Phantasm 5: Ravager

Reg: "I think I'm losing it. I don't know what's real anymore."
Chunk: "Just suck it up and deal with it."

release year: 2016
genre: horror
viewing setting: home DVD 3/31/23

synopsis: This incoherent storyline becomes even more so by adding a future wasteland element.

impressions: I don't know what to say anymore. This series is clearly a labor of love between the director/creator and his actors, but the problem is that what they've put on the screen ultimately doesn't make much sense. It never has. I read somewhere that the idea was that they'd keep things vague and undefined so that each viewer could have their own interpreation. Whatever. That may well just be an excuse for sloppy plotting and execution. This one jumps between worlds and times, and much or all (or none) of it may be real. I did like the apocalyptic future scenes and idea, in which giant spheres float over ruined cities with a dark red sky in the background. But they didn't do much with the idea.

acting: The "main four" (two brothers, ice-cream-man-turned-fighter Reg, and the evil Tall Man) are all here once again. There's a new ally and the return of a couple of former ones.

final word: When I can't tell if what I'm watching is supposed to be real, or a dream, or a hallucination, or an alternate reality...then why should I care? This was a strange series that had some unique and scary moments and ideas, but it never came together in any coherent way.

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