Merrily we roll along, moving to the fifth movie in the Phantasm series. Coming out all the way in 2016, this movie hails from eighteen years after the last sequel, so there's been a hefty passage of time between these movies. The original movie came out in 1979, so that's almost 40 years before this movie. Time flies when you're having fun, right? This movie is infamous for being the only Phantasm flick not directed by Don Coscarelli and also for being actor Angus Scrimm's final performance as the Tall Man.
This movie takes place across multiple timelines. 2013 Reggie Bannister is in a home, with doctors saying he's suffering from dementia, and he's recalling what has transpired in his life that led him to this point. He flashes back to a time soon after the events of the fourth movie, then back to the time of the first movie, then to a dimension outside of time where the Tall Man tells him he can get back everything he's lost as long as he agrees to some terms. The Tall Man doesn't strike me as the most reliable person, though, so I'm thinking it would be best for Reggie to turn down this offer, no matter how tempting it might be.
Like the other sequels, this movie features clips from the previous films, functioning as flashbacks to let us see what has come before. The multiple timelines and altered realities can get confusing at times, but by now the series has become something of a jumbled mess anyway. Even Reggie's character is confused about what's going on, and he's IN the movie, so there's not much hope for those of us just trying to follow along at home.
Angus Scrimm is great as always, keeping it creepy and classy (rest in peace, sir, and thanks for the memories) and Reggie Bannister does a good job as well playing the slightly sleazy but still stalwart hero. There's some cool gore scenes. The killer silver spheres are cool as ever. I also enjoyed the in joke about how in one timeline Reggie has been kept on ice for over a decade by one of the Tall Man's contraptions, because the movie was kept on ice for over a decade too while the filmmakers tried to get it made.
Once the movie really ratchets up the whole "jumping back and forth across timelines" crap, it can really be a pain in the ass to figure out what's going on, and I pretty much gave up on being able to figure out what was real and what wasn't. I've had relatives who suffered from dementia, and it must be terrifying not knowing if what's going on is reality or not. That managed to make the plot device creepy for me where it might have otherwise been just annoying.
It almost feels like the plots of these movies have followed me throughout the stages of my life. The original movie featured things that scared little kid me, the second and third would scare me more as a teenager, and on to now, with the last movie featuring dementia, something that scares me more and more as I move on toward old age. At this point, the characters kind of feel like old friends.
The first movie came out two years before I was born, so I've never lived in a world without Phantasm in it. It's affected a lot of people, I suspect. I was watching the third movie while the maintenance guy from my apartment complex was in my apartment making some repairs, and he noticed it on the screen and said "hey, it's Phantasm! The Tall Man!" and then he proceeded to tell me about how he remembers watching the first movie with his dad when he was a kid. I love that. As much shit as I get for being a creepy person for watching so many horror movies, it seems like horror movies have been positive influences in other people's lives, too. Thanks for the memories, Phantasm! Almost 40 years of scares and laughs! Now THAT'S impressive.
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