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Universal Pictures
WingNut Films
Not part of a collection.
No rest for the wicked.
Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.
misubisu
Jan 7, 2026 · via TMDB
### **Review: *The Frighteners (1996)*** **Score: 7/10** *The Frighteners* is a fascinating, energetic, and gloriously uneven goulash of a film—a horror-comedy-ghost-mystery that showcases Peter Jackson's wild imagination in full bloom during his transition from gross-out splatter to blockbuster fantasy. It's a film brimming with brilliant ideas and technical wizardry, hamstrung slightly by a tonal identity crisis, but ultimately winning you over with its sheer creative verve and a game cast led by a perfectly cast Michael J. Fox. **What Works (The High Points):** * **Michael J. Fox's Magnetic Charm:** Fox is the film's beating heart. As Frank Bannister, a conman psychic who genuinely communes with the dead, he delivers his signature everyman charm laced with a world-weary sadness. He makes the outrageous premise feel grounded and gives the frenetic plot a crucial emotional anchor. * **Pioneering Visual Effects & Design:** This is where Jackson's genius shines. The CGI ghosts, while dated in texture, are brimming with personality and inventive, cartoony physics that still hold a unique charm. The design of the main antagonist, a terrifying, cloak-like Reaper, is a standout piece of pre-Weta Workshop visual storytelling that creates genuine moments of dread. * **A Supporting Cast of Delights:** The ensemble is a blast. Jeffrey Combs steals every scene as a deranged, paranoid FBI agent in a performance of unhinged, scenery-chewing perfection. Dee Wallace Stone and Jake Busey create a genuinely disturbing villainous duo, and the trio of Frank's ghostly accomplices provide consistent, spooky comic relief. **Why It's a 7, Not an 8 or 9 (The Uneven Ride):** * **Tonal Whiplash:** The film struggles to balance its competing impulses. It lurches from broad, almost *Beetlejuice*-style comedy to genuinely grim horror involving serial murder and disturbing flashbacks. The shifts can be jarring, preventing the film from settling into a cohesive groove and diluting the impact of both its scares and its laughs. * **A Overstuffed, Convoluted Plot:** The mystery at the film's core becomes unnecessarily tangled in its own mythology. Subplots about past murders, ghostly rules, and a climactic showdown in a haunted hospital sometimes feel like a series of cool set-pieces in search of a streamlined narrative. * **A Missed Emotional Beat:** While Frank's backstory is tragic, the film's breakneck pace doesn't always allow its emotional core—his grief and redemption—to resonate as deeply as it should. The spectacle occasionally overshadows the heart. **The Verdict:** *The Frighteners* is not a seamless masterpiece, but it is an essential and wildly entertaining cult classic. It's a film to be admired for its boundless creativity, its fearless blending of genres, and its role as a clear runway for Peter Jackson's *Lord of the Rings* ambitions. You watch it for the spectacularly weird moments: Combs' manic energy, the ingenious ghost effects, and Michael J. Fox outrunning the Grim Reaper. It's messy, inventive, and thoroughly unique—a Halloween-season delight that earns its **7/10** for pure, unfiltered imaginative spirit, even if it can't quite corral all its brilliant ghosts into a perfectly harmonious haunt. **Watch if:** You love 90s genre mash-ups, inventive practical and early-CGI effects, Peter Jackson's early work, or Jeffrey Combs at his most unhinged. **Skip if:** You prefer tonally consistent horror or tightly plotted narratives. This is a chaotic, loveable mess.
Gimly
Jun 18, 2020 · via TMDB
Has maybe not aged flawlessly, but it's very silly and very involved in a good kind of way. Kind of feels like a spoof but I'm honestly not sure what of, so I think that it's maybe just a light toned take on some pretty dark subject matter. It's been about 20 years since I last watched The Frighteners and I think I could probably go about that long before I watch it again, but I still do think it's worthwhile. _Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._
John Chard
Dec 25, 2018 · via TMDB
When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation. Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is an odd blend of outright comedy and supernatural thriller, if able to get onside with that then there's a whole lot to enjoy. Plot essential has Michael J. Fox as a psychic who really can see dead people, so much so in fact that he has befriended three ghosts and makes a living out of setting up hauntings and charging people to exorcise the spirits. However, things turn decidedly deadly when he encounters a grim reaper like spirit that is killing people and putting a number on their foreheads. It seems there is a serial killing spirit on the loose. Frank Bannister (Fox) is grieving from the death of his wife and he has become a conman, this is an interesting characterisation for Fox to play and he does so with relish. Initially the pic is all about the comedy, with Bannister's interactions with the three ghosts devilishly funny. Ok, the effects work now look a bit crude, but there's a vibrancy on offer both visually and orally. Come the second third the pic shifts into a serial killer investigation and the narrative gets dark. Oh there's still fun in the mix, but Jackson and his team are toying with the very real facet of a celebrity serial killer (ebulliently played by Jake Busey). Trini Alvarado (what happened to her?) is playing what ends up as Bannister's side-kick and love interest and the pair of them are thrust into a frantic final third of a life and death battle with Busey's psychotic spirit Johnny Bartlett. Bartlett in turn is aided by mentally ill Patricia Bradley (horror icon Dee Wallace Stone), while an outrageously over the top Jeffrey Combs is in the mix as a damaged FBI agent intent on destroying bannister and all he stands for. When you strip it down it's a live action horror comedy cartoon, which when you look in context to Jackson's early work is not surprising. It's also not surprising that The Frighteners has become a cult movie of some standing. The bonkers plot, the close to the knuckle humour and choice narrative threads make it a fascinating viewing experience. 7.5/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Michael J. Fox
Frank Bannister
Trini Alvarado
Lucy Lynskey
Peter Dobson
Ray Lynskey
John Astin
The Judge
Jeffrey Combs
Milton Dammers
Dee Wallace
Patricia Bradley
Jake Busey
Johnny Bartlett
Chi McBride
Cyrus
Jim Fyfe
Stuart
Troy Evans
Sheriff Perry
Julianna McCarthy
Old Lady Bradley
R. Lee Ermey
Hiles
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Magda Rees-Jones
Angela Bloomfield
Debra Bannister
Jonathan Blick
Steve Bayliss
Todd Rippon
Deputy
John Sumner
Deputy
Michael Robinson
Deputy
Jim McLarty
Deputy
Anthony Ray Parker
Deputy
Paul Yates
Deputy
Melanie Lynskey
Deputy
John Leigh
Bryce Campbell
Ken Blackburn
Dr. Kamins
Stuart Devenie
Museum Curator
K.C. Kelly
Doctor
Leslie Wing
Mrs. Waterhouse
Frank Edwards
Resuscitating Man
Danny Lineham
Barry
George Port
Orderly
Billy Jackson
Baby in Bouncer
Lewis Martin
Hospital Patient
Matthew Chamberlain
Passerby
Liz Mullane
Nun
Matt Aitken
Cowboy Ghost (uncredited)
Grae Burton
Guest (uncredited)
Michael Elsworth
Undertaker (uncredited)
Peter Jackson
Man with Piercings (uncredited)
Fran Walsh
Passerby (uncredited)
Dan Hennah
Art Direction
Nina Saxon
Title Designer
Jane O'Kane
Hairstylist
Rick Baker
Makeup Artist
Matt Aitken
CG Supervisor
Rick Porras
Post Production Supervisor
Charles Croughwell
Stunt Double
Peter Jackson
Director
Jamie Selkirk
Editor
Fran Walsh
Associate Producer
Victoria Burrows
Casting
Liz Mullane
Casting Associate
Robert Zemeckis
Executive Producer
Jamie Selkirk
Producer
Peter Jackson
Producer
Richard Hymns
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Steve Bartek
Orchestrator
Danny Elfman
Original Music Composer
Randy Thom
Sound Designer
Steve Boeddeker
Sound Effects Editor
Hammond Peek
Sound Recordist
Mike Hopkins
Supervising Sound Editor
Paul Story
Rotoscoping Artist
Brian Scadden
Visual Effects
Fran Walsh
Screenplay
Peter Jackson
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Mortal Remains
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The Town that Dreaded Sundown
Jul 17, 1996
Jul 19, 1996
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Versus
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Bicara Cinta
2020
The Pied Pipers of Harlow
1965
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
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