Rating: 
Summary: The last movie Peter Jackson made before "LOTR"
Review: When his growing legions of fans work their way back through the early films of Peter Jackson to determine how the man who started off directing comic gorefests like "Bad Taste" and "Dead Alive" ended up being entrusted with "The Lord of the Rings," this 1996 film will be the last link in the chain because it was after "The Frighteners" that Jackson devoted himself to bringing Tolkien to the big screen. Like every film he has ever made, "The Frighteners" shows a relentless creativity, although ultimately the story is not up to the impressive special effects. Consequently, while enjoyable, the film is also somewhat disappointing because we really expected something better in a film where Jackson finally had money to play with."The Frighteners" is a horror-comedy that falls a bit short of both halves of the equation although it starts off strong enough. Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) is a paranormal investigator who shows up in the small town of Fairweather, California. Bannister is a most unusual con artist, because not only can he really see ghosts, he has three of them working for him: Stuart (Jim Fyfe), Cyrus (Chi McBride), and the Judge (John Astin). The ghostly trio put the fear of the undead into someone and then Bannister shows up and drives them away: for a small fee (with a money back guarantee). But then the husband of Lucy Lynsky (Trini Alvardo) drops dead and so do a lot of other people in town, all from heart attacks, and usually after seeing Bannister. He knows that the killer is the Soul Catcher, because he can not only see it attack, he can see the numbers that appear on the foreheads of his intended victims. Then things get complicated. By the time we find out what the opening scene of the film, where unseen spirits are terrifying loony old Patricia Ann Bradley (Dee Wallace-Stone), the contrivances are too mind-numbing to really care. Apparently there is a point to all this having to do with the competitiveness of Americans even in the realm of serial killing. Bannister's attempts to play the hero are consistently thwarted by Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs), an F.B.I. agent who is equal parts hardcase and nutcase. Every time he did something weird I found myself saying, "Well, okay then." His antics usually engendered a laugh, but it was just never quite the right type of laugh, having too much of a skeptical edge to it. If there is one think you do not want you audience to be when you are doing a horror movie with ghosts, it would be skeptical. Despite the problems with the convoluted narrative and the uneven tone of the comedy, this is still a film worth watching just to see what Jackson pulls out of his special effects bag of tricks next. Clearly the best of the pre-LOTR movies from Jackson is definitely "Heavaenly Creatures," which speaks to the director's strengths in terms of not just special effects but also with adaptations, whether from a literary classic or from infamous historical events. This means that his announced next project, a remake of "King Kong," plays to these strengths as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Be afraid, but not to afraid
Review: When I first saw this on the television I was expecting dark humour coupled with emense amounts of blood and gore along the lines of Bad Taste and Braindead(Known to Americans as Dead Alive). Then I heard it was only a 15 (somewhere in between a PG-13 and R)so I began to wonder if it was worth watching, I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did because I would have missed out on a great movie.
The story follows the miss-adventures of would be Exorcist Micheal J Fox, as he scams the public with his mock excorisms. But He can actually see ghosts and three of them help him with him scam. But soon people in town start dying and it looks like the murderer is death himself. Wrongly accussed of the murders by the extremely strage detective Fox's character must solve the murders before he gets sent down for them.
This film isn't all seriousnous though the three ghosts who befriend Fox provide some ammusing jokes and the overall tone of the movie is generally light hearted fun.
Rating:
Summary: Combs kicks ass
Review: this movie is about Michael J. Fox(who long ago was accused of killing his wife some how) but all that is gonna rap up as he starts to see a dark shadow thing taken peoples souls(who can it be??). then he starts to see other ghosts and becomes friends with them and he becomes friends with this lady also, Trini Alvarado who investigates other places as well. Jeffrey Combs is the scene stealer in this movie as the cop who wants Fox dead, literally. filled with awesome ghost sequences and some good shocks and the dark shadow effects are great(Jake Busey is the ghost). Jeffrey Combs is mad crazy.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie? Nah. Audition reel!
Review: Less of a feature film than an audition reel of what New Zealand wunderkind director Peter Jackson could do with a decent budget, "The Frighteners" is a jauntily paced little spookshow with Michael J. Fox in the lead as a paranormal researcher, exorcist, entrepreneur, and great chum to ghosts, who runs a lucrative little enterprise as an "exorcist" who evicts the very poltergeists who serve as his friends and houseguests. Let's be honest here. As much as I adore and savor the works of Peter Jackson---particularly "Dead/Alive" and "Bad Taste", low-budget splatter-flicks helmed well before he was a Hollywood maven and Tolkien-resurrecting powerhouse---"The Frighteners" is a sketchy, chaotic, massively flawed film that is all over the map. But having said that, "The Frighteners" is an inventive little romp into soul-stealing and besides, it has Jeffrey Combs as a feral, uber-paranoid, necromantic FBI agent, which alone makes it worth a rental. Michael J. Fox turns in a jolly performance as Frank Bannister, a con-artist who capitalizes on his winning relationships with a trio of accommodating spooks (including the great John Astin as "The Judge"). Producing poltergeists---and exorcisizing them---is big business until Bannister runs into the real thing, a Collector of Souls that eats ordinary ghosts for breakfast and throws his ordinarily profitable existence into turmoil. It seems mass murdering grinning-until-the-end asylum guard Johnny Bartlett (a fine turn by Jake Busey) died a miserable death in a mass murder spree, and somehow all of this ties into a ghoulish spectre that sucks the life out of hapless mortals. Add in an inspired performance by Jeffrey Combs as a paranormal and exceptionally sensitive FBI agent ("What? Ah-ha, now you're trying to stop *my* heart!"), and some genuinely startling special effects, and you have a jolly mishmash of a horror movie that really doesn't know when to stop. That's part of its fevered charm, right to the the final confrontation, though Busey looks far more malefic when covered up in a shroud. What will you get out of "The Frighteners"? First, this is a schizophrenic movie: Jackson shows off Wingnut's ability to deliver on a wide range of highly startling effects. Second, Jeffrey Combs steals the show, and right down to his final moments on Earth is a laconic, paranoid, inches-from-a-nervous-breakdown wreck of a paranormal investigator. I want to Believe!, indeed. Let's be honest: "The Frighteners" won't change your life, won't scare you, won't threaten your brain with an aneurism brought on by too much spectral derring-do. But the effects are stellar, the acting is uniformly competent, and the plot, while muddled, is jolly fun. Will it change your view of the universe and shift your political outlook? Absolutely not. Will it entertain for nearly two hours? Totally. Could you ask for more? Possibly, but for a special effects real that led Jackson from his uber-disturbing but underrated "Heavenly Creatures" to helming up "Lord of the Rings", let's not get picky. Is "Frighteners" worth a look? Absolutely. Dust off your Ouija Board, repeat "I do, I do, I DO believe in spooks," sit back and relax, and get ready for some spectral, frantic, ectoplasmic goodness seasoned with some startling special effects and served up with a few perfunctory scares.
Rating:
Summary: Now that P.J. is famous...................
Review: Well, now that Peter Jackson is a household name, maybe more people will finally see this movie. I saw a Laserdisc version (years ago) that had extra footage, and an incredible amount of extras......This is the version that should be seen, but for now this DVD will do. An underated movie that somehow got lost back in 1996...delightfully different....with that Peter Jackson twist that makes it extra special. Great storytelling, and great visuals, effects, and camerawork, along with perfect casting makes for a wild ride. More people should see this movie!! The extended version I remember seeing was way better....but impossible to find, and only on Laserdisc. We need a nice new DVD version (like the Laserdisc, with over 4 hrs. of extras, and 10-15 min. more footage in the film) , and now that Mr. Jackson is on top of the world, we might get it! I'm waiting!!!! May as well put out another version of "Forgotten Silver" too...another lost, underrated Peter Jackson film that deserves to be seen by more people..... Great storytelling!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie! They need to release the Director's Cut on DVD
Review: When I first saw this movie in the theater, it just blew me away. Michael J. Fox was excellent as Frank, a guy who uses real ghosts to scam people into hiring his bogus paranormal investigations business to get rid of the spirits. There is a great cast and great direction by Peter Jackson. I had read that a few fews ago an extended cut of the movie was released on laserdisc with 12 minutes or so of extra footage, giving more time to the three ghosts, more time to Dahmers (the outstanding Jeffrey Combs) and making a better rounded story. The Powers-That-Be need to release this cut to DVD. DVD has been an excellent format for directors to see their movies as they originally intended. Jackson knows this. His extended cut of ``Fellowship of the Ring'' blows the theatrical cut out of the water. ``The Frighteners'' is one of those movies fans really love. As a fan, I would really love to have the extended cut of this movie released on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: cool horror movie
Review: as yall already know i love horror movies. this is on the top of
my list. it's actually funny. i really liked it and would strongly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: original story, excellent direction, great special effects
Review: Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister, a hearse-chaser who sees spirits who help him fake out exorcisms (a prospector from the Old West and a 1970s ladies man are among them.) At one point, a spirit out of his control starts murdering right and left, leaving numbers etched on the bodies' foreheads. Frank, a widower himself, is falling in love with Lucy, a young widow. The movie flashes back to 1991 (with Fox in a mullet -- ha ha!) and depicts the unfortunate demise of his young wife and how it turned him into the bitter man he is now, and when the spirits entered his life.) The plot also centers around a disturbed woman who is trapped in her house by her mother, and Lucy seeks to help her. Frank can see the numbers etched onto foreheads BEFORE their demise, and it looks like Lucy is next. He has to stop being a con artist and figure out how to save her and the rest of the town that doesn't trust him. Great original movie, but it lives up to its name -- it can be pretty frightening!!!!
Rating:
Summary: An awesome movie ruined by a single character
Review: Like many of the other reviewers here, I believe that The Frighteners is a very unique and well crafted movie. Great special effects, and a great story. However, the movie is ruined by the most annoying character EVER. Whoever decided to write in the paranoid FBI agent spoiled an otherwise excellent movie. The FBI agent's character doesn't fit in with the theme of of the movie or the seriousness of the other characters. He is so annoying that repeated viewings of The Frighteners are unbearable.
Rating:
Summary: KES Evenstar
Review: At first, I thought it was going to be a comedy. I was creeped out by the later - middle. especially the psychos-in-love scene. You can see Peter Jackson's style over and over. Like the sweeping past the curtains-in the house-through the crack- to the beginning while hearing a shriek. It's a lot like the begining of the Two Towers. Also each serious scene Gets interuppted with comedy. It's creepy but interesting. The actors were very convincing and kept their faces straight during the whole movie.
I especially liked the scenes in which the ghosts fought and shot one another with ghosts guns.
It doesn't make sense sometimes, but just watch and be silent. It was very well made. I felt like hurling during the bloody scenes. It's cute, funny, and frightening. We see PJ likes hiring small men.
Don't watch it before going to bed.
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