Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

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.

atinder Wow, I can not believe that I have never seen this movie in full before.I had seen pits of here and there now and again.I love this movies It one the most fussiest horror movies of all timeI loved the p'ot the movie as it started of the word go,This was a really fun movie to watch and it was not scary at all , I don't think it wanted to be!I could not stop laughing at what some of the ghost were doing One think did bug me in this movie was , that some ghost ending going though thinks but some ghost can land on a car and not go though As i was wacthing this time flew as it was really fast pace and the acting was really good of the whole castAnd the effects for ghost were really done well

januaryman-1 The Frighteners is a fun little movie from the mid-90s. It has an pleasing mix of stars who hit their stride in the 80s (Fox,Wallace, and Ermey) and others who count this as among their first works (Alvarado, Busey, McBride). It is an odd mix of horror and humor from Peter Jackson and had state-of-the-art special effects for the time.The Frighteners, filmed and produced in New Zealand, was the biggest special effects movie made at that time outside the Hollywood movie base. It made extensive use of blue screens and had over 400 computer-enhanced special effects. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh wrote the script and Jackson directed and produced the film.The Frighteners has an overall tone of whimsy but also has some impressive horror movie moments. The Danny Elfman score fits the movie perfectly. Frank Bannister, played by Fox, is a widowed psychic investigator exploring supernatural goings on in a placid rural town. Newcomer Alvarado plays his romantic interest. Veteran actor John Astin plays a ghost called The Judge who has seen his better days. Ermey plays drill instructor (go figure), Sgt Hiles, who is in charge of the local cemetery. He has several lines and a general demeanor that pays homage or satirizes (depending on your viewpoint) his character in 1987's Full Metal Jacket. Jake Busey plays a good bad man, and McBride plays a funny role as Bannister's ghostly aide.The Frighteners is amusing, frightening, entertaining, and a bit exhausting. It is a great Fall or Halloween movie.

daggersineyes Wow! Just watched this movie and what a trip it was!! I can't believe something as lame as Ghostbusters garnered all the attention while this gem was swept aside like the red-headed step-child. So many fantastic characters and twists and turns it made my head spin. I loved everything about this flick including the awesome special effects & the silly humour. Fox shone like he always does and the dude playing the insane FBI agent was brilliant!! Great story, wonderfully directed with great actors and a magic blend of hilarity, scariness, suspense, shocks and spookiness! I read some of the reviews here and can't believe how negative some of them are & the reasons they give for their negativity. eg "Oh boo hoo! It was awful coz the music sounded like some music I heard in another movie" and "Mr Jackson used CGI & expensive cameras and stuff & I don't think he should be allowed to, so I'm going to punish him with lower marks" etc etc Seriously? I think some people just love to be miserable.This is well worth seeing - it's just become one of my favourite movies. And now I just need to find (and buy) the Director's Cut for even more fun!