I've now seen it twice and I really loved Ravager. Yes, it was made with modest resources, and that is visible, but it accomplishes all of the important things a film in this series should accomplish. It explores a story about how fear manifests when faced with terribly difficult realities.
I love how the first film is about a young person coping with the deaths of their family, and Ravager is about an aging person coping with the loss of their memories as they face death. I love that full-circle, complementary nature of it. Without spoiling, I love that the Tall Man undergoes a real kind of transformation in it. In fact, it might be the most humanistic film in the whole series.
I just really think the movie was made with real care and understanding of the heart of Phantasm. I'd much rather see a low- budget film that really gets it, than a higher-budget film that doesn't.
So, in summary, Ravager is totally in the spirit of the films and gives tons to think about. If you're watching it and just griping about CGI, you're probably not watching Phantasm for what I consider the right reasons. This is really a film for people who love the first four films, and for us, it is a solid, sentimental payoff.
I really appreciated all four previous films and now I love the fifth as well.
And if you're writing a review that treats the series as literal narrative, and you are complaining that your literal narrative questions were not answered, please back away from the Phantasm movies slowly, because you are likely to trip over your own shoelaces.
I love how the first film is about a young person coping with the deaths of their family, and Ravager is about an aging person coping with the loss of their memories as they face death. I love that full-circle, complementary nature of it. Without spoiling, I love that the Tall Man undergoes a real kind of transformation in it. In fact, it might be the most humanistic film in the whole series.
I just really think the movie was made with real care and understanding of the heart of Phantasm. I'd much rather see a low- budget film that really gets it, than a higher-budget film that doesn't.
So, in summary, Ravager is totally in the spirit of the films and gives tons to think about. If you're watching it and just griping about CGI, you're probably not watching Phantasm for what I consider the right reasons. This is really a film for people who love the first four films, and for us, it is a solid, sentimental payoff.
I really appreciated all four previous films and now I love the fifth as well.
And if you're writing a review that treats the series as literal narrative, and you are complaining that your literal narrative questions were not answered, please back away from the Phantasm movies slowly, because you are likely to trip over your own shoelaces.