Posted on: October 5th, 2009 TEN of TERROR #2: The Frighteners

It was July of 1996. Two week’s after its the 4th of July, audiences were still flocking to see Roland Emmerich’s alien-action spectacle Independence Day and taking in Danny Boyle’s drug-ridden roller-coaster Trainspotting. If you were like me, you may have missed seeing our next entry into TEN of TERROR in the theater… The Frighteners.

Co-written, co-produced and directed by a relatively unknown Peter Jackson, The Frighteners is an immensely fun horror-comedy featuring an awesome ensemble cast including Michael J. Fox, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Jake Busey and Chi McBride. The Frighteners follows Frank Banister, a widowed and out-of-work architect who can see and interact with ghosts (those that didn’t go into the light when they died). Bannister uses this unique ability to stage hauntings in people’s homes, and under the guise of a “paranormal investigator” proceeds to charge them large sums of money for a false exorcism. When a horrifying spirit known as “the reaper” goes on a seemingly arbitrary killing spree, Bannister is framed for the murders and the race is on to clear his name and stop the rising death-toll.

At the time of release, The Frighteners was Peter Jackson’s first big budget studio film; he previously gained noticed with Meet the Feebles, Dead Alive and Heavenly Creatures. The Frighteners also served as a huge point of growth for the visual effects studio Weta, the company now notorious for bringing the Lord of the Rings universe to life. Weta had only been in existence for three years and at the time the visual/practical effects needed for The Frighteners were pretty ground-breaking. Computer-generated effects such as ghosts crawling around over walls and surfaces, and the flowing cape of the grim reaper were only some of the effects Weta pulled off amazingly. There’s no doubt that The Frighteners helped put Weta on the map, giving New Line the confidence to bring the company on-board for the massive task of creating effects for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since then the studio, which was founded by Peter Jackson, has created stunning visual effects for I, Robot, King Kong and District 9 among many others.

Although the film was considered a disappointment at the box office, the film was largely well-received by critics (the film currently sits at a 71% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and has gained quite the cult following.

The Frighteners just works on so many levels. It’s legitimately funny and actually frightening at many times. Robert Zemeckis served as executive producer on the film, and it certainly fits into his repertoire of films from the late 80’s, early 90’s (Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her). The film has this incredibly defined atmosphere to it; everything from the various characters living in the quiet town to the town itself. These people and locations serve to make these fantastic paranormal elements, the ghosts and the history of the town, entirely believable. The real star of the film though, is its cast.

The Frighteners is Michael J. Fox’s second-last film credit (not including voice-acting), and in my opinion his performance as the con-artist-turned-hero Frank Banister is his best right next to his iconic Marty McFly from the Back to the Future films. Frank Bannister is a fully-fleshed character (pun intended) that goes through a spectrum of emotions and ultimately changes throughout the story. He’s also incredibly likable and funny, even when he’s blatantly conning people out of their money. I credit a large part of that charm to Fox, though the impeccable writing didn’t hurt either.

Surrounding Fox’s Bannister is a tremendous supporting cast. Jake Busey channels his father’s bat-shit craziness into a grin-inducing villain; like Michael J. Fox, I’ll bet a fair amount of this character is a by-product of the actor himself. The film also boasts some pretty hilarious ghostly performances; the great John Astin (Gomez from The Addams Family tv show) brings the laughs as The Judge, a long-deceased gun-toting cowboy with a sexual eye for King Tut’s wife. Chi McBride also dazzles as Cyrus, the spectre of a 70’s era hustler and Frank Bannister’s associate in the staged haunting business. Above all of these brilliant performances though, lies one that is truly for the ages and that is Jeffrey Combs as FBI agent Milton Dammers. Folks, this could be one of the greatest displays of eccentric we will ever see on film. Every shivering, sweating, jittery, creepy scene this character is in is damned electric. Combs (Re-Animator) completely steals the movie and magnificently chews every once of scenery; that is not a bad thing at all. It amazes as to why this man isn’t in more large studio films. If you haven’t yet seen The Frighteners, I would say that Combs’s performance is worth the viewing alone; lucky for you there are many reasons to love this flick.

The Frighteners isn’t typically regarded as a must-watch Halloween movie, but after revisiting this gem it has rightfully earned itself a spot in that list. This film is pure fun all the way through and is the perfect fodder for a dark October night (or any night of the year for that matter). Also, do take note of yet another wicked score from Danny Elfman; the music throughout the film is so appropriate it really enhances the story and becomes almost a character itself; something that great film scores do.

The Frighteners is available in a two-disc director’s cut dvd; no blu-ray as of yet sadly.

Trivia:

• Apparently Michael J. Fox blew his lines numerously by calling The Judge “Doc”, Christopher Lloyd’s character’s name in the Back to the Future movies.
• R. Lee Ermy’s ghost-general character is an obvious homage to his iconic role as Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.
• The Frighteners wasn’t released theatrically in Tasmania, as the film’s content was similar to real life events that occurred shortly before release. I’m assuming it was serial killings, not ghosts.
• Co-writer, co-producer and director Peter Jackson has a cameo in the film as a body-pierced punk-rocker.
• The film was originally intended to be a Tales from the Crypt feature, however Robert Zemeckis felt it stood on it’s own legs.
• Danny Elfman, who scored Jackson’s previous film Heavenly Creatures, agreed to do the film before even knowing the story.

Stay tuned for more horror goodness with TEN of TERROR #3!

4 Responses to “TEN of TERROR #2: The Frighteners”

1. Tommo Says:
   October 5th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

   Hear hear. One of my favorite horror / comedy movies. Your points about Jeffrey Combs are well deserved too, he plays his role so wonderfully disturbed and barely-in-control throughout the film. I haven’t watched this one in a few years but there was a time when it was on my frequent rotation. Maybe it deserves a spot in there again.

2. Ben Rankel Says:
   October 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

   I have to admit, other than catching this movie on TBS, I’ve never given it a proper watch. So while I was all like, “Huh-whaaaaaa!?” when I first noticed it on your top ten of terror list, after reading your review of it I’m much more, “Well, allright-damn!”

3. Richard Christensen Says:
   October 6th, 2009 at 8:55 am

   I have been ragging on everyone I know to see this flick, since I first saw it. By far in my top ten films of all time, thats how good this flick is, good choice Ryan

4. TEN of TERROR #5: Re-Animator « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more Says:
   October 17th, 2009 at 6:11 pm

   [...] Combs’ performance as Herbert West. Echoing my sentiments for the man from my review of The Frighteners, Combs seems to pull his performances out from his the very pit of his existence. He creates these [...]

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