HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 21: THE FRIGHTENERS

Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson, got his start in film with- yep, you guessed it- horror movies. Bad Taste, his first film, is a horror film. Meet the Feebles and Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead) are unique horrific experiences all their own. Just before making The Lord of the Rings he made a film which in one big way directly contributed to The Lord of the Rings beings his next project. That film was THE FRIGHTENERS.

Essentially it's a darker version of Ghostbusters. Paranormal investigator Frank Banister is a man at his wits end. Ever since a fateful car crash that claimed the life of his wife Banister has been able to see and communicate with the dead. Even interact with them and touch them. Frank has been working as a con-man, using his connections with ghosts to routinely haunt folks and plant business cards for Banister's Ghost Removal services.

SPOILER ALERT
When Death truly does arrive in town Frank can see the signs. He can see those who are marked for Death. The signs resemble his wife's death. Frank tries to stop it but in turn it appears to the public that he himself is the killer. Frank's ghost friends attempt to help him uncover the identity of the killer, the long deceased serial killer Johnny Bartlet. Bartlet killed 12 people in the late 1950's. Now he's killing again, trying to increase his kill record.

Frank's ghost friends are killed. He kills himself just to combat Bartlet on the spectral plane. The battle moves to the abandon asylum where the original 12 murders took place. Heaven and Hell show up to the party looking to claim either Frank's soul or Johnny's and not caring who gets who.

This film was Peter Jackson's first big budget film. It was extremely special effects heavy too requiring boatloads of computers and CGI. Peter Jackson looked at all the computers he purchased for this film and thought, "what movie can I now make that would require so much CGI special effects?" The rest is history as they say. So all you Lord of the Rings fans owe your respect to this movie here, The Frighteners.

Another aspect of this film that makes it so special are the actors. Michael J. Fox has always been a favorite actor of mine, made a fan by his Back to the Future films. Fox puts forth perhaps his best performance ever in this film. The man's got talent. A man who also has talent is actor Jeffrey Combs. Star of Stuart Gorden's Re-Animator and From Beyond, Jeffrey Combs is a horror genre favorite. He always puts forth a memorable performance and this film is no exception. Another horror veteran Dee Wallace puts forth a solid performance too.

All in all this movie is great fun! It's exciting, scary, funny, and very very entertaining. Peter Jackson's final horror film is perhaps his best horror entry to date. In case you didn't notice I kinda like this movie. And if you haven't seen it yet it's a good one to check out.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10