For a few years now we’ve been waiting to learn more about Don Coscarelli’s last foray into his Phantasm franchise, but the horror director has been pretty tight lipped when discussing future plans – even denying the existence of Phantasm V: Ravager not too long ago. Can you blame him? Fans have eagerly been awaiting Coscarelli’s last “hoorah” concerning his most fabled property, and there was no reason to open up the floodgate of questions that a fifth film would create – until now.
A few days ago reports of Phantasm V: Ravager surfaced on a few major horror websites, but there was still a smidgen of speculation. Well, consider that doubt completely unnecessary, because we’ve now got the first trailer for David Hartman’s fifth and final Phantasm movie – final as in “if they don’t remake or reboot the franchise somewhere down the road.”
For those of you confused by Hartman’s name, yes, the news is correct. Don Coscarelli wrote the script for Phantasm V: Ravager and and is serving as producer, but long time collaborator David Hartman will be your fearless director this time around – a first for the franchise. Here’s what Don had to say about the switch:
“I felt it was time to let someone else play with my train set. David and I go back to my film Bubba Ho-Tep. He did terrific visual effects on that, and more recently created a wild animated sequence and some amazing visual effects in my most recent film, John Dies at the End. Our aesthetics are in sync and he’s quite an experienced director in his own right.”
Hartman himself weighed in on the project, commenting on what it’s like to be closing Coscarelli’s franchise:
“Having worked with Don before, and being a huge fan of the entire Phantasm franchise, it was a great honor to do Ravager with him,” said Hartman. “This film is a real turning point in the series. There’s real closure for the core characters that I hope fans will respond to.”
While it’s confirmed that Reggie Bannister, Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Kat Lester, and Angus Scrimm will ALL be returning, and while Coscarelli teased that for the first time we’ll get an extended scene on the Tall Man’s home world – I’m still not 100% sold. The trailer is put together in a rushed sort of manner that really exhibits a, um, questionable vibe. The whole franchise has been built on independent fundamentals, and I absolutely ADORE Phantasm (my pushing got it on our Top 100 Horror Films list here at WGTC), but this trailer feels a bit hokey to me. Am I being too critical? Why don’t you guys check out the trailer for Phantasm V: Ravager below and convince me that there’s nothing to worry about?
