“Phantasm: Ravager” is full of ambition, so much so that the special effects can’t quite keep up. The small Oregon town of the protagonists is at one point converted into Hell, a post-apocalyptic wasteland of hellfire and brimstone. And yet, it looks more like a Playstation 2 cutscene interspliced with human actors rummaging through for survival. Later on, a red planet world acts as the haven for the Tall Man (the late Angus Scrimm), again resembling a Playstation 2 cutscene that humans wandered into. It’s more visually pleasing seeing as how it’s not attempting to recreate a realistic town, but still plays victim to the middling CGI.
That’s not to say all of the special effects are subpar. The deadly spheres look amazing in action, floating through the sky briskly and attacking with furor! Only on occasion does their CGI seem apparent, mainly when being doused with CGI bullets. When they’re sinking their blades into their victims (be it humans or animals), the CGI is almost non-apparent, most likely a smooth blend of computer and practical effects. The blood, for the most part, looks authentic and gruesome, the gooey innards of the Tall Man and his dwarf zombies as slimy and effective as always.
The Tall Man and his minions are still hot on the trail of Reggie (Reggie Bannister), the lone survivor of the thirty-seven year hunt…or is he? Reggie awakens from what seems to be a nightmare to discover that Mike (A. Michael Baldwin), his godson of sorts, is alive and well, tending to him in a retirement home. He learns that he’s suffering from dementia, with it being heavily hinted that the events of this entire series have been nothing more but a figment of his imagination. This is a hard pill to swallow, with one never really buying into this notion, but I appreciate the attempt on director David Hartman’s part to reinstill the dream-like, surreal narrative back into the proceedings. The other sequels skimped a bit in this department, shocking considering it’s what helped in making the original a cult classic.
Hartman cuts back and forth between Reggie’s battle with dementia and his battle with the Tall Man. The latter is at first represented via storytelling on Reggie’s part, then cleverly segues into a branch of his mental state. As he runs through the retirement home looking to escape, he turns a corner and returns to the nightmarish world of the Tall Man. It is here he runs into ravagers, such as Chunk (Stephen Jutras) and Jane (Dawn Cody), the latter of which reminds him of a woman he previously met by the name of Dawn.
Dawn was one of the first victims in “Ravager” of the demonic sphere. She hitched a ride back home from Reggie, turning down his advances in the process. Reggie’s awkward flirting does indeed return and I was thankful it didn’t last. Just as he’s about to make headway with her, the Tall Man gets to her first. Who knew undertakers were such cock blockers? It is at this moment that he’s whisked back into his state of dementia, a common trope throughout.
That’s the thing with the “Phantasm” series: it’s as frustrating as it is enchanting. In the case of the original, Don Coscarelli made that frustration work in the film’s favor, complementing young Mike’s mental torment. Here, it feels too much like a cheap parlor trick, albeit one nicely crafted. When frustration sets in here, it’s not complementary to Reggie’s mental anguish, mostly because he acts too much like a badass to seem tormented. He’s too busy spouting off one-liners and mowing down spheres and dwarf zombies to be worried. Therefore, the drama is lacking.
Where Hartman stumbles in drama, he makes up for in ambition. The film is too energetic to be boring, even when it’s going through the motions. He finds the right balance between cozy familiarity and experimental netherworlds. Reggie returns to the creepy mortuary to do battle with familiar creatures, but also travels to new worlds to engage in fresh battles. He’s accompanied by both old and new companions. Even the spheres are innovative, morphing to the size of skyscrapers to demolish cities.
“Phantasm: Ravager” may never live up to its ambition, but it’s because of that ambition that it avoids sinking.
Final Rating: B-