, Mike and Jody. This is alluded to in the Dawn/Jane character and when Mike visits Reggie in the hospital and tries to describe the theory behind dimension hopping. So Reggie's dreams aren't really dreams at all. Then when you enter the Chaos Theory into the mix then every dimension should have a different outcome and conclusion to another. To get this film to a conclusion would mean killing all the Tall Men, which is an impossibility and because of the limitations our heroes have it would've been a slap in the face if they had reached a conclusion. However, the duel ending tells the viewer that no matter what happens and what you may face you have to fight - the future is in your hands.Though Don Coscarelli has handed the Director's chair over to David Hartman there is an air of the original film throughout this one. Hartman is also quite brilliant when it comes to segues as he effortlessly and easily slides from one reality to another. The major drawback and flaw to the movie are that it's filmed on digital media - I hate digital film as it can sometimes feel soulless and there are sections in this movie that have that feel and it is a digital rendition issue rather than directorial one; since it's visual you can literally see it.Yes, the special effects aren't on par with bigger budget films and I do wish Hartman had used wet-effects for the body and head explosions as they will always look more realistic, especially with the blood splatter and misting, than CGI.However, these are only small issues as they don't really disturb the viewer's enjoyment (if you're in that group) too much.If you've watched the series then you may enjoy this... or you may not. Though if you've not seen any of the series then fo yourself a favour and get the original movie and if you enjoy that then continue through the series.

I wish Coscarelli returned to direct this. The bad pacing, acting and overall shoddy directing distract from a very cool script and some fine cinematography and no-budget FX.I like how the ending was poetic and a bit of a mindf*ck, tying back to the original film's. This was sorta The Force Awakens for the Horror B-movie genre. After 30 years, it all wraps together, but unlike that really uneven box office hit, Ravager actually ties back to ALL of the previous films and has the influence and blessing of the original creator. And the original Phantasm is fun and eerie, but it was far from a masterpiece so I'm not so offended with the weakness of this last film. If this series went mainstream, we would never have gotten a clear and logical ending with ALL of the original cast reuniting like this. Now at least if they reboot it, the original universe won't be effected or tarnished.