The Frighteners (1996)

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.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Frank Bannister
Trini Alvarado	...	Dr. Lucy Lynskey
Peter Dobson	...	Ray Lynskey
John Astin	...	The Judge
Jeffrey Combs	...	Milton Dammers
Dee Wallace	...	Patricia Ann Bradley (as Dee Wallace-Stone)
Jake Busey	...	Johnny Bartlett
Chi McBride	...	Cyrus
Jim Fyfe	...	Stuart, Bannister's Ghostly Assistant
Troy Evans	...	Sheriff Walt Perry
Julianna McCarthy	...	Old Lady Bradley
R. Lee Ermey	...	Sgt. Hiles
Elizabeth Hawthorne	...	Magda Rees-Jones
Angela Bloomfield	...	Debra Bannister
Desmond Kelly	...	Harry Sinclair

Storyline

After a car accident in which his wife, Debra, was killed and he was injured, Frank Bannister develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts. After losing his wife, he then gave up his job as an architect, letting his unfinished "dream house" sit incomplete for years, and put these skills to use by befriending a few ghosts and getting them to haunt houses in the area to drum up work for his ghostbusting business; Then Frank proceeds to "exorcise" the houses for a fee. But when he discovers that an entity resembling the Grim Reaper is killing people, marking numbers on their forehead beforehand, Frank tries to help the people whom the Reaper is after!

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | black comedy | serial killer | grim reaper | hell | 

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Taglines:

Frightening, isn't it?

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror/violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

New Zealand USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Robert Zemeckis Presents: The Frighteners

Filming Locations:

Oklahoma, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,565,000, 21 July 1996

Gross USA:

$16,759,216

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, WingNut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 123 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

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 trilogy.

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Goofs

When the bed starts shaking with Lucy on it the lifting and shaking equipment under the bed is clearly visible.

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Quotes

[an Elvis statuette flies around the room during a Poltergeist appearance]
Ray Lynskey: He's alive!

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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.

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Connections

References Heavenly Creatures (1994)

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Soundtracks

Don't Fear The Reaper
Written by Donald Roeser
Performed by The Mutton Birds
Courtesy of Virgin Records Australasia

User Reviews

Expertly Crafter

The Frighteners is an excellent horror-comedy-drama in which Michael J. Fox plays ex-architect and now psychic scamster Frank Bannister. The film revolves around the premise that Frank, after being involved in an accident which resulted in the death of his wife, can now see disembodied spirits and runs a scam in which the ghouls haunt houses under the order of Frank and then he 'exorcises' them for a fee. However, a series of murders begin in Frank's town and it becomes achingly clear that these murders have something to do with his wife's death. The romantic involvement comes in the form of Trini Alvarado (Little Women) who plays a doctor who's husband was killed by the evil forces at work. This film achieves many things, it manages to create a comic atmosphere at times whilst being able to make us feel real sympathy for the character of Frank and his tragic circumstances. This is a truly under-rated film and it is well worth watching.