Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Mike travels through time and dimensions to find the Tall Man's origins.

Director:

Don Coscarelli

Writers:

Don Coscarelli (characters), Don Coscarelli

Stars:

A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
A. Michael Baldwin	...	Mike
Reggie Bannister	...	Reggie
Bill Thornbury	...	Jody
Heidi Marnhout	...	Jennifer
Bob Ivy	...	Demon Trooper
Angus Scrimm	...	The Tall Man / Dr. Jebediah Morningside
Christopher L. Stone	...	Music & Dwarf Creatures (voice) (as Christopher Stone)
Chloe Kay	...	Background Player
Sylvia Flammer	...	Background Player
David Gasster	...	Background Player
Sasha Kassel	...	Background Player
Aidan Kassel	...	Background Player
Eric Avary	...	13th Morningside Volunteer Infantryman
Andy John	...	13th Morningside Volunteer Infantryman
George A. Craig	...	13th Morningside Volunteer Infantryman

Storyline

Taking off immediately where the last one ended, in this episode Mike travels across dimensions and time fleeing from the Tall Man, at the same time he tries to find the origins of his enemy, and what really happened the night that his brother died. Meanwhile, Reggie (accompanied by a beauty he picked up on the road) battles the spheres and the undead in a quest to find Mike before the Tall Man can complete his transformation.

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Plot Keywords:

ice cream truck | alien invasion | interdimensional being | supernatural being | zombie cop | 

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Taglines:

The Nightmare Lives On...But Humanity May Not!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence/gore and some strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Phantasm: Phorever

Filming Locations:

Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Starway International Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 11 mins) In the sequence showing Mike, Reggie, and Jody playing guitar and sitting on the hood of a car, the same actors A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Bill Thornbury are actually the ones playing the part. No younger actors were used at all.

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Goofs

(at around 54 mins) Reggie tells Jennifer that he has been chasing the Tall Man 'for several years". However, the events of the past three films (Phantasm, Phantasm II, and Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead) have been portrayed as directly continuous leading back to Mike being released from the mental hospital in Phantasm II with the events of the subsequent films taking place over the course of only a few months.

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Quotes

The Tall Man: Ice cream man, it's all in his head.

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Crazy Credits

THIS MOTION PICTURE IS PROTECTED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES. UNAUTHORIZED DUPLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, OR EXHIBITION MAY RESULT IN CIVIL LIABILITY, CRIMINAL PROSECUTION, AND THE WRATH OF THE TALL MAN.

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Connections

Featured in Movie Nights: Phantasm 3 and 4 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Have You Seen It?
Lyrics by Reggie Bannister
Performed by Reggie Bannister (as Reggie B) & the Jizz Wailin' Ya' Doggies
From the CD album "Fools Paradise"
Courtesy of Plan 10 Recordings
Executive Producer Terry J. Svejda
Produced by Doug Agee
Alpha Sound Services Geneva, Il.

User Reviews

What the.......?

This is one of my favorite series of movies. The other day, my wife, and I found ourselves watching all four 'Phantasms'. Unlike the 'Friday, the 13th' series, they all tried to be different, but at the same time be true to the concept. Even in the first movie, you walked away (in my case drove away since I saw it at a drive-in) saying to a point, what happened here? Didn't Reggie get killed, and Jody survive? That I think is part of the mystique of these movies. You find yourself discussing with your family, and friends what happened here. Hey, it came many times at at Christmas, and Thanksgiving at my house for quite a few years, NO KIDDING!

This one, I liked, but I'm a little disappointed with it. As I'm typing this up, I have the first one playing, and I still don't quite get IV. For one thing, the idea of explaining why the tall man doesn't die because he comes from different dimensions. Like 'Dr. Who', he travels through time, and space can appear at any time, or place. Okay, I'll buy that. But, why is he so hell-bent on capturing Mike? Does he have some kind of vendetta against Mike, and Jody's family? As Jody said in III,"seeing is easy, understanding takes a little more time." I'm getting a headache trying to understand. There must have been a ton of stuff on the cutting room floor, or someone found a great actor to play Mike from 1979, because a lot of this one bounces back to the first one as they try to tie all of this together.

I understand, unlike 'Star Wars', the complete story was not written out ahead of time, it was made up as it went as it went along. Don Coscarelli is good on keeping us guessing, and I see there one more coming, and judging by the title, this will be the last one, so PLEASE Mr. Coscarelli, If this is the last one, finish it up with style, don't keep me guessing!!!!