Phantasm IV Oblivion is a 1998 horror film, a sequel to the Phantasm film series written and directed by Don Coscarelli, starring A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm.

The film opens where its predecessor left off. Mike flees from Boulton mortuary in the hearse, while Reggie is trapped inside by the Tall Man's spheres. However, the Tall Man decides to let Reggie go for the moment.

Mike's spheric brother Jody persuades a reluctant Reggie to go looking for Mike. On the way, Reggie runs into a police control. He is attacked by the police man who turns out to be a demonic creature but manages to escape after blowing up the police car. Later, he meets a woman called Jennifer, rescues from her overturned car and takes her to the next town. They stay the night at an abandoned motel and Reggie tells her the story of the Tall Man. Jennifer doesn't believe him and also rejects his advances. Having dreamed of Mike, Reggie wakes up and unbuttons Jennifer's nightshirt, discovering two spheres sticking in her breasts. As they fly out and attack him, he smashes one with a sledgehammer but is pinned to the wall by the other. In desperation he strikes his tuning fork and the sphere explodes. Jen grabs his leg but he smashes her with the hammer and leaves.

Mike, trying to uncover the mysteries of the Tall Man and to escape the transformation, drives through abandoned towns and remembers the last days before the Tall Man's arrival. The Tall Man appears in the back of the hearse and takes control of the car before he disappears into the coffin. Mike drives the hearse into Death Valley. Mike intends to force the Tall Man to a confrontation and writes his testament. In his dreams, he recalls the Tall Man operating on him, both in Boulton as well as in a civil war camp. In the morning, he hangs himself but the Tall tells him that death is no escape from him and the rope breaks. Having fallen to the ground, Mike rejects the Tall Man's outstretched hands and flees through the nearby dimensional gate. He finds himself at a 19th century colonial-style house with an earlier model of the gate inside. Mike meets a man resembling the Tall Man, who however welcomes him cordially and introduces himself as Jebediah Morningside. Jebediah wants to speak with Mike, who however is frightened and again escapes through the gate.

Back in Death Valley, Mike realises that he can move rocks by the power of his mind. Jody appears. Mike is distrustful and accuses his brother of having abandoned him. Jody defends his behaviour and disappears. Mike works on his car, using parts to build a makeshift sphere. Hoping that he might stop Jebedaiah from becoming the evil Tall Man, he again goes through a gate, but finds himself in a deserted city and escapes the Tall Man only with Jody's help.

Meanwhile, Reggie arrives at Death Valley and fights off a group of dwarves when Mike and Jody appear through a gate. Mike embraces Reggie and tells him not to trust Jody. Reggie passes Mike the tuning fork, as the two brothers pass through the gate, appearing in Jebediah's house. Invisible to the old man, they witness how he perfects his craft and approaches the gate. Mike tries to stab him before he can pass through but misses him, as they are in another dimension. Jebedaiah vanishes and moments later the evil Tall Man emerges from the gate.

Mike escapes through the gate, finding himself in a cemetery. He is attacked and overpowered by his brother and awakes on mortuary slab. Jody holds him as the Tall Man begins operating. A panicking Mike strikes the tuning fork, thus immobilising his opponents. Mike then kills Jody with a sphere but the Tall Man revives and telekinetically takes the fork from Mike. Again, Mike escapes through the gate back to Death Valley, pursued by the Tall Man. Reggie tries to shoot but the Tall Man but is overpowered. Mike summons the sphere he built. The Tall Man is struck but pulls out the sphere again. At that moment, Mike activates the hearse's motor, causing the car to explode and destroy the Tall Man. However, a new Tall Man immediately comes through the gate, pulls the golden sphere from Mike's head and disappears again. As Mike is close to death, Reggie arms himself and enters the gate, determined to overcome the Tall Man. Mike sees a childhood memory, climbing into Reggie's ice cream truck and driving off into the night. This indicates that when Reggie walked through the gate, he tore the fabric of time, creating another parallel universe, so he and Michael can restart the battle against the Tall Man. But this time, they've got something more powerful than a four-barreled shotgun...knowledge. Everytime when Reggie and Michael restart the battle, they'll come back with a little bit of knowledge that they need to defeat the Tall Man.

Cast

• Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man
• A. Michael Baldwin as Mike
• Reggie Bannister as Reggie
• Bill Thornbury as Jody
• Bob Ivy as Demon trooper
• Heidi Marnhout as Jennifer

Inception and possible sequel

Canadian film maker Roger Avary, a self-confessed hardcore fan of the Phantasm series, wrote an epic screenplay called "Phantasm 1999 A.D." as a sequel to Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead. It was set in a post-apocalyptic near future, featuring Bruce Campbell as a co-star. As the project ran into financing difficulties, Don Coscarelli wrote and directed this fourth installment as a pre-cursor to the project, using numerous outtakes from the preceding films. Avery also appeared in the film as one of the civil war soldiers. Despite these efforts, the budget for the sequel, now retitled Phantasm's End, could not be secured.

Rumours about a sequel were reignited in June 2007 by footage contained in Don Coscarelli's Farewell to The Alamo Drafthouse, featuring Angus Scrimm and A. Michael Baldwin in their roles.[1] However, a connection to a sequel has been denied by the actors.

DVD release

The film was released on Video and DVD in 1998 by MGM Home Entertainment. On 2008, Anchor Bay Entertainment released a special edition of the film. News reports said it would be the uncut version[2], but however, the special edition contains only the theatrical version (as did the MGM release).

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