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Plot - Frank Bannister (Fox) is able to see and communicate with ghosts. He acquired this ability years before when a car crash left him badly injured and his wife dead. Since that day he has had a connection to the afterlife, one that he uses as part of a ghosthunting con. He has befriended a trio of ghosts who go and haunt a house which he will then cleanse. For a fee of course! His ability also allows him to see that the reason for numerous deaths of late is a Grim Reaper, a serial killer who is continuing his spree from the grave. Frank is the only one who is able to stop him.
Another personal favourite this one. I think this is a ghoulish little gem of a film. Though I have to admit I'm not one of the 'cool' people who knew about this film before the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was only in their wake when this was given a DVD release that I became aware of and tracked down The Frighteners. And watching it now, as much as I love it, I still find it really hard to believe that the guy who made this weird oddball of a movie would next go on to direct some of the biggest (and in my mind greatest) films of all time.
I can certainly see people not particularly liking the film (Roger Ebert gave it 1 star!), finding it to be quite uneven as a result of the frequent tonal shifts. What starts out as a bit of a screwball comedy in the Ghostbusters vein descends into much darker territory as the film moves along. I however thought Jackson was able to achieve a perfect balance through a combination of his direction and the script he co-wrote with his wife, mixing touches of light and daft humour (flying babies, walking chicken corpses) with darker elements such as the tragedy of Bannister's wife and the hospital massacre. It's certainly not a scary film. There are very few, if any, frights to be found as it settles more for creepy moments and bizarre images. Though the flashbacks of the hospital massacre are quite disturbing.
I will admit that a large degree of my love for the film is undoubtedly down to its star. Michael J Fox is one of my favourite actors. I think he has great comic timing and I just find find him to be insanely likeable. I honestly cannot think of anything I've seen him in that I've not enjoyed. And while I do find him to be one of the most likeable actors out there he doesn't really have a career roster of playing nice guys like a Tom Hanks does. More often than not he plays a really cocky smart-ass, all the way back to Alex P. Keaton in the TV show that made his name, Family Ties. And here he plays with that typical smart-ass persona but it's mixed with a haunted loneliness. It's a character who seems to have rather given up on life after the trauma of his wife's passing. It's a character that goes to deeper depths than is normally required from Fox in his lighter films. Fox is funny and touching but also with a bit of harder edge than he is usually seen with, and really succeeds in making the film a tale of redemption as it edges its conclusion.
Outside of Michael J Fox's lead character the film is populated by a series of memorable eccentrics, brought to life by an ensemble of lively performances. There's the ghostly trio who aid Frank in his ghostbusting con. The trio includes the 70s black gangster Cyrus complete with awesome afro; and the old gunslinger, The Judge, who just absolutely cracks me up - “When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation”. There's the psychotic couple who are behind it all, played to maximumly creepy effect by Dee Wallace and Jake Busey. And then in a cameo of sorts there's R. Lee Emrey as the ghostly army sergeant who marshals all the ghosts in the cemetery, with Emrey very much playing into his hard-assed drill sergeant character from Full Metal Jacket.
And last, but most certainly not least, is the completely oddball Secret Service agent Milton Dammers. Played by Jeffrey Combs, he is just a stupendously ridiculous character with numerous quirks and a Hitleresque haircut. My favourite moment probably would have to be where he believes Frank is trying to psychically stop his heart, but reveals it won't work because of the lead vest he is wearing under his suit. Combs' performance really is exceptionally over the top, and in most films would be a hindrance but in this world that Peter Jackson has created he fits in perfectly. Also just to check, am I the only one that finds Combs to strongly resemble Jim Carrey here both in terms of appearance and his zany performance.
Alongside the game performances and fun script, without a doubt one of the film's great strengths is its CGI. While it may be from Hollywood's early days using it to such a degree it really is a great example of how to use it. Not only is it well done and still able to stand up today's standards for the most part, but it's the way it's employed. It's not merely for show, it's handled with a good deal of creativity and invention; whether it be for horror purposes such as bringing to life (no pun intended) the reaper character, or for laughs such as giving us the opportunity to see the decrepit old Judge getting it on with an Egyptian mummy in her sarcophagus. It also helps when it comes to delivering the thrills, as seen in the car chase where the Reaper attempts to hunt down Lucy.
Conclusion – I think this is just a cracking little bit of entertainment. Working from a smart script (indeed the story was initially planned as a Tales of the Crypt feature but Robert Zemeckis was so impressed by the script he decided it should be a stand alone), filmed with great energy and with a series of likeable and memorable performances I just think it's really good fun. And let's be honest, who can't love a film that features a reanimated chicken walking into a bedroom?
Year of release
1996
1996
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Written by
Peter Jackson
Fran Walsh
Peter Jackson
Fran Walsh
Starring
Michael J. Fox
Trini Alvarado
Jeffrey Combs
Dee Wallace
John Astin
Michael J. Fox
Trini Alvarado
Jeffrey Combs
Dee Wallace
John Astin
The Frighteners
(repeat viewing)
(repeat viewing)
-
Plot - Frank Bannister (Fox) is able to see and communicate with ghosts. He acquired this ability years before when a car crash left him badly injured and his wife dead. Since that day he has had a connection to the afterlife, one that he uses as part of a ghosthunting con. He has befriended a trio of ghosts who go and haunt a house which he will then cleanse. For a fee of course! His ability also allows him to see that the reason for numerous deaths of late is a Grim Reaper, a serial killer who is continuing his spree from the grave. Frank is the only one who is able to stop him.
Another personal favourite this one. I think this is a ghoulish little gem of a film. Though I have to admit I'm not one of the 'cool' people who knew about this film before the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was only in their wake when this was given a DVD release that I became aware of and tracked down The Frighteners. And watching it now, as much as I love it, I still find it really hard to believe that the guy who made this weird oddball of a movie would next go on to direct some of the biggest (and in my mind greatest) films of all time.
I can certainly see people not particularly liking the film (Roger Ebert gave it 1 star!), finding it to be quite uneven as a result of the frequent tonal shifts. What starts out as a bit of a screwball comedy in the Ghostbusters vein descends into much darker territory as the film moves along. I however thought Jackson was able to achieve a perfect balance through a combination of his direction and the script he co-wrote with his wife, mixing touches of light and daft humour (flying babies, walking chicken corpses) with darker elements such as the tragedy of Bannister's wife and the hospital massacre. It's certainly not a scary film. There are very few, if any, frights to be found as it settles more for creepy moments and bizarre images. Though the flashbacks of the hospital massacre are quite disturbing.
Film trivia - Bulls have the colour red. And Michael J Fox apparently has white fences. He clearly hates the things! In this film he twice crashes through a white fence in the character's Volvo. In Back to the Future he crashed through a white fence in the Delorean, and in Doc Hollywood he crashed through a white fence in his Porsche.
Outside of Michael J Fox's lead character the film is populated by a series of memorable eccentrics, brought to life by an ensemble of lively performances. There's the ghostly trio who aid Frank in his ghostbusting con. The trio includes the 70s black gangster Cyrus complete with awesome afro; and the old gunslinger, The Judge, who just absolutely cracks me up - “When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation”. There's the psychotic couple who are behind it all, played to maximumly creepy effect by Dee Wallace and Jake Busey. And then in a cameo of sorts there's R. Lee Emrey as the ghostly army sergeant who marshals all the ghosts in the cemetery, with Emrey very much playing into his hard-assed drill sergeant character from Full Metal Jacket.
Film trivia – Even if some of you don't like this film, there's a chance you may well owe it a great deal of debt. It was for this film that Jackson's own Weta Digital was actually born out of. Universal paid for all of the servers that Jackson required for the film's CGI and allowed him to retain them after filming had wrapped. After some brainstorming about what they could do with them they made the decision to start work on a fantasy film – a little film by the name of Lord of the Rings.
Alongside the game performances and fun script, without a doubt one of the film's great strengths is its CGI. While it may be from Hollywood's early days using it to such a degree it really is a great example of how to use it. Not only is it well done and still able to stand up today's standards for the most part, but it's the way it's employed. It's not merely for show, it's handled with a good deal of creativity and invention; whether it be for horror purposes such as bringing to life (no pun intended) the reaper character, or for laughs such as giving us the opportunity to see the decrepit old Judge getting it on with an Egyptian mummy in her sarcophagus. It also helps when it comes to delivering the thrills, as seen in the car chase where the Reaper attempts to hunt down Lucy.
Conclusion – I think this is just a cracking little bit of entertainment. Working from a smart script (indeed the story was initially planned as a Tales of the Crypt feature but Robert Zemeckis was so impressed by the script he decided it should be a stand alone), filmed with great energy and with a series of likeable and memorable performances I just think it's really good fun. And let's be honest, who can't love a film that features a reanimated chicken walking into a bedroom?