The Frighteners (1996)

Just so...so bad

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Michael J. Fox plays Frank Bannister, a paranormal investigator, after a near-death accident which killed his wife he's been able to see and communicate with ghosts. The small town he's living in in the grips of a plague of death, people are unexpectedly dying, all with the same symptoms of a crushed heart. Fox accidently stumbles on clues which slowly help him piece together what's going on. Along the way he discovers that he's more embroiled in things that he knew. I first watched this in cinema in the 90's, I thought it was great. A fun mix of dark supernatural thrills with tongue in cheek humour too. Watching this about 20 years later I still enjoyed this film. By today's CGI standards and refined productions this does look a little dated but it's still a fun film which has a great story, plot and delivery. Directed by Peter Jackson, this film came at an in-between period, going from low-budget films, via this to bigger epics like Lord of the Rings. He retains his ability to spin a good story - but when you are vested as a writer you would expect a certain narrative drive - which is delivered here. Danny Elfmann's score fits this movie so well, and gives the film a charming feeling - close your eyes and this could be a creepy Tim Burton film - Elfmann has that ability to turn cooky and creepy into charming and be recognised. The cast is great; Fox tries to remain straight while humour is all around - in fact his acting should be commended as he's delivering his lines alone a lot of the time and drives the film forward for the audience; Busey is a fitting nutcase, Coombes and Wallace play oddballs really well too; Alvarado plays the naive Dr Lucy well, a good love interest for Fox mixing clever with delicate - even the cameo's and small parts are done well - I loved seeing R. Lee Emery as the graveyard drill sergeant!I don't think this film got the credit it deserved when it was first released, and I'm surprised that even now it doesn't have a bigger cult following. I've brought it up in conversation before and people look at me with blank expressions. I enjoyed this film when I first saw it and again recently. It's definitely worth a watch; it's fairly family friendly now-a-days; it's in-offensive; it's got a good story; it's clever; and most of all, it's entertaining. I'm giving this a 8 out of 10.

The Frighteners has a fun story with interesting characters and excellent performances, but it seems sloppy and thrown together at times. The scary moments work well, but the humor falls flat. Still, it's enjoyable to watch.

Do some of you Believe in Ghosts? Well Knowing Japan, They are very superstitious, But I'm talking about Ghosts in movies... I know they are sometimes seen in Halloween, But There is one Ghost movie that is very... Interesting, The Frighteners, Now As you all know Peter Jackson is one of most Recognizable Directors in Hollywood, He did Movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, And his Remake of King Kong, But he also did projects that I thought where the guys Film-College experiments, This is one of his movies that I'd say was a Nexus of his Directing life, And Remember Michael J. Fox, He is in this movie I always thought he looked like Matt Damon back then, Also I have this movie on Blu-Ray while Mr Jackson has it on Laserdisc (While might have been the Prototypes to DVD's HD-DVD's and Blu-Rays)... First off I have to point out that This poster of the Movie is pretty Confusing then Scary, I mean WHAT THE HECK I'M I LOOKING AT HERE? This was the best you could come up with Peter Jackson? All we see is a Face of some strange Smiling Alien skull Pressing his face against a Wall of Fabric, Gives me no idea what the movie is about, Well seeming that Oliver Harper Review this movie, Don't know if the Critics from Channel Awesome have done this yet, But At least I'll be second place.I seen this movie many times in the past on when it was in the TV and on Blu-Ray... Well, I never thought Id say this on a Peter Jackson movie but... I thought it was an alright movie, Arthur McCartney might not have been into this movie but for me... Well you know, I found the Story interesting, Mr Fox was alright in it, There where some cleaver Ideas in this, using ghosts for exorcist profit was a original idea, And there are some Jump-Scars that would work for anyone that's never seen this before, But this movie does have problems, Some of the Jump-Scars will get old, And seeming it was made in the 90's the CGI would look dated, I found Heaven and Hell very strange, But I'll give this movie credit on the look of the ghosts, They look more Realistic in some strange way if we are able to see them, (YEAH TAKE THAT CASPER!!) I know there is a Novel of this movie that's based on the Original script, But there is an extended version of the movie that is included in Blu-Ray, Two disk special edition DVD's and possibly on the Laserdisc Special Edition, I seen the extended version and let me tell you, It's a lot better, has more to the story then the theatrical release, If this movie was released in the Halloween season, then it would have made more money out of it, But it's an Average Peter Jackson Movie from his Early Days of Movie making.As Oliver Harper once aid on his Review in this movie, You will return to it on a Regular bases!Here is a link to his Review of this movie, Now if you excuse me, I'm off to see is my Old TV down stares is not possessed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYI5KrZDjcA

Wow! Just watched this movie and what a trip it was!! I can't believe something as lame as Ghostbusters garnered all the attention while this gem was swept aside like the red-headed step-child. So many fantastic characters and twists and turns it made my head spin. I loved everything about this flick including the awesome special effects & the silly humour. Fox shone like he always does and the dude playing the insane FBI agent was brilliant!! Great story, wonderfully directed with great actors and a magic blend of hilarity, scariness, suspense, shocks and spookiness! I read some of the reviews here and can't believe how negative some of them are & the reasons they give for their negativity. eg "Oh boo hoo! It was awful coz the music sounded like some music I heard in another movie" and "Mr Jackson used CGI & expensive cameras and stuff & I don't think he should be allowed to, so I'm going to punish him with lower marks" etc etc Seriously? I think some people just love to be miserable.This is well worth seeing - it's just become one of my favourite movies. And now I just need to find (and buy) the Director's Cut for even more fun!