The Frighteners (1996) Revisited – Horror Movie Review

The episode of Deconstructing… covering The Frighteners was Written, Edited, and Narrated by Kier Gomes, Produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Question: What makes the hero of a good story worth rooting for? Are we looking for a tragic backstory that forces us to sympathize with them? Do we need to see our hero lose everything so that we can wish for them to gain it back with interest? Is it the underdog with good intentions who seemingly has flaws that any audience member can relate to? Or could it be that what makes a hero is having the most lines and the most to do in a scene? Either way, if a hero talks like a hero, and seemingly behaves like a hero, but is completely motivated by their own agenda and personal gain – are they still a hero? What if this person’s motivation changes and their humanity is restored by the end of it all? Can we overlook their initial selfishness?

In the case of The Frighteners (watch it HERE), Frank Bannister who, for all intents and purposes is our hero, the lines become blurry as we find ourselves rooting for him as kind of an “every man” who has flaws and layers that are easily relatable. He’s a mostly regular guy who suffered a terrible tragedy and has found himself largely disconnected from his community and society as his way of coping. Or at least, that’s what we’re meant to think, as Frank is also a con man with a dark past and some guilt for past traumas.

The Frighteners is Peter Jackson’s cult classic that has been cast into the shadow of the director’s more notable works. As in, this movie was Jackson’s final film before his career would change forever with the release of the highly beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s a story about grief, obsession, and redemption as we follow Frank, a paranormal investigator with a sixth sense that talks to ghosts – which he uses to haunt the locals and thus generate business for his ghost-catching hustle. But when Frank starts seeing the mark of a dead local serial killer on potential living victims, he must find a way to conquer the dead in order to save the living. But what we really see is a broken man with an incredible gift who learns to push the limits of his ability in hopes to make up for the skeletons in his closet. It’s a dark and macabre tale that will entertain you at every turn. And in today’s episode, we’re going to crossover into the afterlife and see what makes The Frighteners a true cinematic haunt. I’m Kier Gomes with JoBlo Horror, and you’re watching Deconstructing…

Alright folks, today we get into The Frighteners and right off the bat I have to admit, this movie is by far one of my favorite ghost stories of all time. Peter Jackson delivered us a visually entertaining film with heart and soul at the core and I eat it up every single time. But as always on this show, I’m here to break down the film into 4 key categories that can help to narrow down why this is such a special film. We’re going to be looking at the Origin, where I talk about the behind-the-scenes of the film and how it got made – which (spoiler alert) is an interesting story all on its own. Then we talk about the Legacy of the film, where we cover some of the timeless aspects of the movie that are still recognizable today. Moving on to Trivia, where I’ll give you some fun facts about the movie that you can share with your friends. And we cap it all off by talking about the film’s X-Factor, where I get into the single detail that truly makes the movie a worthwhile rewatch. And I have a feeling this one will be especially difficult for me due to my love and admiration for this movie. So, if you’re ready, then fasten your seatbelts and stay off the lawn, and you might as well drop a like on this video and subscribe for the most ghostly in horror content. And let’s talk about:

ORIGIN

Now, this movie has an entire documentary dedicated to the making of it. But to distill it down to its most interesting version, here we go… Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh originally conceived The Frighteners in 1992 with a 3 page treatment that pitched the general story. This treatment ended up in the hands of Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis, who planned to use this idea as a spin-off film to the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series. Of course, after Jackson and Walsh delivered Zemeckis a full screenplay, he quickly saw the potential for the movie to exist on its own and hired Jackson to direct with Zemeckis acting as the executive producer and financier. The film was given a budget of just $26 million and got the green light from Universal Pictures to start filming in 1994. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL.

The script was so well received that Jackson and Zemeckis were also given full creative control to make the movie the way THEY wanted to do it. They had what’s known as “Final Cut Privilege”, which means that they decided on the final edit of the film. To me, this makes ALL the difference and we will be talking more about that later. Weta digital signed on for the movie’s visual effects and this is probably easy to notice once someone points it out but the ghosts in this movie look VERY similar to the ghosts in Lord of the Rings. The pale blue and transparent design adds a coldness to them that kind of makes them a signature VFX calling card for Jackson’s movies. And in case you need me to say it: I love the look of the ghosts.

The making of this movie would prove to be a perfect training ground for Jackson to hone his skills that would later come in handy in his LOTR work – but also for Weta Digital, as they had less than 3 years experience in digital effects at the time. The Frighteners used more VFX than almost any other movie at that time. It was something that audiences hadn’t seen in this capacity before and that in and of itself makes this movie special. It feels like everyone involved was pushing new limits while making it and it shines through in every aspect of this film. While today we see visual effects in almost every movie, and the logistics of filming actors playing ghosts in the same scene as actors playing humans seems like commonplace at this point, at the time, shooting Michael J. Fox interacting with a ghost in the same shot meant that each scene needed to be filmed twice. The actors playing humans like Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Jeffrey Combs, and Troy Evans never did their scenes with any actors who played ghosts. For example, in the scene where Frank has to explain to Ray that he’s dead, Fox had to stand in the set and say his lines to like a tennis ball offscreen, and then Peter Dobson (playing a ghost) filmed his responses to Frank in front of a blue screen- which was then digitally composited into the film and made to look like two people talking. This is also known as “split-screen-photography” which again, is much easier now. Hell, even I can do it!

While the production was difficult, and taking longer than anticipated to shoot, the studio had so much faith in the final result that the film was given an extra $6 million and the release date was pushed forward nearly half of a year to make the “summer blockbuster” season. And as if having names like Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, Michael J. Fox, and cinematographer John Blick wasn’t enough, the score for the film was done to perfection by Danny Elfman, who you know as the composer behind some of the best films in cinema history.

With revolutionary VFX, a screenplay that inspired faith in the studios, and some of the biggest names in cinema attached to this thing, it was time to release the ghouls…

LEGACY

Now the question here is, what do we talk about when we talk about The Frighteners? When this movie was released in the summer of ’96, it was met by what I personally believe can only be described as… being dealt a bad hand. Here’s what I mean: The Frighteners is a film that takes a gothic and dark tone while ALSO having a script packed with charm, and wit, and light dialogue. It’s basically Tim Burton meets Ivan Reitman or Batman Returns meets Ghostbusters. The point i’m trying to make is that this movie, despite being mostly tame and family friendly save for a few violent scenes, the MPAA granted this film an R rating. Jackson fought to get the film a PG-13 which I believe it totally deserves, the movie was forced to wear the dreaded “RATED R” which rendered the film’s target audience unable to access it. I grew up in the ’90s and early 2000s and I definitely had friends who would not be allowed to watch certain movies strictly because of the rating. And while I think that’s valid for some films, this movie is way too lighthearted to feel like a rated R movie. Honestly if Batman Returns can show the Penguin nose bite and STILL get a PG-13 rating, but The Frighteners gets an R…

But while we’re on the topic, Jake Busey gives by far one of his most unhinged performances in this movie and that is absolutely part of the film’s legacy. His commitment to chewing the scenery and going full madman works perfectly for this wacky dark movie. Gary Busey would be proud.

Now all of that to say that this movie underperformed at the box office, bringing in about $29 million which was less than the movie cost to make and market. I believe if the movie had been made PG-13, The Frighteners would have been a haunting but magical summer blockbuster that we’d have seen getting the praise it deserves. The movie was well received by audiences and critics however, which further proves my theory to be correct and I found this quote from Kenneth Turan from LA Times that I think PERFECTLY explains what we love about this film:

“Director Peter Jackson, at home with all kinds of excess in New Zealand, keeps everything spinning nicely, not even losing a step when the mood turns increasingly disturbing.” – Kenneth Turan

This movie is remembered for being a beautiful and unique ghost story that isn’t afraid to go to the dark places and deliver on thrills. I watch it at least once every year and it still gets me every time Frank kills himself to fight the Grim Reaper and then barely makes it back to life. I’m talking edge of my seat.

And perhaps the most memorable aspect of this film (for better or worse) is the character of Milton Dammers. An FBI agent who is left mentally fucked after surviving a childhood encounter with The Manson Family. This dude is straight out of your worst nightmares and his gross, creepy mannerisms and weird Shakespearian dialogue is severely disturbing. In fact, I take back everything I said, THIS MOVIE DESERVES TO BE RATED R JUST FOR THIS GUY.

TRIVIA

Let’s play a game! See if you can answer this question: Which notorious serial killer was the character of Johnny Bartlett and his crimes inspired by in the film: A. John Wayne Gacy B. Richard Speck C. Ted Bundy D. Charles Starkweather Comment your answer below!

For fans of horror, you probably also recognize Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West in Re-Animator, another cult classic horror film. In fact, Peter Jackson specifically requested Combs for the role of Milton Dammers because of his performance in Re-Animator.

And one last fun fact for the fans: Did you know that R. Lee Ermey’s dead drill sergeant cameo in the film was intentionally made to be almost identical to his character’s hard-ass personality in Full Metal Jacket? I just think that’s fun.

THE X-FACTOR

Here we are folks! The one we really want to talk about, the one that is sure to be unique to this video and carefully curated to kick ass: The X Factor. You know what I’m going to say. This was tough. There’s just so much to love about this movie and so many things that make it special to me. But what I’m looking for is something new. Something about this movie that hasn’t been praised but deserves to be. Something… spooky. While I don’t think it would be unfair to give the X-Factor to the movie’s incredible visual effects by Weta Digital, and the immaculate set design that puts viewers directly into the scene. But of course, these things can be found receiving well-deserved praise from just about anybody who has seen the film. The New Zealand landscape gives the movie a bleak and rainy feel while offering beautiful green mountains and a charming small-town atmosphere. But to get away from the same compliments this movie often gets, we need to keep looking. I even considered using the segment to talk about Frank’s hustle as a ghost-whisperer. When we meet Frank, he’s a slick and fast-talking con artist who uses his ability to see and speak to ghosts to have his Ghost-partners haunt local houses so that Frank can come in and “kick them out”. I think this adds to the quality of the story, as it shows that Frank’s initial relationship to the dead was to use them to benefit himself. He had an almost lack-of-respect for them as he saw them as merely tools for his craft. But throughout the story Frank grows to understand and empathize with the ghosts. It adds a lot to his arc in a very subtle way and it’s brilliant.
But that wasn’t quite gonna do it for me. I needed something more.

I got it. It’s explained in the film that Frank’s wife is killed in a car accident caused by Frank. This accident supposedly killed his wife, but granted Frank with the ability to see ghosts. Well, a side-element is that Frank was building a beautiful house for himself and his wife, but after she died, Frank continued living there but never finished the build. His house doesn’t have a full roof, walls, safe floors, or any accommodations, yet Frank continues to live there with his Ghost roommates. This shows us that Frank, being a grieving widower, does not feel content with moving on. Partly because of the guilt he feels for supposedly killing his wife – which we learn later is not exactly true – but also showing that Frank’s inability to move on is matched only by his inability to make his current environment comfortable. In Frank’s mind, he doesn’t deserve a fucking roof. He doesn’t deserve a comfortable bed to sleep in or a kitchen to cook in. To Frank, he’s already dead. This is what gives me the feels when I watch this movie. Seeing a man who believes he deserves nothing learn the shocking truth that eventually sets him free… and thus, gives him a second chance at life.

So my friends, as always I’m curious to know what your thoughts are on this cult classic movie. Thank you for listening, and we will see you next time on Deconstructing… Goodnight.

A couple of the previous episodes of Deconstructing… can be seen below,. To see more episodes, and to check out our other shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!