The Frighteners (1996)

Dir Peter Jackson

Written by Fran Walsh & Peter Jackson

Michael J Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace, Jake Busey, Chi McBride, Troy Evans, R Lee Ermey, Jim Fyfe.

In the small town of Fair Water, a series of mysterious deaths have been occurring for a number of years, where seemingly fit and healthy individuals are dying of massive heart attacks.

Local ‘psychic’ Frank Banister (Fox) has been the local ‘expert’ on exorcism – when in reality the haunting are just done by his three ghost friends (Astin, McBride, Fyfe), as he has been able to communicate with the dead since a tragic accident left his wife dead five years ago.

When Lucy (Alvarado), the new Dr in town’s husband (Dobson) is one of the victims of the heart attack, Frank discovers that there is a dangerous ghost doing the attacking and he must try to stop it before it takes any more innocent lives.

Uniquely funny black comedy from Jackson, prior to his Lord of the Rings fame – has a gothic look about it straight out of a Tim Burton feature. That the score is by Burton collaborator Danny Elfman adds to the familiararity too.

Fox is cast well as the anti hero Banister, who does whatever he can to get by. Fox, who was already suffering from his health issues, has shown he can play antagonistic roles quite well (Mars Attacks, Interstate 60), does so here.

Some of the effects are quite good, and blends both practical and cgi well. There is some rather dated uses, but considering the fact that it is almost 30 years old and had a budget of $30m, it is quite impressive.                      

The overall plot is fairly easy to follow, and ties itself together well enough. The antagonist is genuinely frightening at first before the reveal.

The third act does drag on for a little, and there is one human antagonist that is a little frustrating, but that just means the actor was doing a great job.

Still a good enough movie to entertain in 2024.

3.5/5