PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
cricketbat
The Frighteners has a fun story with interesting characters and excellent performances, but it seems sloppy and thrown together at times. The scary moments work well, but the humor falls flat. Still, it's enjoyable to watch.
Joseph Barker
Do some of you Believe in Ghosts? Well Knowing Japan, They are very superstitious, But I'm talking about Ghosts in movies... I know they are sometimes seen in Halloween, But There is one Ghost movie that is very... Interesting, The Frighteners, Now As you all know Peter Jackson is one of most Recognizable Directors in Hollywood, He did Movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, And his Remake of King Kong, But he also did projects that I thought where the guys Film-College experiments, This is one of his movies that I'd say was a Nexus of his Directing life, And Remember Michael J. Fox, He is in this movie I always thought he looked like Matt Damon back then, Also I have this movie on Blu-Ray while Mr Jackson has it on Laserdisc (While might have been the Prototypes to DVD's HD-DVD's and Blu-Rays)... First off I have to point out that This poster of the Movie is pretty Confusing then Scary, I mean WHAT THE HECK I'M I LOOKING AT HERE? This was the best you could come up with Peter Jackson? All we see is a Face of some strange Smiling Alien skull Pressing his face against a Wall of Fabric, Gives me no idea what the movie is about, Well seeming that Oliver Harper Review this movie, Don't know if the Critics from Channel Awesome have done this yet, But At least I'll be second place.I seen this movie many times in the past on when it was in the TV and on Blu-Ray... Well, I never thought Id say this on a Peter Jackson movie but... I thought it was an alright movie, Arthur McCartney might not have been into this movie but for me... Well you know, I found the Story interesting, Mr Fox was alright in it, There where some cleaver Ideas in this, using ghosts for exorcist profit was a original idea, And there are some Jump-Scars that would work for anyone that's never seen this before, But this movie does have problems, Some of the Jump-Scars will get old, And seeming it was made in the 90's the CGI would look dated, I found Heaven and Hell very strange, But I'll give this movie credit on the look of the ghosts, They look more Realistic in some strange way if we are able to see them, (YEAH TAKE THAT CASPER!!) I know there is a Novel of this movie that's based on the Original script, But there is an extended version of the movie that is included in Blu-Ray, Two disk special edition DVD's and possibly on the Laserdisc Special Edition, I seen the extended version and let me tell you, It's a lot better, has more to the story then the theatrical release, If this movie was released in the Halloween season, then it would have made more money out of it, But it's an Average Peter Jackson Movie from his Early Days of Movie making.As Oliver Harper once aid on his Review in this movie, You will return to it on a Regular bases!Here is a link to his Review of this movie, Now if you excuse me, I'm off to see is my Old TV down stares is not possessed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYI5KrZDjcA
jimbo-53-186511
Following a car accident Frank Bannister (Michael J Fox) develops psychic abilities which allows him to see and communicate with the dead. In order to make himself a quick and easy buck he gets a small team of ghosts to scare residents into believing that their homes are haunted. However, when performing an exorcism at one house he discovers a demon that isn't part of the act and Bannister soon discovers that this demon is killing both the living and the dead. Bannister finds himself having to use his psychic abilities for a good cause and with the help of Dr Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado) and his ghost friends he sets out to try and stop the demon.The Frighteners is certainly a film that I fully expected to enjoy - at least that's what I thought after watching the first 5 minutes. It looked like the sort of film that might have been a daft bit of fun, but for me sadly the sense of fun only came in very short bursts.Initially, the story presents itself as merely a slight re-working of Ghost (only presumably a more fun version), but it expands slightly on this concept as the story progresses. I was unsure when watching this film whether it was intended as a satire or as a comedy horror. Whatever it was trying to achieve it mostly failed as it wasn't well-observed enough to work as a satire, nor was it funny enough or scary enough to work as a comedy horror. The script itself generally lacked any sort of wit and I didn't think that the film flowed all that well - it probably didn't help that I also didn't find the story all that involving. I also didn't think Bannister's ghosts were that funny and to be honest I found them irritating more than anything else.The final third of the film was silly, over the top and utterly ridiculous, but to be fair it did seem to at least bring some fun and excitement to the table which seemed to be lacking for the bulk of the film. Adopting this tone throughout the film wouldn't have necessarily made it a particularly good film or even a memorable one, but it would have at least been an enjoyable one.The only positives about this film are the special effects which were great for their time. R Lee Ermey's cameo in this film is brief but it was easily the funniest and most memorable thing about this film. Michael J Fox is pretty good here and does try to bring some energy to the film, but with so much working against him this always seemed like a lost cause. All in all it's a disappointing film considering its credentials.
carbuff
Fun movie which, as another reviewer commented, seems like it's out of the 80s when it was actually made in the mid-90s, although, for me personally, that is not a bad thing, since I enjoy a lot of stuff from 80s. This movie is a light action/comedy/horror mix and it plays very well with decent acting, production values and special effects. The unusual and pretty unpredictable story keeps moving, and I liked that the horror was not extreme, unlike so much that is produced today. (True horror fans aren't even going to acknowledge this movie as horror, but it's not far short of as much as I myself want to experience.) Whereas I can't really imagine watching this movie at a theater, since it really doesn't have that blockbuster vibe, it is perfect for a slow night at home on a big screen TV with popcorn and a coke.
