OblIVion would prove genuinely controversial, dividing Phans sharply over its relative merits. Diffuse and non-linear, it's simultaneously the most ambitious film in the series to date and the most low-key; the sublimely nightmarish opening sequence alone easily ranks among the best work Coscarelli's ever done, and yet this film utilizes fewer big effects than the others.

Once again, the action kicks off at the precise moment that the previous film concludes - damn, these are fun to watch back to back! Mike swipes a hearse and flees into the California desert, convinced that he's doomed but determined to fight to the bitter end and find some answers in the process; after some prodding from a disembodied Jody, Reggie reluctantly gives chase in his cherished Hemicuda.

Stripped down and almost unrelentingly dark, OblIVion's time-jumping narrative makes it the first film in the series that's absolutely guaranteed to baffle those who haven't seen the first three. Long-faithful Phans, however, are in for some real treats, not least of which is the revelation of the Tall Man's true identity... well, not quite, but at least we finally discover who he once was, even if the exact circumstances surrounding his transformation remain largely unknown.

Baldwin is particularly memorable in this installment, establishing Mike as a classic tragic hero, physically and emotionally battered but determined to go down swinging. Far and away the most impressive aspect of OblIVion is the way Coscarelli seamlessly incorporates a number of unused scenes from the original Phantasm as flashbacks - it's astounding to see Baldwin at the ages of twelve and thirty-two in the same film.

(Bannister and Scrimm, on the other hand, hardly seem to have aged at all.) This device is especially effective during the final sequence, in which the film doesn't so much end as dissolve, a significant departure from its cliffhanger predecessors.

Let me release you from this imperfect flesh...