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IMDbPro

The Frighteners

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
88K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,574
492
Michael J. Fox in The Frighteners (1996)
Trailer
Play trailer1:59
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop i... Read allAfter a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
88K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,574
492
  • Director
    • Peter Jackson
  • Writers
    • Fran Walsh
    • Peter Jackson
  • Stars
    • Michael J. Fox
    • Trini Alvarado
    • Peter Dobson
Top credits
  • Director
    • Peter Jackson
  • Writers
    • Fran Walsh
    • Peter Jackson
  • Stars
    • Michael J. Fox
    • Trini Alvarado
    • Peter Dobson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 263User reviews
    • 130Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 17 nominations

    Videos2

    The Frighteners
    Trailer 1:59
    The Frighteners
    A Guide to the Films of Peter Jackson
    Clip 1:33
    A Guide to the Films of Peter Jackson

    Photos198

    Michael J. Fox in The Frighteners (1996)
    Michael J. Fox and Trini Alvarado in The Frighteners (1996)
    Jake Busey in The Frighteners (1996)
    Jeffrey Combs in The Frighteners (1996)
    Peter Jackson in The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)
    Michael J. Fox and Trini Alvarado in The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)
    The Frighteners (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael J. Fox
    Michael J. Fox
    • Frank Bannisteras Frank Bannister
    Trini Alvarado
    Trini Alvarado
    • Lucy Lynskeyas Lucy Lynskey
    Peter Dobson
    Peter Dobson
    • Ray Lynskeyas Ray Lynskey
    John Astin
    John Astin
    • The Judgeas The Judge
    Jeffrey Combs
    Jeffrey Combs
    • Milton Dammersas Milton Dammers
    Dee Wallace
    Dee Wallace
    • Patricia Bradleyas Patricia Bradley
    • (as Dee Wallace Stone)
    Jake Busey
    Jake Busey
    • Johnny Bartlettas Johnny Bartlett
    Chi McBride
    Chi McBride
    • Cyrusas Cyrus
    Jim Fyfe
    Jim Fyfe
    • Stuartas Stuart
    Troy Evans
    Troy Evans
    • Sheriff Perryas Sheriff Perry
    Julianna McCarthy
    • Old Lady Bradleyas Old Lady Bradley
    R. Lee Ermey
    R. Lee Ermey
    • Hilesas Hiles
    Elizabeth Hawthorne
    Elizabeth Hawthorne
    • Magda Rees-Jonesas Magda Rees-Jones
    Angela Bloomfield
    Angela Bloomfield
    • Debra Bannisteras Debra Bannister
    Desmond Kelly
    • Harry Sinclairas Harry Sinclair
    Jonathan Blick
    • Steve Baylissas Steve Bayliss
    Todd Rippon
    • Deputyas Deputy
    John Sumner
    John Sumner
    • Deputyas Deputy
    • Director
      • Peter Jackson
    • Writers
      • Fran Walsh
      • Peter Jackson
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    The Making of 'The Frighteners'
    7.9
    The Making of 'The Frighteners'

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Michael J. Fox repeatedly blew his lines by calling The Judge (John Astin) "Doc", the name of Christopher Lloyd's character in the Back to the Future (1985) trilogy.
    • Goofs
      When Frank goes to the Lynskey house he said it was 'spontaneous recurrent psychokinesis', but when he goes to another case he calls it 'recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis'. The fact that he can't keep his con man story straight makes the scene even funnier.
    • Quotes

      Judge: [after having sex with a mummy] I like it when they lie still like that.

    • Alternate versions
      When Peter Jackson learned during post-production that the MPAA was going to give the movie an R-rating (despite many efforts to go for a PG-13 rating), he made Milton Dammers' death scene more gruesome by blowing up his head, instead of just having him shot in the chest and blown through the chapel doors. This caused problems with the BBFC, who cut the one continuous shot into two shots, minus the bullet blowing up the head. This censored Region 2 DVD was released throughout Europe. The U.S. television version uses the take where Dammers is blown through the chapel doors.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Multiplicity/The Frighteners/Kazaam/Fled/Celestial Clockwork (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Don't Fear The Reaper
      Written by Donald Roeser

      Performed by The Mutton Birds (as The Mutton Birds)

      Courtesy of Virgin Records Australasia

    User reviews263

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Far more fantasy than horror but still enjoyable
    Accused of murder, a small-town psychic charlatan learns that his skills in dealing with the deceased are put to the test for real when the murder spree continues despite everything he can do to stop it and must keep the spirit from harming his friends.

    This here turned out to be quite an infuriating and quite troubling if somewhat interesting effort. Most of this is due to the fact that the film is far more of a fantasy effort that a straight-forward horror effort which is strange considering the subject matter at hand. This is mainly found in the finale at the hospital about the subject being sent into a heavenly arena and all the different after-effects on the body being adjusted to life back on Earth, all this just makes for a rather confusing time being that the main purpose is to stop the rampage of the ghostly figure throughout the town that only he can see and believe, so the sudden influx of mystical elements that this does at the very end makes for a confusing time. As well, the fact that these scenes force the film along far longer than it really should as the lengthy running time here really kills this one in that last section, not only with the sudden influx of fantasy but the mindless need to pay off far more plot- threads than it needed. Overall, this really could've used a few minutes shaved off here by deciding to abandon a few of these plots. That said, there's a lot to like here especially the scenes of the hooded ghostly menace in action, most notably the kinetic sequence in the holding cell where the good ghosts go fight the hooded ghost and take the fight between the walls and they good barreling through the different sections of the room as the humans watch and wait for them to appear and disappear, as well as a couple stellar attacks on a moving car that look absolutely amazing, an ambush in a graveyard and finally the hospital confrontation that makes for a lot of fun, so as an action film and horror film it definitely works wonders. As well, the CGI used is actually well-done and doesn't look cheap or fake at all, and gives the ghosts a fluidity that actually comes off nicely and makes up for some of the other flaws.

    Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
    helpful•11
    6
    • kannibalcorpsegrinder
    • Sep 3, 2013

    FAQ9

    • What is The Frighteners about?
    • How many different versions do exist of this movie?
    • What actually happened when Frank and his wife Debra crashed in the car in the flashback?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 19, 1996 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • New Zealand
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Robert Zemeckis Presents: The Frighteners
    • Filming locations
      • Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • WingNut Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $16,759,216
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,565,495
      • Jul 21, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $29,359,216
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • DTS-Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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