I just rewatched the Frighteners years after having seen it in the theaters. I remember being disappointed when I left the theater way back in the day. But I thought I'd give it another chance. I enjoyed the first hour immensely and figured that has misjudged the movie all these years. Then the second half kicks in and the whole thing devolves into a mess of too many characters, too many ideas (there is such a thing in a story), and too much frantic, teen-minded violence. Part of the problem is the change from strictly spooky stuff to the more "serial killer" tropes. It turned on a dime from a clever twist on "GhostBusters" to "let's joke about slicing people up." The tonal shit was jarring for me. Another part of the problem was the performance of character actor Jeffery Combs. Don't get me wrong--he is GREAT in the film, like a uber-creepy, coked up Tony Perkins. It is such a vivid characterization, so bizarrely powerful, that it throws everything off--he's just too crazy, intense and interesting to be the plot device his character is. He deserved his own movie. As it was in this one, though, the point where his character takes center stage also marks the point where the film starts to collapse under its own weight (especially considering he is neither the hero or the real villain). Anyway, the set up of the Frighteners was SO good. It's too bad the punchline was such an overwrought mess.

Do some of you Believe in Ghosts? Well Knowing Japan, They are very superstitious, But I'm talking about Ghosts in movies... I know they are sometimes seen in Halloween, But There is one Ghost movie that is very... Interesting, The Frighteners, Now As you all know Peter Jackson is one of most Recognizable Directors in Hollywood, He did Movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, And his Remake of King Kong, But he also did projects that I thought where the guys Film-College experiments, This is one of his movies that I'd say was a Nexus of his Directing life, And Remember Michael J. Fox, He is in this movie I always thought he looked like Matt Damon back then, Also I have this movie on Blu-Ray while Mr Jackson has it on Laserdisc (While might have been the Prototypes to DVD's HD-DVD's and Blu-Rays)... First off I have to point out that This poster of the Movie is pretty Confusing then Scary, I mean WHAT THE HECK I'M I LOOKING AT HERE? This was the best you could come up with Peter Jackson? All we see is a Face of some strange Smiling Alien skull Pressing his face against a Wall of Fabric, Gives me no idea what the movie is about, Well seeming that Oliver Harper Review this movie, Don't know if the Critics from Channel Awesome have done this yet, But At least I'll be second place.I seen this movie many times in the past on when it was in the TV and on Blu-Ray... Well, I never thought Id say this on a Peter Jackson movie but... I thought it was an alright movie, Arthur McCartney might not have been into this movie but for me... Well you know, I found the Story interesting, Mr Fox was alright in it, There where some cleaver Ideas in this, using ghosts for exorcist profit was a original idea, And there are some Jump-Scars that would work for anyone that's never seen this before, But this movie does have problems, Some of the Jump-Scars will get old, And seeming it was made in the 90's the CGI would look dated, I found Heaven and Hell very strange, But I'll give this movie credit on the look of the ghosts, They look more Realistic in some strange way if we are able to see them, (YEAH TAKE THAT CASPER!!) I know there is a Novel of this movie that's based on the Original script, But there is an extended version of the movie that is included in Blu-Ray, Two disk special edition DVD's and possibly on the Laserdisc Special Edition, I seen the extended version and let me tell you, It's a lot better, has more to the story then the theatrical release, If this movie was released in the Halloween season, then it would have made more money out of it, But it's an Average Peter Jackson Movie from his Early Days of Movie making.As Oliver Harper once aid on his Review in this movie, You will return to it on a Regular bases!Here is a link to his Review of this movie, Now if you excuse me, I'm off to see is my Old TV down stares is not possessed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYI5KrZDjcA

Peter Jackson's quirky horror comedy acts as a showcase for a whole slew of impressive special effects - which, like in the similar MEN IN BLACK - work well due to the whole comic-book feel of the film. In a serious thriller or drama, they'd of course look fake and ludicrous, but in Jackson's brightly coloured world of ghosts and spirits, they're gobsmacking. While THE FRIGHTENERS is certainly a fun film to watch and a nice film to look at, sadly as is the case with most blockbuster's, it's hardly what you would call substantial, but that doesn't matter in this film's case.This has the most basic of plots as well. Basically, it pretty much consists of one action scene after another with a little bit of history/background information thrown in to pad it out. This seems to have been done for necessity rather than any real reason; this is a purely superficial film. A manic energy keeps it watchable but the ending is a bit of a mess, with a need to tie up every loose end imaginable it quickly becomes a simple series of climaxes becoming ever more ludicrous.Thankfully a team of interesting actors and actresses almost make it all worthwhile and give us something to listen to in between all of the ghoulish gags and special effects. Michael J Fox plays the film's lead, a fine enough actor to cope with all the happenings going on but a sorely shallow person to play. We never learn much about his investigator, save that he saw his wife die once and that a car accident caused him to have psychic visions. That's it. An unrecognisable Dee Wallace Stone plays a former mental patient caught up in the chaos while Trini Alvarado is the solid female lead.Elsewhere, Jackson seems determined to fill his supporting roles with the most psychotic actors available. In particular we have Jeffrey Combs in a rare mainstream appearance (rather more substantial than his blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL) as a whacked-out FBI agent who has become more insane than the people he hunts. Combs looks incredibly odd in what I like to think is a dig at Fox Mulder's weirdness in THE X-FILES. While his acting is fine and good use is made of his expressions, his character's oddities quickly become grating and in the final third his role seems rather extraneous to the rest of the plot - his appearances eliciting sighs rather than the chuckles Jackson was hoping for.Also on hand are Jake Busey (Gary's son, briefly showing in STARSHIP TROOPERS), as the film's resident psychotic murderer who is actually pretty good, R. Lee Ermey playing a riff on his role in FULL METAL JACKET, and old favourite John Astin as a decrepit ghost who has problems with his jaw. As mentioned earlier, the CGI effects are the best things in this film with all manner of glowing ghosts, flowing Grim Reapers flying across the sky and things reaching out of walls and floors to attack people. Impressive they most certainly are, and they make the film. A macabre sense of humour makes things more amusing than they rightfully should be, but again with Jackson this is all style and visual effects over anything else - as was the case with his frenetic yet hollow BRAINDEAD. Worth catching if your brain is switched off.

This one has received mixed Reviews. It's hard to imagine that anyone could be critical of the imagination that went into this entertaining, if overblown, Movie. It has enough energy and creativity for three Films. But it doesn't know when to quit. It just goes on and on, almost, but not quite, draining the fresh flourishes from the Film.There are Artistic touches that impress and it looks very much like the Cartoony Movies that Jackson had made up to this point. But this may have suffered from too much Zemeckis and too much Money. The Director never needed a lot of Money to make Cool, Off-Beat, and Artistically rewarding Stuff.Just one example, in the opening Scene we see an Evil Entity haunting a Women and it is shown protruding from behind walls and carpets. It is different and diabolical. But it won't be the last time this effect is used. Suffice to say that repetition is the bane of this really good Film.There are Plots on top of Plots and not just in the Cemetery. It could be just a bit too much for some, and yet it is so charming that others may say, give me more.