Here we have it. The last Phantasm film. This time round things are a lot more reserved, as our heroes kind of get to the bottom of things. Michael finds himself out in the desert with the Tall Man, with Reggie not far behind. Jody's back too, guiding Reggie and Michael, but can he be trusted? We finally find out where the Tall Man comes from, and why he's so interested in Michael. Reggie's basically here to provide the action while Michael confronts the Tall Man. I read somewhere there wasn't a lot of money to make this film and you can tell. However, it's a lot moodier than the last two, and does provide a semi-satisfying end to the series. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Although it's not entirely made clear, I thought that what the ending meant was that Michael, who was already shown as being very clingy to Jody, couldn't quite get over Jody dying and had created this whole world around him where the Tall Man was stealing corpses (and therefore also stealing Jody). The Tall Man was doing something awful with the corpses, and to Michael it was as if the dead (including Jody) could not find peace in the afterlife. Michael was completely in denial about it all, but when the Tall Man says 'It was all in his head' and then we cut to a young Michael in the van with Reggie, we hear Jody whispering. This time, Michael denies he heard it, finally accepting that Jody is dead. Note that this is the only film that does not end in a cliffhanger too.
Review of Phantasm IV: Oblivion
