Movie Information
Overall Rank: 5600
Average Rating: 2.6/4
# of Ratings: 141
Theatrical Release Date: 07/19/1996
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Peter Jackson
Actors: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Jake Busey
Plot: After the death of his wife, a budding architect started to see ghosts.
Abandoning his dream house, he beings a new career of convincing ghosts to
haunt a house then "exorcising" them for a small fee. Then a grim new
ghost appears on the scene and the bodies start piling up, each with a
ghostly number on their foreheads. -- Alex
Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 05/19/2024
Peter Jackson takes a chance on making his own "Beetlejuice." While the special effects don't exactly hold up and it's not as consistent as Tim Burton's 80s ghost comedy romp, it's still really fun.
Rating of
3/4
Matthew Brady - wrote on 03/21/2014
The movie is about a budding architect started to see ghosts. Abandoning his dream house, he beings a new career of convincing ghosts to haunt a house then "exorcising" them for a small fee. Then a grim new ghost appears on the scene and the bodies start piling up, each with a ghostly number on their foreheads. This movie is funny and the CGI was pretty good at the time in the 90's.
Rating of
2/4
Unknown - wrote on 09/25/2011
It's tonally inconsistent and the story goes off in too many directions, but there is some good comedy and effects.
Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
The Frighteners review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 02/15/2012
Frank Bannister loses his wife, Debra, in a car accident and has the ability to see ghosts. His three paranormal friends Cyrus, Stuart and the Judge help him in his business. Frank sees a Grim Reaper kill people and tries to solve the mystery of those deaths with numbers on their foreheads. Dr. Lucy Lynskey aids Frank helps Frank in the investigation of the murders. Milton Dammer suspects Frank of the killings. The soundtrack, make-up, acting and visual effects were effective. Trini Alvarado and Michael J. Fox provide an onscreen connection with genuine performances for their characters. Only qualm’s this critic had were the rushed storytelling and dialogue were a bit iffy. A few good quotes from the picture: Dammer – “But pain has its reward. The power of the mind is …
Rating of
2.5/4
"The Frighteners" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/30/2012
Paranormal investigator Michael J. Fox had an accident that enables him to communicate with the dead, a skill he had been using to fleece the recently bereaved until he crosses paths with a ghostly serial killer who frames him for murder. One of Peter Jackson's early forays into Hollywood, The Frighteners is a horror comedy that blends his sense of the macabre with slapstick sight gags and wish fulfillment and as a result feels like a rather uneven homage to Tim Burton, and Beetlejuice in particular. A lot of the content is actually rather grim but the cartoonish elements involving his ghostly sidekicks almost enters Roger Rabbit territory making the film seem very shizophrenic; its a bit too horrific in places for young children and too silly for adults making it fall a little too much …
Rating of
2/4
Not very frightening, cant believe this is Rated R
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/03/2008
In 1990, "Frank Bannister" (Michael J. Fox) and his wife (Angela Bloomfield) are in a horrific car accident which takes her life. "Frank" is found dazed miles away, and unable to recall what happened. He also couldn't account for a missing pocket knife that was inside the trunk, or why the number 13 was carved into his wife's forehead.
A few years later, "Frank" becomes a paranormal con artist, who gets help from three ghosts: the nerdy "Stuart" (Jim Fyfe), a 1970's African-American (Chi McBride) and an Old West lawman (John Astin). The three ghosts cause hauntings for "Frank" to investigate, when in reality, he is just trying to make a buck. And the funniest part, the ghosts leave "Frank's" business card for people to find to call him.
To anybody who is paying attention, it is …
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