Movie Review - Phantasm Ravager

Phantasm Ravager

2016

Silver Sphere Corporation / Well Go USA Entertainment

7.75 / 10

Looking at some of the reviews of the film on IMDb it's obvious this film is like Marmite you either like it out loath it, there's no middle ground.  I'm so glad to say I'm in the "like it" bleachers.  For me, when I watch a Phantasm movie I get a silly smile on my face and feel instantly at home, this instalment was no exception - A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL INVOLVED - your hard work is appreciated.

The thing with Phantasm way back in 1979 it was exactly the same way and a lot of people just didn't "Get It".  This is the majorly brilliant thing about the film and the series... you're not meant to get it... you're meant to reach out and just about grasp it... only for it to change and slip away from your grasp at the last second.

I noticed a few reviews were complaining that there was no real resolve... this is one of those stories where there will never be a resolution.  As the Tall Man says in the film, there are hundreds of thousands of him in hundreds of thousands of different dimensions.  This means that there's also hundreds of thousands of Reggie, Mike and Jody.  This is alluded to in the Dawn/Jane character and when Mike visits Reggie in the hospital and tries to describe the theory behind dimension hopping.  So Reggie's dreams aren't really dreams at all.  Then when you enter the Chaos Theory into the mix then every dimension should have a different outcome and conclusion to another.  To get this film to a conclusion would mean killing all the Tall Men, which is an impossibility and because of the limitations our heroes have it would've been a slap in the face if they had reached a conclusion.  However, the duel ending tells the viewer that no matter what happens and what you may face you have to fight - the future is in your hands.

Though Don Coscarelli has handed the Director's chair over to David Hartman there is an air of the original film throughout this one.  Hartman is also quite brilliant when it comes to segues as he effortlessly and easily slides from one reality to another.  The major drawback and flaw to the movie are that it's filmed on digital media - I hate digital film as it can sometimes feel soulless and there are sections in this movie that have that feel and it is a digital rendition issue rather than directorial one; since it's visual you can literally see it.

Yes, the special effects aren't on par with bigger budget films and I do wish Hartman had used wet-effects for the body and head explosions as they will always look more realistic, especially with the blood splatter and misting, than CGI.

However, these are only small issues as they don't really disturb the viewer's enjoyment (if you're in that group) too much.

If you've watched the series then you may enjoy this... or you may not.  Though if you've not seen any of the series then fo yourself a favour and get the original movie and if you enjoy that then continue through the series.