The Frighteners (1996)

The Frighteners is a 1996 supernatural comedy, about a guy who obtains the ability to see ghosts after a traumatic accident involving his wife - he uses this to his own benefit, until the entity responsible for her passing continues to terrorise the whole town. Despite being a hit with Universal studio executives, enough for them to release it as their summer blockbuster that year, it performed poorly at the box office; which director and co-producer Peter Jackson believed to be due to ineffective marketing and it coinciding with the Atlanta Summer Olympics. It also had to compete with Independence Day in theatres.

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The movie begins at the residence of Patricia Ann Bradley, who is tormented by angry spirits and kept under house arrest by her mother. We see a flashback to 1964, at a psychiatric institution, where orderly Johnny Bartlett murders 12 people. His young lover is suspected of being involved, and put in prison before being released decades later.

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Back to the present day, and we see ghost hunter Frank Bannister, as played by Michael J. Fox, helping the Lynsky family who have had a scary encounter with a poltergeist. He appears to rid the house of the paranormal activity, but it’s soon revealed it’s all a ploy to make money, as Bannister is working with a group of ghosts to haunt people so they call on his services. He takes on another case at a big house, which is hilarious because the Nanny is horrified when the children start floating around the living room.

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While dealing with the Lynsky’s, Frank notices a number glowing on the husband’s forehead, a symbol seen years before carved into the head of his dead wife Debra. Ray Lynsky later passes of a heart attack, despite being in good health, and Bannister helps his wife Lucy to communicate with him. This scene is also really funny, as Frank tries his best to play mediator when Lucy starts asking about leftover assets. I think Peter Dobson gives a good performance as Ray, but Trini Alvarado is the standout for me as Lucy. Michael J. Fox is always so captivating too, and Frank’s incorporeal friends, especially Chi McBride as Cyrus deliver some great comedy.

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More people get added to the list with a number, which Bannister does his best to prevent. A Grim Reaper like entity is after them, as Frank witnesses a man in the restaurant toilets move into the light after having his heart squeezed of oxygen. As evidence starts to stack up against him, Frank hands himself in to the police, Lucy pleading his innocence. He’s interviewed by FBI agent of the occult Milton Dammers, who is almost a caricature of himself. I have to commend Jeffrey Combs in this role because his performance almost makes you feel uncomfortable, as he’s so slimy and erratic.

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Lucy visits Frank in his prison cell, and they start to build a deeper connection just as the Grim Reaper appears again and tries to take her life too. Bannister’s ghostly pals do their best to defend Lucy, Cyrus and Stuart killed in the process. Frank knows the only way to protect Lucy is to become a spirit himself, and she helps him to accomplish this with drugs and a very cold freezer, though Dammers tries to foil their plan. He kidnaps Lucy and leaves Bannister to stay dead, though Frank is able to help her escape.

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Frank grapples with the Grim Reaper, managing to pull his disguise off and reveal the form of Bartlett underneath. Bannister is revived before he can destroy Johnny’s spirit, while Lucy visits Patricia who she’s been treating, warning her of Bartlett’s return. Lucy finds Frank’s pocket knife in a wardrobe, a piece of evidence that had gone missing from the scene of his wife’s murder all those years ago - stolen by Patricia to frame her mother.

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This is enough to convince Lucy that Patricia is innocent, given that her mum refuses to let her leave the house. This illusion is shattered when Patricia is seen communicating with Johnny, having known about his return from the dead all along. She’d never stopped loving him, and had summoned him herself so they could continue their killing spree. With the knife was an urn, which Patricia claimed to hold her fathers ashes, but Lucy and Frank figure out that they’re Bartletts remains and they trap him in the vessel, planning to take them to the sanitorium’s chapel and banish him back to hell.

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The building is long abandoned, Lucy and Frank chased through its derelict hallways by a gun wielding Patricia and Milton, who is still certain Bannister is responsible for all the unexplained deaths. Frank has visions of the 1964 massacre, seeing Patricia wasn’t merely a lover but also an accomplice, and learns that Johnny and his sidekick were responsible for Debra’s death all along. Dammers gets hold of the urn, accidentally releasing the spirit as Patricia mistakenly kills the detective.

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Patricia strangles Bannister to death, and tries to do the same to Lucy, though in his astral form Frank is able to drag Patricia’s soul from her body towards heaven, followed not far behind by Bartlett. Johnny pulls his girlfriend free, but both are then banished to hell. Frank does reach the pearly gates, where he reunites with his wife and ghostly friends, who send him back to earth and wish him happiness. The film ends with Frank’s house being demolished, as he and Lucy frolic outside - after her near death experience, she is able to see spirits now too.

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I picked this VHS tape up off Ebay, not knowing what to expect. It’s one of those movies I’d need to watch again to fully appreciate it, but I think it’s built around some interesting concepts and contains some strong performances, with some epic effects too. It’s definitely representative of the era it was made in, and is a fun experience for any fan of lighthearted horror with a sprinkle of comedy and cheesiness. I wont be rushing to watch it again soon, but I would revisit it in the future.