Nice effects though.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

A quote from IMDb trivia for "Phantasm III": "Don Coscarelli reportedly admitted during filming that he had run out of ideas after finishing the script for this sequel and had no clue which direction would the story take in case there was a fourth Phantasm movie. He jokingly added that if a Phantasm IV was ever filmed, it would actually be "just to make money out of it"."Another quote from IMDb trivia but for "Phantasm IV": "In a 1998 interview, writer director Don Coscarelli stated Phantasm IV was being filmed "just to make money out of the series"."When "Phantasm IV" came out, nearly 20 years had passed since the first film in the series. And, oddly, in the second and third films, the star was not Mike (who was clearly the star in the first one) but Reggie. This one, in contrast to the last two, features more Mike, as he battles through time and space to battle The Tall Man. And, the film cuts back and forth between Mike and Reggie in their quest. So in one scene, Reggie might be fighting zombie cops and in the next, Mike's back in the US Civil War days! It is a bit confusing...but different to say the least.Compared to the previous installments, this Phantasm is more visceral--with several 'EWWWW, Yuck!' scenes. So, if you like gory effects that make your skin crawl, this one should please you. On the other hand, this installment felt like a HUGE step backwards for me. First, the wonderful new characters introduced in the last film (Tim and Rocky) were never seen nor talked about...a big mistake as they made the third film every bit as good as the first. Second, the final portion of the story is simply a confusing mess. I agree with the filmmaker...this one was just done for the money and is a rather poor film in most every way.

Here we have it. The last Phantasm film. This time round things are a lot more reserved, as our heroes kind of get to the bottom of things. Michael finds himself out in the desert with the Tall Man, with Reggie not far behind. Jody's back too, guiding Reggie and Michael, but can he be trusted? We finally find out where the Tall Man comes from, and why he's so interested in Michael. Reggie's basically here to provide the action while Michael confronts the Tall Man. I read somewhere there wasn't a lot of money to make this film and you can tell. However, it's a lot moodier than the last two, and does provide a semi-satisfying end to the series. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Although it's not entirely made clear, I thought that what the ending meant was that Michael, who was already shown as being very clingy to Jody, couldn't quite get over Jody dying and had created this whole world around him where the Tall Man was stealing corpses (and therefore also stealing Jody). The Tall Man was doing something awful with the corpses, and to Michael it was as if the dead (including Jody) could not find peace in the afterlife. Michael was completely in denial about it all, but when the Tall Man says 'It was all in his head' and then we cut to a young Michael in the van with Reggie, we hear Jody whispering. This time, Michael denies he heard it, finally accepting that Jody is dead. Note that this is the only film that does not end in a cliffhanger too.

Lots of mixed views and emotions on this final(so far) Phantasm film. I am afraid that though I liked many of the components of the film, the film as a whole was somewhat disappointing. Perhaps I just don't get all that Don Coscarelli is trying to do or perhaps Coscarelli doesn't understand what is the eventual end to such an openly ambiguous story. Some reviewers seemed to really get a lot out of the vague ending, but the fact is this and quite clear - no one can say for sure what happens and give substantial evidence to support it. That's fine. I like a film that tries and make one think, but sometimes that veneer can only mask shortcomings of a film and director and script as well. I believe Phantasm IV falls into both of those categories. The story picks up right where Phantasm III ends and Reggie is spared for a truly ridiculous reason(as later he is targeted whilst nothing substantially has happened in the plot). Michael takes "roots" in the desert to await his showdown with the Tall Man after trying to commit suicide. He then enters a time portal to the beginnings of the Tall Man in the Civil war era as a doctor. I found this line of storytelling interesting, but it never really explained much to me. I had so many questions at the end of the film. There are some truly horrific scenes like the one where Reggie deals with a super highway patrolman. Reggie and a beautiful girl entwined in some ridiculous plot twists. Scads of flashbacks from the over-shot first Phantasm film incorporated into this film to try and make sense out of the story and perhaps contribute to some continuum of time story. Coscarelli as always has an eye for settings and creates bleak, depressing places with the best. The action scenes are taut and tense. Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, and Bill Thornbury as Mike and Jody are back, and Angus Scrimm steals every scene he is in once again - and this time around actually gets to flex some acting muscle. I wish I got out of this what others have but really hope that a fifth installment comes while Scrimm is still with us. Without him, this series would have floundered some time ago.

This movie keeps on getting better and better by the minute! Mike(A. Michael Baldwin) and Reggie(Reggie Bannister) keeps on trailing the sinister Tall Man(Angus Scrimm). Every time they go after him, they keep on finding things that weakens him. Time after time Reggie finds something, so did Mike. On the last movie, one of the silver spheres attacked the Tall Man was Mike's brother Jody. Not only Reggie was a Ice Cream truck driver, he was also a musician on the side. And he encountered the silver spheres himself. When he was spending the night with a woman, she later had spheres for breast. That was very freaky. All the other footages from the last three movies have been very helpful. The encounters, the people, and the unstoppable evil that constantly plagues the town that they are in. They remember that the sphere were not only weapons, they can be used as a key to open the portals. I liked the part when the ball was used to take out the minions of the Tall Man. When Reggie left in the Ice Cream truck, the question remains, "Is it over?" The movie puts the "I" in Intensity, out of all the other horror movies, Phantasm is tops! 5 stars!