Recruiting most of his staple players, Guest returns to the screen with his new film and presents a comedic look at the competitive world of mascots. With his trade-mark talking heads formula, combined with the behind the scenes access, Guest attempts to capture lightening in the same bottle that he's been recycling for the past 20 years. The film is essentially a poor man's WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and fails to recreate the spontaneity and sharp-wit of previous films.


Something seems wrong about this movie and it feels incredible lethargic. The snappy improvisation, that was once the backbone to his stories, has dwindled into a lazy series of ad-libs without any sense of cohesion or vibrance. The concept itself is too absurd to have any validity, and what made the previous films so wonderful was that their settings were grounded with plausible circumstances. The events were never the comedic focal point, but rather, the characters and their investment in said events is what provided the point of ridicule and frivolity. MASCOTS on the other hand seems to lampoon an event so ludicrous that it's hard to comprehend it being an actual thing.

The film was released directly through Netflix and when it was first announced it seemed like a perfect partnership. Theatrical releases aren't what they used to be and it's hard to imagine any of Guest's films surviving longer than a week or two at an arthouse cinema, and so an alliance with a major streaming service seemed like the perfect move... and so it's frustrating that the most wasn't made out of this opportunity.

The ensemble of players includes the return of Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, Ed Begley Jr, Jennifer Coolidge and Don Lake (amongst others), as well as a slate of newcomers including Chris O'Dowd, Susan Yeagley, Sarah Baker and Zach Woods. Clearly all of the above and consummate performers with a strong affinity for improv, and they each have some great moments throughout the film. Sadly the material they've been given is stale and laboured. Also sorely missing from the proceedings are Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Eugine Levy and Larry Miller.

MASCOTS is a misfire from Guest & Co, and may just signal the beginning of the end for what is clearly an exhausted formula, not to mention an exhausted director. It has it's moments and a few loosely scattered laughs, but overall it acts more like that tragic uncle who visits at Christmas and thinks he's a comedian. You feign a smile, force a giggle and feel relief when he's left.  
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Coscarelli's 2012 film JOHN DIES AT THE END and his 2002 BUBBA HO-TEP reminded us that there's plenty of fuel left in his tank and proved that he remains a genre director to be reckoned with. And despite those two films being 10-years apart they gave us a reason to be excited about a new PHANTASM. Were he to have invested as much energy and creative prowess into the new instalment then we were, indeed, in for a treat.

And here we have it; PHANTASM: RAVAGER.... a blemish on the face of the series. Yep. To say that it is a disappointment is an understatement, and what we've been given is a cheap and ugly lacklustre movie that may as well have been made for daytime television.

We catch up with the series protagonist, Reggie, as he wanders through a desolate desert wasteland. He's the same Reggie we came to love throughout the saga and he continues his search for his friend Mike while evading the ever-ominous Tallman. Nothing's changed and aside from the ravages of time the old feller is looking good. Of course it's great to see Reggie back on screen again and fans will no doubt be salivating at the sight, but the tragedy is that he's stuck in a low-rent film with awful cinematography, bland dialogue, token cameos and stodgy supporting performances.

From the get-go it is clear that this particular PHANTASM is not the work of Coscarelli and it was in fact directed by David Hartman whose career -up to this point – has been spent in animation. The Coscarelli nuance and glossy finish are missing, and the camera ricochets between characters like a blowfly at a barbecue. The narrative repeatedly shifts between parallel dimensions as Reggie wages his personal war against the Tall Man. The back-and-forth setting makes for a convoluted and irritating storyline that feels lazy and contrived. Coscarelli and Hartman have attempted to bring closure to the series by bending the storyline back, as to connect with the original film. It's a nobel convention that is, sadly, under developed and poorly executed.

Of course it must be noted that PHANTASM RAVAGER was Angus Scrimm's final film before his passing, and it is only fitting that his final on-screen performance is of the character he made so iconic. As a fan of the series there is definitely a warm-fuzzy feeling that comes with seeing Scrimm grace the screen one last time.... and the same goes with the fellow series favourites. The team are back together and that's a wonderful thing. What isn't wonderful, however, is the stodgy material they have to work with and the train-wreck of a movie they find themselves stuck in.

Now the questions remain: is this where PHANTASM ends? Does it have a future? And if so, should it be remade or reinvigorated with a story that builds upon the legacy that exists?