The Frighteners (1996)

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

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.

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.