Horror, comedy, murder mystery and ghost story all fighting for space and somehow mostly getting along.
Nerdy Up North Podcast
The setup
After a personal tragedy leaves Frank Bannister able to communicate with the dead, he turns the ability into a scam with several friendly ghosts. Things change when he begins seeing supernatural numbers appearing on people shortly before they die.
The Frighteners is a strange film to describe because it keeps changing what sort of movie it wants to be. What is impressive is how rarely those changes feel completely clumsy. Michael J. Fox gives Frank much more weight than the initial ghost-conman premise suggests, Jeffrey Combs is completely unhinged as Milton Dammers and Dee Wallace becomes more important the deeper the mystery goes. The effects were incredibly ambitious for the time, particularly for Weta, and most of them still work. Rick Baker's makeup and Danny Elfman's score add even more personality. Our main complaint was the length and pacing. The first half can take a while to get where it is going, and a couple of digital shots definitely show their age.
Positives
Michael J. Fox; Jeffrey Combs; Dee Wallace; inventive ghosts; Danny Elfman; Rick Baker; ambitious early Weta effects; a great blend of genres.
Negatives
Slow patches; feels slightly too long; a handful of CGI shots have aged; one or two jokes land awkwardly now.
Verdict
The Frighteners is messy in exactly the way a cult film often is. There are too many ideas, some dated effects and odd tonal choices, but there is also far too much imagination here to dislike.
