The best sequel to the original. This movie implements philosophical overtones that the previous two films left out. While II and Lord of the Dead provided the necessary action that plot needed to develop, OblIVion actually made viewers think. The storyline also revealed a lot more than it physically displayed on-screen. The origins of the Tall Man were explained wonderfully. Angus Scrimm did a remarkable job of transforming his evil character into a nice lemonade offering old man, even if it was for only a few seconds. With characters jumping through dimensions and time, it was left for the viewer to determine why the characters where the way they were, and how they became that way. However, Coscarelli actually plots it out in a not so obvious way. It seems that the unused footage from the original film was intentionally left that way. Coscarelli tied in the 1979 scenes perfectly in conjuncture to the 1998 story as if the 19 year time difference was planned all along. Many viewers gave negative reviews to this film because it was not your typical slice em dice em horror flick. The two most common complaints have been that the movie didn't explain much and the original footage was worthless. If you think either of these two things, go watch a Friday the 13th movie where all you'll have to use your brain for is pressing "play" and "rewind." If this is the last Phantasm, so be it. If another one can be made to show what is already implied, that would be great too. Either way, this is one of the few movies that has passed the test of time with a quality product. 8 out of 10.