The Films (3.5/5, 3.5/5)

READ TO THE END FOR A Blu-ray GIVEAWAY OF BOTH FILMS

    A couple of years back Well-Go USA released all of the Phantasm sequels in a huge box set. This was obviously a huge boon for the company, but as quick as it was released it was gone, and fans who didn't nab it could not get sequels numbered 3 and 4 individually (the first and "Ravager" were released individually at the time).  Now they are on Blu-ray in a way that fans can get them with ease.

    Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead picks right back up after the explosive conclusion to Phantasm II. Mike (now back with A. Michael Baldwin) hit the road after Alchemy and Liz bite it to continue chasing down the Tall Man, and find that Jody (Bill Thornbury) is joining them as a sphere who can take human form to advise them. Mike gets separated from Reggie who has to go it alone primarily in a town called Holtsville where he meets up with a creative little boy, and a young woman ready to fight.

    I've always had a special sort of love for Phantasm III. It's not as good as the first two, which is a shame seeing as this one features the return of Baldwin to the role of Mike. It was made in 1994, and feels like it takes on elements of certain 90's films. even Home Alone with the character of Tim as a violent Kevin McAllister. Of course, the series continues to throw narrative out the window, and we get frequent, dream within a dream logic that pervades many moments of the film. I love weird abstract Italian horror, so I just went along for the ride. Of course, the film began with action, and ended sort of mid-action. So it feels like a slice in the life of Reggie and Mike.

    Phantasm IV: Oblivion is a film I like based on how abstract and weird it is. It's as if, Coscarelli and company realized they had no money to make the Phantasm they wanted, so they decided to use old footage, and interesting concepts and just make something more of a head-trip, and that works for this series quite well. I have an interesting history with this one. I had ZERO idea when this came out in the late 90's. I was a teenager, and was in my bedroom channel surfing, I hit the Pay-Per-View Channels, which were scrambled. Then all of a sudden one of the channels is not scrambled, and there is a topless woman on screen.

     "FREE PORN" enters my teenage mind, about 10 seconds after that a pair of sentinels emerge from her breasts, and my mind switches to "FREE PHANTASM". Which works just about as well. About 2 minutes later the TV re-scrambled, and I was disappointed all over again, but then I went to the video store the next day, and got the finished film, and all was good.

    There really is almost no point in a synopsis here. But here is a vague attempt. Mike is trying to fix himself after the events that concluded III. He ends up the desert, the Tall Man in pursuit.  There are space gates, time travel, and Reggie is involved in mayhem on his own. It is all very weird, and ends up on a nostalgic conclusion that makes one wonder if it was all a dream, or questions the nature of the reality once more.

   If Phantasm films have all been about the nature of reality, then this one is probably the (il)logical conclusion of that style. The later Ravager one could assume made less sense, but it didn't have a connective flow like this one had. Some people have said Phantasm's III and IV are bad, I disagree, and have always enjoyed them. Ravager was the one I downright hated. Oblivion aside from the first film, is the most Phantasm-esque Phantasm, and 20 years later, I don't quite get it, but I always enjoy it.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Both Phantasm's III and IV are presented in very solid 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the films. Detail is excellent, colors pop, and I could not detect much in the way of issues.

    Audio is English DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The surround on the 5.1 is fine with decent balance. The 2.0 is also effective.

Extras (3.5/5)

    Extras for both include behind the scene featurettes, galleries, commentaries, and trailers.

Overall

    I think both of these Phantasm sequels are to use a term I loathe, quite underrated, and deserve a 2nd look by most fans. The Blu-ray's themselves look and sound quite solid, and have a decent slate of extras. RECOMMENDED.

Giveaway

This is simple. Send me an e-mail at Scott@eurocultav.com with the subject as "Phantasm Sequel Giveaway". Include your name and address. U.S. and Canada only, and tell me what Phantasm sequel AFTER TWO is your favorite. Contest Ends 9/19/2018