Phantasm: Ravager

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With so much time between movies, I hardly remember anything from Phantasm, but I do recall I liked some of the films enough to watch this fifth and probably final part of the series. But it was completely disappointing. The movie is more like a collection of shorts that blend into each other as Reggie is either in a mental asylum, or a on his death bed or in a house trying to score with a redhead or in a hellish world taken over by Tall Man. Since it retains that dream quality of the previous movies, you never know what is real, especially since some of the scenes seem to be previously recorded but unreleased footage. Some extras are brought for no good reason and Angus has just a few scenes. The actor died this year, so RIP for him and probably for the series. The problem laid with the lack of emotional impact for any of these scenes with disjointed action and characters that never develop and one barely remembers from previous films. Frankly, a waste of time for everyone involved.

I'm happy to admit that I find the story lines to the Phantasm films a bit of a challenge to follow, their freewheeling, anything goes, dream-logic approach not being the easiest thing to grasp. But then that's all part of the series' charm, creator Don Coscarelli having forged an intriguing franchise that writes (and rewrites) its own rules and which constantly surprises. Ravager, the first Phantasm film not to be directed by Coscarelli (David Hartman takes the reins), fits the mould perfectly with a bizarre narrative that sees its unlikely hero Reggie (Reggie Bannister) flip-flopping between several distinctly different realities, the film never letting on which of these, if any, is his genuine existence. In one reality, Reggie is wandering the desert searching for long lost friend Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) when he encounters a woman called Dawn (Dawn Cody); in another, he is in hospital suffering from early onset dementia, suggesting that the Tall Man and his minions are a figment of his deteriorating mental state; Reggie also finds himself in a version of Earth where the Tall Man and his spheres are in control and where Mike is leading a desperate band of freedom fighters. Not a lot of this makes much sense, and little is really resolved by the end of the movie, but the fun is in seeing much-loved characters returning for one last adventure, in watching the silver spheres causing more bloody mayhem (in this chapter, a horse gets drilled, and an exploding spiky sphere blows someone's head apart!), and in seeing just how bonkers it all gets. Ravager has a gun-toting dwarf, sees Reggie out-driving some spheres while blasting at them with a hand cannon, and features spheres the height of skyscrapers, but it could have done with a bit more gore in the second half for my liking. Still, it's not a bad way to spend some time and should keep most avid Phans reasonably happy for the duration.

Phantasm: Ravager (2016) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The fifth and apparently final film in the series has Reggie (Reggie Bannister) walking through the desert where he is trying to locate Mike as well as The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). That's pretty much the only plot details you need to know about PHANTASM: RAVAGER, which turned out to be perhaps the best in the series next to the original. I really wasn't sure what to expect since there had been such a break in between films but director David Hartman has created a pretty interesting episode that will probably have some people scratching their heads but for the most part I thought it delivered the goods. I haven't been the biggest fan of the sequels, which is another reason why I was so shocked to see myself enjoying this one so much. The majority of the film takes place at three different settings so there's a lot of guessing as to what's really going on. The setting is constantly changing and you never know if you're in the afterlife, reality or some sort of Hell. I thought this really kept you into the picture but I must say that around the hour mark you start to wish there was something making sense or at least something pointing you into the direction that the film is going. The film really benefits from the cast members standing up and really delivering the best performances of the series. Bannister is extremely good once again in his role of Reggie and he's actually got quite a bit of acting to do here and he pulls it off very well. Scrimm doesn't get too much screen time but whenever he's on the screen you can't take your eyes off of him. Dawn Cody is also good in her small role and it was great seeing A. Michael Baldwin. The sphere is back as you'd expect and there's all sorts of gore that will keep fans happy. There's a lot more CGI here than in previous entries and while some of it is very poor it's not too distracting. PHANTASM: RAVAGER isn't going to appeal to everyone as I'm sure some will have an issue with the ending. I personally thought it was a great way to end the series.

Essentially a glorified fan film, Phantasm: Ravager brings all key cast members together with underwhelming results. Don Coscarelli's assured touch is sorely missed here, with veteran actors badly in need of direction. Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury in particular appear lost and unmotivated. Reggie Bannister gives an enthusiastic performance and still has a lot of charisma, but that's not enough when pitted against woefully poor dialogue and amateurish mise-en-scène. Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man talks way too much (he even unashamedly bargains with Reggie at one point) and fails to project much menace. Kathy Lester's cameo as Lady in Lavender serves no purpose. One wishes Gloria Lynn Henry had stepped in earlier on in the film. Dawn Cody, Daniel Roebuck and Daniel Schweiger barely register in their roles. Only Steven Jutras (Chunk) makes an impression, but his thinly-written character, essentially a mean parody of an 80's action hero, is given awful dialogue and remains unlikable. The Phantasm saga was never known for its plot coherence, relying on atmosphere, dream logic and assaulting the viewer with stylish visuals instead. Ravager has neither the visual splendor nor the suggestive, subliminal creepiness of the previous films. The story is a mere series of vignettes, with the befuddled Reggie zipping from one less-than-photogenic location to another. With its extremely erratic framing and frenetic editing Ravager doesn't fit stylistically with the previous films at all. The sound design is threadbare and new rendition of the classic Fred Myrow/Malcolm Seagrave theme is embarrassingly bad. The machismo, muscle car worship and bad language have taken place of eerie poetic minimalism that made the 1979 film a genre classic. Embarrassingly short on meaning, chock full of bad CGI (the lethal flying spheres have never looked so laughable), mismatched stock footage, shaky camera work and choppily-edited action scenes, Ravager is a chore to sit through. There's no journey for the original characters and the new characters are too sketchy to make them interesting. Phantasm:Ravager is bound to disappoint most Phans. It's unfortunate that Don Coscarelli has authorized this atrocity to be made and released. The low-key Phantasm:Oblivion was a more fitting final installment of the much-loved Phantasm saga.

Great way to wrap it all up, fun movie! I read some bad reviews, but what are they expecting? Angus Scrimm (RIP) was a real gem, and he will be missed as the Tall Man. Phantasm V Ravager had a lot of good scenes and some new characters. There are funny moments, punctuated with horror, and we're just as confused as Reggie the Ice Cream Man. Loved the weapons and '71 Baracuda! It's a fun jaunt down memory lane! Watch a Phantasm Marathon to catch up if you can. I highly recommend to Phantasm fans. But if you're new to Phantasm, you should still be able to enjoy Ravager. We get insight into the plague of the Tall Man, causing trouble in multiple universes and find out others are fighting him as well in what seems like a hopeless battle through space and time.

I haven't seen the originals since I was a kid, literally like, eighteen years ago! so I watched the first four again, to catch me up to speed because I forgot most of the details and boy I tell ya what, they were much better than I remember. Just finished watching this one, RaVager, and I was nervous about how a lot of people on here said it wasn't that good. Turns out it was great, for me at least. It had a low budget, true, it's special effects weren't the best you've ever seen but when has that ever been the case with these films, huh? for me, it was still very entertaining and great send off to what is now a favorite horror series of mine. Rented it just in case I wouldn't like it, but it is a definite buy now. If you loved the first four films (especially 1 and 4) like I did, you will want to see this at least once! Who knows, maybe you'll love it too.

I do not know where to begin with this disaster of a finale. What were they thinking to come up with this as a completion to an otherwise decent cult classic. Man I waited almost 20 years for this load of crap. And we are to believe poor old Reggie just had a case of dementia? This movie never even started with Reggie as a person of interest really in the beginning, now we are to swallow this BS that it was his dementia that caused the whole thing to happen... Hogwash. I sure wish they had of done this nicely, after all they had almost 20 years to get it right. So I leave it to you the viewer to make your own rating. After all this is just my personal opinion. Cheers.

Reggie (Reggie Bannister) is wandering through the desert seeking out his friend Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and the evil The Tall Man ( Angus Scrimm). Along his journey, he is hunted down by the dangerous spheres and stumbles upon the gorgeous Dawn (Dawn Cody). Out of the blue, he finds himself in an institution with Mike explaining that he has dementia and then in another dimension. Where is Mike? "Phantasm: Ravager" is a messy and unnecessary fifth return of this cult franchise. The story is confused and pointless, for the sorrow of the fans and in the end is hard to know where Mike is indeed, what is daydream and how The Tall Man would be defeated with his powers and his powerful army of spheres. My vote is four. Title (Brazil): Not Available.