Coscarelli (1998-2002)

1998 - Phantasm IV: Oblivion - A welcome return to the surrealistic style of P1 and a welcome return of the Reg-Mike friendship started in P2. The emptiness of the world of P4 is subtle. Coscarelli doesn't announce it, but by the end of the film it's fairly clear that the Tall Man has been consuming the country unabated, despite 20 years worth of interference from Reg and Mike. There are only six characters in the entire film, and only two (one?) are actual human beings. Tantalizing glimpses of potential futures, definite pasts, blurry faces, and the psychic from P1 all add to the fun. A bittersweet, but appropriate, ending to the series (if this is indeed the last).

2002 - Bubba Ho-Tep - Hellishly good idea for a movie, though executed a tad slowly. This is probably due to stretching out a short story into a full movie. Bruce Campbell absolutely disappears into his role. I love the design of the mummy and the fact that he speaks in hieroglyphs. It's also nice to see Joe R. Lansdale get some movie love; he's one of the best horror writers no one knows about. I wasn't blown away by this movie as I was expecting to be, but it was a lot of fun.

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