Phantasm: Ravager (2016)



Movie Title: Phantasm: Ravager

Year Released: 2016

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1h 25min

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Horror

Director: David Hartman

Writer: Don Coscarelli and David Hartman

Starring: A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Dawn Cody, Gloria Lynne Henry, Stephen Jutras, Kathy Lester, Bill Thornbury, Daniel Roebuck, Daniel Schweiger, Cean Okada

Review: The Final Game Begins Now! Phantasm: Ravager is the fifth and final installment of the long-running Phantasm series.

Reggie (Reggie Bannister) finds himself searching desperately for his friend Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) while trying to survive the wrath of the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). I know after 4 Phantasm films, what else is new?

In many of the trailers throughout the series a "phantasm" has been defined as an illusion, ghost, specter, a figment of the imagination. This time around we investigate the possibility of this whole series stemming from the mind our lead character who's been suffering from dementia. Or could it be that there are countless alternative dimensions with countless alternative versions of our characters...and the dreaded Tall Man? Or is it all just a dream? A nightmare? Maybe both? Very interesting avenues for a horror franchise that never lacks in creativity.

The shame of Phantasm: Ravager is its very low budget. It's rather distracting this time, but that doesn't stop this epic final outing to go for broke and pull out all of the stops. I think what makes it work is its ideas. It makes you mull things over a bit and form your own conclusions and explanations without making it seem like the filmmakers didn't know what they were doing or just got lazy. It's nice to think about a movie rather than be hit over the head with what's happening or how your supposed to feel about it.

Sadly, this was Angus Scrimm's final film appearance. Even in his golden years he was still frightening as ever. He will forever be known as the Tall Man. Scrimm was a horror icon, and a wonderful actor that had screen presence to spare.

I'm not sure if this was the satisfying ending to the series that I was hoping for, but it definitely makes you reflect on all 5 films and almost 40 years of frights from the Phantasm franchise.

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: According to the book "Phantasm Exhumed," filming on Phantasm: Ravager first began in late 2008 where it was originally envisioned as a spinoff web-series about the Reggie character. This webisode footage was eventually expanded upon with new footage that featured appearances by main cast members to become feature-length.



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