Phantasm Week Day 4: Phantasm OblIVion (Part of the Phantasm Collection) Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

Phantasm Oblivion is not a very good film, but it does boast some of the best special features in the entire Phantasm Collection.

Previous Days of Phantasm Week:

Day 1: Phantasm (1979)

Day 2: Phantasm II (1988)

Day 3: Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
THE FEATURES ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Death is No Escape: The Making of Phantasm IV: Oblivion (47m 38s, HD)

Another wonderful doc from the guys at Red Shirt Pictures. We begin with the story of the sequel that never happened, Phantasm 1999. We then move into the production and hear many stories of the troubles the cast and crew faced with a meager budget. This is a must for fans of the film.

Behind the Scenes Compilation (30m 25s, SD, 1.33:1)

Fly on the wall footage of the film being made.

Phantasm Sequels: Conceptual Art Gallery by John Zaharczuk (8m 36s, HD)

Here we see art from the failed sequel along with commentary from Zaharczuk.

Phantasm IV: Behind the Scenes (10m 48s, HD, 1.33:1)

More fly on the wall footage.

Promo (1m 33s, SD, 1.33:1)

Trailer (1m 42s, HD)

Longer version of the promo.

Behind the Scenes Still Gallery (4m, HD) (49 images)

Commentary with Don Coscarelli, Reggie Bannister, and Angus Scrimm

THE PACKAGING ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Note: This is part of the Phantasm Collection

The front cover is reversible with the plain silver sphere against a black background being the default cover.

The other side is the film’s theatrical poster.

The back cover gives us the stats and information about the disc and its contents.

The disc art is the same as the other discs in this set: a silver sphere with the title of the film.

The disc is REGION A (locked)

THE PICTURE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Outside of the 4K remaster of the first film, this is the best transfer of the set. There is a thick layer of grain that is very apparent throughout the nighttime scenes and stays with us during the daytime scenes. Detail is excellent and there is no hint of any digital manipulation. This is a beautiful transfer.

THE SOUND ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The surrounds get a nice work out here as the desert location provides some nice ambiance. The spheres get a nice representation here as they whiz by us. Dialogue is clean and clear.

THE FILM ⭐1/2

Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) has once again escaped from the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) who had begun to transform him. Leaving Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and his spherical brother, Jody (Bill Thornbury), as he travels through various dimensions and time in order to discover more about his nemesis and find out what really happened the night his brother died.

When people said that part four was the worst in the series, I had my doubts. I more or less liked the first three films and assumed that the fourth entry would live up to the previous three. Boy was I wrong.

The film takes place mostly in the desert, which means that we are looking at the same thing for much of the film. The film does wisely follow Michael this time. Even though I thought he was a weak link in part three, I can say that he is much better here.

The film has some great scenes in it that save the film from being outright terrible. The first is a scene with a zombie cop. The scene is high energy and ends with a great explosion. The second scene is the “boob orb” scene. The effects are outstanding here and the scene is incredibly entertaining.

It was also nice to see Angus Scrimm play someone nice. He is so scary and menacing as the Tall Man, that we forget the he is considered one of the nicest actors around. I wish that we got more scenes with this character than the brooding Michael scenes that take up a majority of the film.

ObIVion is a deeply flawed film that I had a bit of trouble getting through. The desert setting is dull and any time the film does pick up steam, the budget comes calling to remind the filmmakers that they can’t do what they really want because this film cost peanuts to make. I do wish that we had gotten the Phantasm 1999 that is talked about in the special features because that would have been the perfect way to end the series. While there are some nice scenes here, the film never gains the momentum that the other films were able to grasp.

OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Even though I didn’t like this film, I can still appreciate it for what it is. That being said, the film may not be that great, but this disc is outstanding. The picture quality is amazing and the sound is good as well. The special features are great with a lot of stories that I haven’t heard before including the failed sequel. A must for fans of the series and the film.

SCREENSHOTS CONTAIN SPOILERS! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!