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The Frighteners (1996)
I mentioned this in the October is here... thread, and it's a good fit for this one, too.
As some of you know, I'm a sucker for concept films; and this one qualifies. Directed by Peter Jackson before he was Peter Jackson, The Frighteners is a supernatural thriller (kind of) about a man named Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) who can see ghosts, and uses his ability to con people. This is all well and good, until he sees a spirit that resembles, well, The Grim Reaper. It's going around killing people, and Frank decides to find out what's going on.
The thing that first struck me about The Frighteners was how crisp it looked. In an industry that's supposed to value style over substance, I couldn't believe that such a slick looking film (both for its time, and even today) had gotten such little attention. Then again, it isn't really a straight thriller or horror film; comedy is sprinkled throughout, and the film only takes itself seriously sporadically (usually when the Reaper-like ghost is on screen).
I think it works just fine, but perhaps moviegoers felt it was unfocused. One minute, Bannister's trying to save someone from Death. The next, a squirrely government agent with a hemorrhoid problem is tearing his shirt off. It's hard to know when you're supposed to laugh, and when you're supposed to be freaked out. It's not bloody or scary enough to satisfy horror fans, and not funny enough to be called a comedy. Basically, don't go in expecting any particular type of film, and you're far more likely to enjoy it.
The life-and-death stuff is pretty interesting, and I like the choice of Fox for the lead. He's not your typical hero, which is good, because a tall, square-jawed star would look tremendously out of place in this offbeat offering. At the same time, his character is required to be a bit of a jerk in the earlygoing, and he's too damn likable to pull it off all that well. He makes up for it later on, though, and his presence is a big reason that an otherwise serious-sounding film feels so strangely lighthearted.
The film was released five years after Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but it would be another two years before he revealed his condition to the public. This would end up being Fox's last starring role in a major motion picture; afterwards, he had a supporting role in Mars Attacks!, and then stuck mainly to TV and voicework for animated films. Though everyone will always remember him as Marty McFly, I'll always think of him as Frank Bannister, too.
One can safely assume that Jackson's work on The Frighteners helped him in his bid to create The Lord of the Rings trilogy; it was the last film he directed before LOTR, and it showed what Weta Digital could do, even with a limited budget.
But, I digress: the film has plenty of twists and turns, though nothing overtly shocking. There's a lot of backstory to fill in, and a few flashbacks. It's all revealed at a sensible pace, and the scattered bits of action are always entertaining.
I mentioned this in the October is here... thread, and it's a good fit for this one, too.
As some of you know, I'm a sucker for concept films; and this one qualifies. Directed by Peter Jackson before he was Peter Jackson, The Frighteners is a supernatural thriller (kind of) about a man named Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) who can see ghosts, and uses his ability to con people. This is all well and good, until he sees a spirit that resembles, well, The Grim Reaper. It's going around killing people, and Frank decides to find out what's going on.
The thing that first struck me about The Frighteners was how crisp it looked. In an industry that's supposed to value style over substance, I couldn't believe that such a slick looking film (both for its time, and even today) had gotten such little attention. Then again, it isn't really a straight thriller or horror film; comedy is sprinkled throughout, and the film only takes itself seriously sporadically (usually when the Reaper-like ghost is on screen).
I think it works just fine, but perhaps moviegoers felt it was unfocused. One minute, Bannister's trying to save someone from Death. The next, a squirrely government agent with a hemorrhoid problem is tearing his shirt off. It's hard to know when you're supposed to laugh, and when you're supposed to be freaked out. It's not bloody or scary enough to satisfy horror fans, and not funny enough to be called a comedy. Basically, don't go in expecting any particular type of film, and you're far more likely to enjoy it.
The life-and-death stuff is pretty interesting, and I like the choice of Fox for the lead. He's not your typical hero, which is good, because a tall, square-jawed star would look tremendously out of place in this offbeat offering. At the same time, his character is required to be a bit of a jerk in the earlygoing, and he's too damn likable to pull it off all that well. He makes up for it later on, though, and his presence is a big reason that an otherwise serious-sounding film feels so strangely lighthearted.
The film was released five years after Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but it would be another two years before he revealed his condition to the public. This would end up being Fox's last starring role in a major motion picture; afterwards, he had a supporting role in Mars Attacks!, and then stuck mainly to TV and voicework for animated films. Though everyone will always remember him as Marty McFly, I'll always think of him as Frank Bannister, too.
One can safely assume that Jackson's work on The Frighteners helped him in his bid to create The Lord of the Rings trilogy; it was the last film he directed before LOTR, and it showed what Weta Digital could do, even with a limited budget.
But, I digress: the film has plenty of twists and turns, though nothing overtly shocking. There's a lot of backstory to fill in, and a few flashbacks. It's all revealed at a sensible pace, and the scattered bits of action are always entertaining.