X
- 1996
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
- 1996
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
Summary After a tragic car accident kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Written By: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
- 1996
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
- 1996
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
The Frighteners
52
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary After a tragic car accident kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Written By: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
52
44% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
41% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
15% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
52
44% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
41% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
15% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
The Frighteners is also that rare horror film that actually gets better as it proceeds; this scare machine has a heart and a brain.
Cluttered, improbable, brash, silly and over the top, the film is far more fun than it should be. [19 July 1996, p.D1]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 User Ratings
7.4
71% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
29% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 User Ratings
7.4
71% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
29% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
This is quite a comical and wacky sci-fi/fantasy film. Its not really an especially scary film, although I suppose young kids may find some scenes frightening with the apparitions coming out of walls and floors etc. Its quirky and features some decent special effects for the time it dates from (1996). The plot I thought was quite intriguing and while it did feel a little predictable, I found it overall a relatively engrossing watch, so I'd recommend it.
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A thoroughly preposterous movie that's as outrageously entertaining as it is relentlessly chaotic.
A high-wire spook show without a net -- half the fun is watching it teeter between the tastelessly amusing and the unforgivably gross.
The Frighteners is a gooey pastiche of Casper, Ghost, Poltergeist, Back to the Future (it's produced by Future director Robert Zemeckis), Ghostbusters, and episodes of Columbo.
An unholy union of dark comedy, spectral effects and splattered gore that few filmgoers will dare embrace. [19 July 1996, p.B07]
Last year, I reviewed a nine-hour documentary about the lives of Mongolian yak herdsmen, and I would rather see it again than sit through The Frighteners.
This was alright. It was a slightly more adult version of Ghostbusters (1984). The story was quite interesting and the effects were good enough to get by although the CGI hasn’t aged very well. The quality of the filmmaking was good but I just think that it was lacking that flair that you used to get from Peter Jackson. Still it was a fun special effects film with an interesting story and a slightly different perspective on life, well more like death. Not too scary but slightly intense in some areas. Worth watching although it is pretty forgettable.
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Production Company
Universal Pictures,
WingNut Films
Release Date Jul 19, 1996
Duration 1 h 50 m
Rating R
Tagline Something has put the fear of death in the living and sent the dead running for their lives.
Awards
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
• 2 Wins & 8 Nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 8 Nominations
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
