Year of Release: 1996
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace Stone, Chi McBride, Jake Busey, Jim Fyfe, Troy Evans, Julianna McCarthy, R. Lee Ermey, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Angela Bloomfield, John Sumner
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review
Before he embarked on the adaptations of J. R. Tolkien's books which made him a millionaire and a household name, Peter Jackson was a writer/director primarily well known for his fantastical films "Bad Taste", "Meet the Feebles", and "Dead Alive". He took a detour from the horror and supernatural genre with the well received "Heavenly Creatures", but went back to his previous genres with "The Frighteners". The film follows the story of Frank Bannister, a former successful architect, who suffered a traumatic past accident which resulted in the death of his wife, and who now makes a living as an exorcist of sorts. In reality he works with ghosts who stage the hauntings in the houses of unsuspecting people, so that he can come in, perform the exorcism, and reap the rewards. One of his clients turns out to be Dr. Lucy Lynskey and her husband Ray. While exorcising their home Frank notices the number 37 glowing on Ray's forehead. Ray passes away a few days later, and while helping Lucy communicate with her late husband, Frank notices another individual has the number 38 marked on his head. He's terrified to witness this Grim Reaper like entity killing the man who had the 38 mark, upon which he decides the entity. That supernatural angel of death keeps killing people, and Frank realizes that the murders that are taking place are implicating him. He decides to turn himself him, just as an unstable FBI agent joints the investigation, believing that he is indeed the killer of all these people, including his late wife.
"The Frighteners" is one of those films of the 1990s that feels a bit orphaned, much like Kathryn Bigelow's "Strange Days" and Alex Proyas' "Dark City". All films from interesting directors, who at the time of their release struggled to find an audience, even if the films themselves had fairly good reviews, and solid casts. Of the three of those mentioned before, "The Frighteners" is possibly the most muted of all, and also the one that has aged a bit more poorly, primarily due to the quality of the visual effects themselves. Peter Jackson who later had a chance to develop his storytelling scope and techniques with "The Lord of the Rings" series, devised this original plot with his wife and co-writer Fran Walsh. Some of his habitual topics surface on this tale, namely the central figure who is apparently a normal individual, but who is haunted by a traumatic past, and also someone who has something unusual about himself, which renders him just a bit off kilter, resulting in that central figure being deemed eccentric or quasi an outcast. Frank Bannister embodies these traits, and he is a good host for all the events that occur throughout the narrative. He's a bit of charlatan with a heart of gold, someone who is a bit lost, but who means no harm to anyone. The film however has some tonal issues, which start with Peter Jackson revealing the ghosts too early in the story. They're introduced abruptly and in a manner that is a bit jarring, particularly because they come across as a loonier version of Dr. Emmett Brown from Robert Zemeckis' "Back to the Future" (Mr. Zemeckis was originally going to direct this film and stayed on as a producer). Peter Jackson doesn't build much of a context or environment for all these characters, before introducing this supernatural motif, that becomes an omni-present element for the remainder of the feature. The main characters take a back seat for all the supernatural noise that is happening, something that also takes away from the impact that those characters were building. There was a tone similar to David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" in some of the early scenes, with the police officers, but that is quickly pushed aside to pursue the supernatural conspiracy taking place. The tonal shifts, the over abundant (and borderline in poor taste) visual effects, and some of the acting (particularly the overacting from Jeffrey Combs), tilt the film in a rather mediocre direction. However the film does feature the always reliable Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Troy Evans, and John Astin doing solid work, even if the always lovely Dee Wallace Stone and Jake Busey are also, and much like Jeffrey Combs, overacting just a bit much. The score from Danny Elfman is a highlight, even if the rest of the production team is not. It's a watchable film, but one that needed a bit more restraint.
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