It’s hard to write a Phantasm review without stating my own personal history with the series, because the divisiveness of the later entries has certainly split fans into (at least) a few separate camps. I was introduced to the first movie in an old VHS tape I owned called Boogeymen, which was basically a compilation of some cool Horror movie scenes. (It’s odd to think that not only was the thing ever made at all, but it somehow managed to find distribution, considering all of the intellectual properties with different ownership.) I watched it at my grandparents’ house with my brother and cousins, and it immediately became one of my favorites. I can’t call it my favorite Horror movie, but it’s probably second or third. As a kid, I thought the second was as good of a movie as the first, but Mike’s replacement doesn’t fit the role, in retrospect. It’s still a very fun follow-up in the vein of Aliens. The third got under my skin with its annoying side-characters and off-putting comedy. The series has always had humor, in a strange combination of exploitation and art house, but the slapstick did not fit. I am, however, in the minority that I really enjoyed Oblivion, the fourth and final Phantasm film, at least for the past eighteen years.

This new movie, as everyone knows by now, is the first not to be directed by series creator, Don Coscarilli. He is replaced by David Hartmann, who does an uneven job at resurrecting the series. The film is at its best when it’s at its smallest, but he can’t restrain from going over-the-top at every possible turn. The CGI looks mostly terrible, and considering the budget (roughly the same as the original film, if I recall), it’s confounding that they’d even bother to try with such ambitious effects. (Since JJ Abrams produced the 4K restoration of the original, it makes me wish he'd put some of those Force Awakens bucks into the CG displayed here.) The whole movie suffers from this problem. As a viewer, you can’t help but ask yourself why? Why take such an odd direction with the series (more on that later)? Why didn’t Coscarilli direct, especially knowing that this would probably be the final installment in the series? Why does this movie even exist? The only possible answer to that question (at least that I’ve come up with after two viewings) is because the creative team behind it wanted to.

The story feels more like a one-off or fan film than a conclusion to the Phantasm storyline. I was shocked to find out that it wasn’t an adaptation of one of the many Phantasm comic book scripts I’ve heard were written, although the fact that Hartmann has a background in animation makes a lot of sense considering how he uses the camera. (That’s a compliment, by the way.) Whereas the original film(s) followed Mike, whose parents died in a car crash, Ravager examines Reggie, the everyman hero (whose superior to Ash in The Evil Dead, just sayin’) who is now hospitalized with early onset dementia. My interpretation of the series was always that Mike was in a coma following the car crash that killed his parents (perhaps Jody was comatose as well before passing away, hence the outcome of the original film). In a roundabout way, I can see it paralleling dementia as well. You know, after the franchise has slowly began to focus more and more on Reg with each instalment, it makes sense to give him more of a focus in this movie, or even to base a film around him. The problem with this is that it features so little of the other characters who populated this universe. Mike is still lost after the events of Oblivion, which is understandable, but we hardly see him at all in this movie. There is a scene leading into the third act where a new reality is introduced, one that makes much more sense for the series to go (very much in-line with Aliens or the post-apocalyptic direction the series was heading), where Reggie and Mike reunite (for, like, the third time in the movie, but whatever). This should have been where the film begins, and we follow these characters for an hour and a half. Mike doesn’t even have an arc in this movie. He’s just there to support Reggie. He was the Luke Skywalker of this series and he doesn’t even have a confrontation with The Tall Man! (Although there is an awesome reveal with the sentinel in his head, cheesy as it is.) If you thought we were done with goofy sidekicks after the third movie, well, think again. This one actually does much better than I remember the kid and Rocky from Lord of the Dead, but that’s mostly a compliment to the actor. He is forced to repeatedly call Reggie “baldy” and other gags that aren’t as funny as Hartmann was apparently banking on them being. The female lead’s performance is shaky at first, but by the end, I think she grows into her performance (presuming the third act was shot finally). The real issue is that the whole time, you’re waiting to see Mike and Reg’s journey come full-circle as they take out The Tall Man once and for all, but that finality just never comes. The series regulars all do surprisingly well in their respective roles. Reggie Bannister carries the weight of the entire movie on his shoulders. Mike has his moments of awkwardness, but I think he does pretty good overall. Angus Scrimm, who passed away shortly before this movie was released, is the true shock, in his few scenes. He has all the gravitas and vocal power that made him famous, even in failing health. There is a scene where he appears in a nursing home, looking (I’m trying to think of the least insulting way to put this) downright awful. I credit him for sticking with the movie to completion, but it’s hard to watch. The poor guy just looks so frail and defeated.

The climax and ending to the movie is far from what one might want (they’re both the worst in the series, if you ask me). However, there is a silver-lining in that even if the mythology isn’t necessarily expanded upon, it is clarified, just a bit. I like the explanation given for the series and the many realities it presents. Simple as they were, I think it was a very clever way of giving the long-time fans enough without revealing too much.

So, was the movie worth the wait? No, not at all. If you ask me, it’s clearly the worst entry in the series and as much of a disappointment as one might have expected it to be. With that said, I still find it worth watching, and enjoyed it for what it was. Call me a Phanboy or whatever, but there is something about seeing the gang back together for one last outing that feels special. You know how I said the movie is at its best when it’s at its most intimate? Well, there’s a scene where Reggie’s lodging with a girl he picks up on the road, and decides to write her a song to swoon her. The Tall Man is revealed (in my favorite shot of the movie) to be looking in from the woods outside along with a sentinel sphere that flies up to the window. That’s the Phantasm I fell in love with. There are some great moments in this film, but even when it falters, it's hard not to root for it, considering the uphill struggle it took to get here. As a conclusion to the Phantasm series, it's a misfire, but as the most expensive fan film ever(?), it's pretty impressive. Everyone involved clearly cared very deeply about it. The love is infectious, especially as someone who grew up watching these people. Who knows, with the wild ambitions of the cast and crew, we might see future Phantasm movies, with the exception of Angus Scrimm playing The Tall Man, but for now, this is what we’ve got to work with. To have received anything at all this late in the game is a real gift to fans, though, and even if it wound up being a mixed-bag, I’m happy to have gotten it.