OctoBOOOOOOY: Phantasm: Ravager (2016)

And so we come to it at last - nearly forty years after the original movie's release, Don Coscarelli and co reunited, shortly before the death of Angus Scrimm, to deliver one last Phantasm movie.

True to the series, it's a finale that's shaggy, vague, and low budget but still manages to be emotionally satisfying.

OctoBOOOOOOY: Phantasm: OblIVion (1998)

Just as the turnaround between Phantasm III and Phantasm IV is the shortest in the overall series, it feels fitting to post these entries this close together.

Another reason to run these in close proximity – like part III, IV is the other entry in this series where I've found my opinion shifting with time. Unlike III, it doesn't bode quite as well here.

OctoBOOOOOOY: Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

Like its antagonist, Phantasm has proven itself a franchise that just doesn't want to stay dead. Despite still being popular with fans, Phantasm II was not the box office smash Universal had hoped for. Though they still provided funding – albeit less than before – they also refused to give the next movie theatrical distribution. So, the series began the next leg of its journey in the wild wasteland of straight to video.

For the record - this is it: this is the best any of the sequel subtitles will get.

OctoBOOOOOOY: Phantasm II (1988)

Welcome back for another venture back into the space gate and the weird world of Don Coscarelli's Phantasm. This time, nine years and one Hell of a cliffhanger later, we venture out of the surreal world of the first movie and into that strange horror frontier of sequels.

OctoBOOOOOOY - Phantasm (1979)

Seriously, if anyone has a better overall title for this, I'm open to suggestions.

This particular entry took a bit longer than I intended it to. Phantasm is a tricky movie for me to nail down in a straight-up review format. It's a rough, messy movie in a number of ways-and if we're being perfectly honest, that's a big part of what works about it for me.

It's That Time Again

It's been a...very long, and in some stretches seemingly endlessly unpleasant year.

But, we're finally here. October. The weather's cooling down, there's a crispness in the night air.

And oh yeah, Halloween. Also that.

Warner Bros' Akira, Round Who Is This For Again?

Good Lord, how long have I been away?

Seriously, there's dust everywhere.

Anyway, jokes aside, yes, it's been a while. I have a couple of projects coming down line, including trying something for October.


Also look for: final articles from my Gundam movies retrospective and the 'Sometimes They Come Back' Halloween run of 2015 (because otherwise that means I watched Nekromantik 2 and The Lost Boys: The Tribe for nothing. Try and guess which I regret more – you may be pleasantly surprised).
Anyway, that's for down the line. For today, I wish to discuss something that has remained about the same as it was when I last turned off the lights here.
That's right – Warner Bros is still trying to get that live action Akira adaptation off the ground.