Directed by Peter Jackson
Expectations: High. I love this.
The Frighteners is Peter Jackson’s transitional film, bridging the gap between his small, imaginative indie movies, and his blockbusters to come. The Frighteners isn’t a perfect amalgamation of these things, but it does represent the closest that Jackson could probably come to replicating the manic energy of his early work while under the watchful eye of Hollywood producers. Thankfully, Jackson’s executive producer here was Robert Zemeckis, who let Jackson be himself while trusting him to deliver a fun film. Jackson definitely delivers the goods, but it is also such a tonally varied film that it completely alienated most of the American audience, causing the film to undeservedly flop.
In addition to the wildly flip-flopping tone that goes from absurd comedy to grisly horror without a moment’s notice, the plot itself is nowhere close to being a traditional “Point A to Point B” Hollywood plot. Instead, the film opens with a thrilling scene that we have no context on, and then moves into introducing us to the many characters around town. This gives The Frighteners something of a small-town, Stephen King novel vibe, as Jackson sets up the world that his characters will play in before really going for the jugular. And like a good Stephen King novel, The Frighteners might take a little while to get going, but it is still engaging its audience with exciting and whimsical things around every corner.
Much like Bad Taste or Dead Alive, once Peter Jackson gets it rolling The Frighteners is a non-stop express train through many awesome, imaginative set pieces. This is one wild, manic film, and Jackson’s ability to wrangle traditional horror, horror comedy and genuine emotion serve the film very well. Sure, it’s watered down from the gorefest bonanza of Dead Alive, but The Frighteners is still a very similar film in the way it packs as much as it can into its runtime. The focus is shifted and much different from Dead Alive, though, making The Frighteners both a better film in a “Hollywood” sense, and a worse film in the overall filmography of Peter Jackson. But just taken on its own, there are few original ’90s Hollywood films with even half as much invention and imagination as Jackson has crammed into The Frighteners.
But what really holds The Frighteners together are all the fantastic performances, shot energetically and beautifully through Peter Jackson’s moving camera. Having grown up watching and re-watching Back to the Future and its sequels, Michael J. Fox was always a favorite and he handles this role perfectly. There are shades of Marty McFly, especially when another character reminds HARD of Biff Tannen, but Fox’s character stands out as the psychologically frustrated and haunted character that the film needs, instead of just being “another Marty.” Trini Alvarado is also a perfect second lead to Fox, and their screen chemistry is palpable. They’re so good together that I wish there were a sequel! They could have called it The Frighteners 2: The Frightening :).
Jake Busey and Dee Wallace also turn in excellent performances in their respective roles, but the actor that I’m most happy to see on-screen is Jeffrey Combs. Not only is it great to see him out of the low-budget horror films he’s usually stuck in, Peter Jackson wrote an absolutely incredible, over-the-top weirdo for him to play and Combs blows it away. I don’t want to give anything of the character away, but trust me, the guy is unforgettable. Someone give Jeffrey Combs another meaty role!
The Frighteners is a great night’s entertainment for those ready for anything. Through the varied tone it carries, it feels like something that should’ve come out of the ’80s, as most films by the mid-’90s had eschewed the madcap fun for a focus on pseudo-realism. I should note that as much as I like this one, I also recognize it as a film that’s not for everyone, so only seek it out if you’ve got a twisted sense of humor.