Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  Fun and creepy!!!

• Phil H

  
  Take elements from 'Beetlejuice' and 'Ghostbusters' and you have this quirky, light yet also dark, soft comedy horror from the man who gave us 'LOTR's'. You could almost say its a sequel of sorts to 'Beetlejuice', or it could have been, a… More
  Take elements from 'Beetlejuice' and 'Ghostbusters' and you have this quirky, light yet also dark, soft comedy horror from the man who gave us 'LOTR's'. You could almost say its a sequel of sorts to 'Beetlejuice', or it could have been, a very familiar ghost story which isn't really for kids, even though it might look like it. Danny Elfman does the score here I might add. The story sees a man who can see and communicate with spirits of the dead (because he had a nasty near death experience that changed his outward perspective on life, and he lost his wife at the same time). The amusing part is he uses this special skill to make money by conning people with a phony haunting routine, a business deal he has with a few ghosts that help him pull off the stunts. At the same time a bad spirit manages to come back and start/continue his hobby of killing people. As 'Frank' is the only person here that can communicate with the dead its up to him and his ghostly buddies to stop this evil ghost. One of those films that did OK upon release but not great, has since become a bit of a cult. I saw this at the cinema when it first came out and I must admit to slightly enjoying it but not massively. The effects, even back then, looked pretty ropey if you ask me, some really dodgy CGI going on. By today's standards it looks even worse, this is a shame as it kinda lets the film down for me, both of the older films mentioned earlier look way better. Its a fun fanciful film for sure and what I liked best was the fact it didn't shy away from the odd moment of adult humour or adult visuals. One minute the film is quaint and amusing like a kids cartoon, the next you can see someone getting their head shot off with a shotgun! albeit very quickly with no gore. The ghosts are the best thing about the film naturally, I loved how Jake Busey's ghost character has this sadistic, barbarous almost masochistic personality, along with his living compadre. Really gives the film a nice evil twist instead of going down the more safe route. The other ghosts tended to be slightly corny really, the two that help Fox are pretty lame and cliched. John Astin's ghost character is also heavily cliched but looks cool, whilst Jackson even thought to include a ghost version of 'Gunnery Sergeant Hartman' from 'Full Metal Jacket', well I can't say that for sure but the part is played by Ermey so you decide. I thought the spook angle could of been much better, much more bizarre or varied, its too...standard. Its definitely a solid ghosthunting film which is helped by the likeable Michael J Fox, but I wonder if he was the best choice for this role. The best character for me was played by Combs, his nervous, twitchy insane undercover cop is fun to watch, looks a bit like Jim Carrey and also has some nice dark moments. Along with the films tone, the plain poster and rather meaningless film title you can see why it was hard to sell originally. Changing gears too often and too quickly leaves you pondering what the film really wants to be, but despite that I like a good zany spectral comedy so this film sits well with me. It may sound corny but put simply, if you liked 'Beetlejuice' you will probably like this.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  "<b>The Frighteners</b> is a movie I have always wanted to see, but never had the chance to. It has been on T.V. a lot but I've never been able to catch it from the beginning. Although some of the quality of the movie was a bit cheap looking, you have to remember… More
  "<b>The Frighteners</b> is a movie I have always wanted to see, but never had the chance to. It has been on T.V. a lot but I've never been able to catch it from the beginning. Although some of the quality of the movie was a bit cheap looking, you have to remember the year it was made. I really enjoyed the movie. It had humor, horror, and a good story. I was surprised at how dark the story was. I thought it was just going to be a silly ghost film, but the story is really disturbing. I miss Michael J. Fox in movies. I know his disease keeps him from acting, but he's missed. By me at least. I will be seeing this again."

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Death is no way to make a living!"</i> After a tragic accident, Frank Bannister uses his new psychic powers to con people into "exorcising" their houses. But when an evil spirit appears, Frank may be the only one who can stop this… More
  <i>"Death is no way to make a living!"</i> After a tragic accident, Frank Bannister uses his new psychic powers to con people into "exorcising" their houses. But when an evil spirit appears, Frank may be the only one who can stop this "Reaper" that can kill both the living and dead. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> The Frighteners, Peter Jackson's fifth feature film and the first to have major studio backing, is a near perfect blend of comedy and horror-a mix so many fail to get right but which is nailed right on the head by the Kiwi prodigy. The always superb Michael J. Fox stars as psychic conman Frank Bannister, who, along with his three ghostly pals, makes a living 'cleansing' haunted properties in the town of Fairweather (in reality the 'hauntings' are planned by Frank, with his dead chums doing the spooky stuff). But the people of Fairweather have more to worry about than the paranormal scam artist and his buddies; someone or something is killing the citizens of the small town and no-one has a clue what is going on. That is until Frank witnesses one of the slayings; a supernatural cloaked figure (resembling The Grim Reaper) is behind the deaths and Frank, his three deceased companions, and the wife of one of the recent victims set out to solve the mystery of exactly who or what the killer is. With an amazing cast including horror faves Dee Wallace-Stone and Jeffrey Combs, toothy Jake Busey, and Lee R. Ermey from Full Metal Jacket, Jackson expertly crafts a tense tale of terror, punctuated with loads of funny moments. This film also marks the moment that Jackson started his love affair with CGI, and he pushes the technology of the day to its limits, delivering some truly astounding effects. As the story unfolds, Jackson cranks up the horror aspect, building slowly and carefully to a great finale in which all of the plot threads tie up nicely.

• AJ V

  
  A good ghost story, it's exciting, dramatic, and funny. I don't think I would have picked Fox for the leading man, but the rest of the cast is pretty good. Overall this is an enjoyable movie.

• Jeff "

  
  Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is departure from his previous films. Those familiar with Peter Jackson's first cinematic outings, know what I'm talking about. Jackson conjure's up a visual feast for the eyes as he tells the story of charlatan Frank Bannister… More
  Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is departure from his previous films. Those familiar with Peter Jackson's first cinematic outings, know what I'm talking about. Jackson conjure's up a visual feast for the eyes as he tells the story of charlatan Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) who has actual psychic powers, but doesn't use them to help, instead he uses them to make a quick buck off of un expecting people. The Frighteners is a terrific horror film, one of many others that Peter Jackson has put out. The cast are great and the special effects are terrific. Considering that this was made in 1996 and CGI was still in it's infancy, the results are impressive. The film looks good, and the cast all deliver great performance. I especially enjoyed Jeffrey Combs, who is always a nutcase in everything he does. Jake Busey was also good here. Peter Jackson would later find fame with The Lord Of The Rings, but The Frighteners was really the stepping stone for him to make that film. He wanted to explore more the use of special effects so he went on to create one of the best trilogies ever filmed. The Frighteners is a terrific, underrated horror comedy and if you love Peter Jackson's films, you owe it to yourself to watch this film. The film is a lot of fun, and is one of Peter Jackson's best along with the LOTR Trilogy, Bad Taste and Dead Alive.

• Dean !

  
  A very good comedy/horror I've been wanting to see for years. That poster always intrigued me! It has some pretty good SFX for the ghosts, for the time, the CGI is a bit basic for the reaper, and Ghostly wall images but it doesn't matter too much. With a good cast, including… More
  A very good comedy/horror I've been wanting to see for years. That poster always intrigued me! It has some pretty good SFX for the ghosts, for the time, the CGI is a bit basic for the reaper, and Ghostly wall images but it doesn't matter too much. With a good cast, including a great cameo from the Full Metal jacket drill sergeant almost doing the same character, along with Peter Jackson in charge you know it will be good.

• Martin S

  
  One of my classic childhood movies. Still good. And still fun.

• xGary X

  
  Paranormal investigator Michael J. Fox had an accident that enables him to communicate with the dead, a skill he had been using to fleece the recently bereaved until he crosses paths with a ghostly serial killer who frames him for murder. One of Peter Jackson's early forays into… More
  Paranormal investigator Michael J. Fox had an accident that enables him to communicate with the dead, a skill he had been using to fleece the recently bereaved until he crosses paths with a ghostly serial killer who frames him for murder. One of Peter Jackson's early forays into Hollywood, The Frighteners is a horror comedy that blends his sense of the macabre with slapstick sight gags and wish fulfillment and as a result feels like a rather uneven homage to Tim Burton, and Beetlejuice in particular. A lot of the content is actually rather grim but the cartoonish elements involving his ghostly sidekicks almost enters Roger Rabbit territory making the film seem very shizophrenic; its a bit too horrific in places for young children and too silly for adults making it fall a little too much between two stools. The casting of Fox adds to this and it all feels like an attempt to jump on the Ghostbusters bandwagon but Jackson's influence makes the tone miss the "family entertainment" mark somewhat; in fact if he hadn't been trying so hard to break the US mainstream I think it could've been a much better film. It still definitely has its moments, the final showdown with the serial killers being a highlight and fans of TV series Supernatural which was clearly influenced by it should give it a try.

• Wahida K

  
  Death is a "you can count on forever" Boss! Death is the best way to make a living! You ll never die hungry.

• Conner R

  
  Really bizarre and fun at the same time. While I don't think it's that good of a movie, I definitely find it very entertaining and worthwhile. The campy style works well and it has some outrageous performances from Jeffrey Combs and Jake Busey. The plot was sort've… More
  Really bizarre and fun at the same time. While I don't think it's that good of a movie, I definitely find it very entertaining and worthwhile. The campy style works well and it has some outrageous performances from Jeffrey Combs and Jake Busey. The plot was sort've different and a nice horror/comedy blend.

• Anthony L

  
  It?s not bad, a bit of fun! I still like Jackson?s old stuff better though!

• Jason O

  
  Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) is a fraudulent paranormal detective who isn't that well liked by most people. It doesn't seem like things can get any worse than they already are, but they do when he finds out that some ghosts, headed by the Grim Reaper, are killing several… More
  Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) is a fraudulent paranormal detective who isn't that well liked by most people. It doesn't seem like things can get any worse than they already are, but they do when he finds out that some ghosts, headed by the Grim Reaper, are killing several people. I'm a huge fan of both comedy movies and horror movies, so I figured that I'd like "The Frighteners," but unfortunately I was wrong. "The Frighteners" tries to be a comedy movie during the first half of the film and it tries even harder to be a horror flick the last half. It didn't even make me grin the whole time, and when it got to the 'scary' parts, it didn't make me compelled to watch it in the least sense. Another thing that I didn't like was that it went a little too far in depicting heaven, hell, and the Grim Reaper. But "The Frighteners" isn't all bad. I have to admit that it does have great special effects. In my opinion, "The Frighteners" isn't a good movie and I would say that its special effects are the only good quality of it. But then again, I haven't ever been a fan of the type of 'comedy' that it depicts, which is roughly the same as the comedy in "Scary Movie" and "Celtic Pride." Most people seem to really like this movie for some reason, so you might want to try it out, but myself, I don't recommend it. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. Yucky movie, one I wanted to love.

• Tim S

  
  My first taste of Peter Jackson, I've always loved this one.

• Lady D

  
  I was quite surprised that this film is more recent than I had suspected as it has an older look to it and I tend to associate Michael J Fox with the 80's. It's a likeable ghost horror comedy, on a similar sort of lines to Beetlejuice. Easy watching, non thinker,… More
  I was quite surprised that this film is more recent than I had suspected as it has an older look to it and I tend to associate Michael J Fox with the 80's. It's a likeable ghost horror comedy, on a similar sort of lines to Beetlejuice. Easy watching, non thinker, predictable yet enjoyable.

• Curtis L

  
  I don't know why. It's really not that good...

• Aaron N

  
  Judge: When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation. Michael J. Fox is an honorary ghostbuster in this horror comedy that is all kinds of fun to watch. Peter Jackson's first big budget effort proves to continue to show how much enjoyment he must… More
  Judge: When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation. Michael J. Fox is an honorary ghostbuster in this horror comedy that is all kinds of fun to watch. Peter Jackson's first big budget effort proves to continue to show how much enjoyment he must have making movies. The story involves Frank Banister, a con artist who can see ghosts, but uses theme to mess up people's houses, only to then come in, pretend to get rid of the ghosts, and charge obscene amounts of money. This is all well and good, except a mysterious entity that looks like the grim reaper is moving through town and killing people at random, so it would seem. This movie is very fun to watch, with some very clever visuals. Very few of the effects are dated now and the things involving the reaper are really cool looking. Peter Jackson gives this movie lots of life with his camera constantly moving around supplying the movie with comedy, a few thrills, and even a little drama. Fox is also very good here, brining Banister to life with the Michael J Fox way of doing things, adding his style of sarcasm with the darker side of his characters history and ability. Danny Elfman also provides a score that seems to have come right out of a Burton flick, but is of course fitting for this movie. Even the Re-animator, Jeffery Combs, comes into the picture as well to bring an odball character into the mix. Sweet ghost effects, a fun story with some neat twists, some memorable scenes, especially towards the end in the hospital, make this a very entertaining movie to watch. Frank Bannister: I gotta have an out-of-body-experience, and I gotta have it RIGHT NOW!

• Film C

  
  really good its not a horror but has some scary bits and they ARE scary but it is also funny as well it doesnt let you down worth watching micheal j fox is excellant and gawjus

• Lafe F

  
  An okay movie. I liked Michael J. Fox and his ghost friends from different eras. There was a scary side plot about a bad ghost sucking out peoples' lives, which negated some of the comedy elements. The effects worked.

• Dr Blood  

  
  Very funny in parts with great effects. Genre actor Jeffrey Combs plays a Herr Flick type character who is weird as weird can be!

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