The Frighteners (1996)

The Frighteners

1996

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Jeffrey Combs, Jake Busey, John Astin

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Ok, it's unfair that I'm reviewing this movie because it's probably in my top five favorite horror movies of all time, but screw it.... you all need to know just how awesome and wonderful this film is. I'm a HUGE Peter Jackson fan and have been a member of the official Peter Jackson fanclub since it's conception. In fact, I carry the membership card in my wallet and I'm member number 005. Beat that! With that said, I'll try my best to be unbiased, but it's probably not going to happen.

Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) can see dead people. No, he's not that creepy little bastard from The Sixth Sense, he's Frank Fucking Bannister and he has ghosts working for him. After a brutal car accident that left his wife dead, Frank has been able to see ghosts and now, years later, employs them to "...put the frighteners on people!". He sends in the ghosts for a little spooking and then comes in and pretends to "bust" them and catch them, thus ridding the spooks from unsuspecting families. Yes, he's a con man that uses ghosts as a way to make money.

After spooking the Lynsky household, compiled of Lucy and Ray, in comes Frank Bannister to save the day. However, upon "ridding" the ghosts from the Lynsky house, he notices a burning number carved into Ray's head that only he can see. The next day, Ray, who is in picture perfect health, drops dead from a mysterious heart failure.

Having people die left and right and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Frank Bannister is eventually seen as a threat and FBI Agent Dammers (Jeffrey Combs) is brought in to track him down and bring him to justice. The only problem is that Frank sees what appears to be death itself killing people and sets out to stop it and clear his name.

The acting in this film is top-notch and is a straight up character piece with an excellent story. This is probably Michael J. Fox's best work to date and he plays Frank Bannister up to twisted perfection. Jeffrey Combs as Agent Dammers is a beautifully psychotic zealot with a hard on for nailing Bannister to the wall. The rest of the ensemble cast fills in the gaps and all come together with what I feel is one of the best casts in any horror movie. Each role has a purpose and isn't overshadowed by the next role. Everyone takes the script seriously and appreciates the story and it shows in each and every character on screen.

Peter Jackson's directing is nothing short of brilliant, and since he wrote the script and produced it as well, it would be hard for him to dick up his own idea. Each camera shot, line of dialogue, and set piece have their own mark on the story and when pieced together as a whole it comes across beautifully. The film has comedy in it, but relies on horror spread throughout to fully accentuate the excellent story. It's a good mix of comedy and horror that I've never seen elsewhere. And no, this isn't that garbage in the ranks of Scary Movie.

The special fx and gore are great and not over the top. Like I said, each shot has it's own purpose in the story, and clocking in at almost two hours, there's a lot to take in. The gore and blood is at the right level and isn't in your face like Jackson's previous films. In fact, he toned down his splatter here and it worked well within the story. I'm not saying it's tame by no means, but those who've seen his previous splatter films will get what I mean.

Overall, an excellent movie for the whole family. Peter Jackson lets the actors envoke the written script and carry us through a twisted tale of ghosts and murder. Some parts comedy, some parts horror, and when Peter Jackson hits the blend button, he pours out perfection. Plain and simple, The Frighteners is a damn good movie all the way around the board and those who disagree can go watch Scream!

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