This video delves into the tone of The Tales from the Crypt, which can be found in The Frighteners. There is much levity, but there is also genuine horror. Oddball characters populate the flick (most of whom never develop). What appears to be a simple story on the surface turns out to be a complex one with many twists and turns.
It is one of those films where you just know Fox’s character will never be able to prove his innocence. It is strange enough, nevertheless, that it does not feel clichéd. It looks more like a demo reel than a film, like a special-effects artist putting together an audition video in the hopes of impressing a producer enough to secure a real job.
The amount of time and effort put into “The Frighteners” was astounding. It is also horrible. This film will impress anyone who enjoys stunning effects, computer animation, or cinematic makeup. There is not a single scene in the film that does not indicate an endless amount of pain and patience; complex makeup was methodically applied to actors for photos, which were then combined with visual effects to produce a screen full of gruesome imagery.
Death Is No Way to Make A Living! – The Frighteners (1996)
Peter Jackson, best known for 1994’s magnificent Heavenly Creatures, directed The Frighteners, which begins as a screwball comedy featuring ectoplasm and gradually matures into a film about redemption. Frank Bannister gets psychic talents after a car accident. His wife, Debra, is murdered, and he is disabled, allowing him to see, hear, and speak with spirits.
After losing his wife, he quit his job as an architect, leaving his unfinished “dream house” unfinished for years, and used his skills by befriending a few ghosts and convincing them to haunt houses in the area to drum up business for his ghostbusting business. Frank proceeds to “exorcise” the places for a fee. The plot is exceedingly muddled, and there is no considerable reward.
As the local newspaper editor Magda Rees-Jones (Elizabeth Hawthorne) and her assistant publish the story of another seemingly innocent death among the locals, some Fairwater residents assemble for burial in the village. Frank Bannister (Michael Andrew Fox), a psychic investigator, appears at the grave, feverishly attempting to market his services. His reckless driving almost collides with an oncoming truck as he drives away in his broken and filthy Volkswagen. As he swerves to avoid it, he smashes through a garden fence.
Ray Lynskey (Peter Dobson) storms out of his house, enraged, and threatens to sue for damages. Frank hands him his business card and drives away after intentionally running over one of Ray’s garden gnomes. The plot meanders about, tossing jokes, dripping ectoplasm, extraneous characters, and meaningless action sequences at the audience until it abruptly ends. There is no significant building to a climactic conflict, nor is there any genuine feeling of expectation for the conclusion. The writing is rough around the edges and sometimes feels more like a rough draught than a finished product. So, just listen to the following parts carefully!
Frighteners alternates between comedy and drama, with certain moments intended to be one or the other. Furthermore, certain characters are played for hilarious effect regardless of the situation they appear, in until they are suddenly no longer played for comedic purposes. Frank possesses telepathic abilities that he employs to defraud the village’s residents. He makes a living by planting ghosts and putting on a show. When Frank meets Dr. Lucy Lynskey and her husband, Ray, his involvement in Fairwater’s predicament changes. Frank notices a number cut into Ray’s forehead after “cleaning” the Lyskeys’ home. Ray dies soon after.
After witnessing another person with a number on their head, Frank comes across a ghostly, hooded creature who appears to kill randomly. When Dr. Lucy Lynskey pays a visit to the reclusive Patricia Ann Bradley, a former delinquent and lover of serial-killer Johnny Bartlett who lives with her mother, she notices that Patricia has injuries. Lucy comes home, where she and her husband, Ray Lynskey, are terrorized by a poltergeist. Lucy comes home, where she and her husband, Ray Lynskey, threaten a poltergeist.
When Frank investigates the house, he realizes that a number is stamped on Ray’s forehead. This was unusual for him. Yet, he was acquainted with it before Debra was killed. Ray had a heart attack shortly after she contacted Frank a few days later. Lucy meets Frank at a diner. He notices that Soul Collector puts numbers on the victims’ foreheads before murdering them. Because of his knowledge of the killings, Frank becomes a principal suspect for the police, and he is detained.
Victims are dying of unexpected heart attacks around town, and only Bannister knows what’s causing them. Meanwhile, the deranged FBI agent Milton Dammers arrives in town to investigate the murders. The Grim Reaper (a.k.a. the “Soul Catcher”) has come, cloaked and equipped with a scythe, connected in some way to the ghost of an executed serial murderer.
When Bannister sets out to halt the carnage, he discovers that the living is powerless against Death. Lucy believes in him, but when he is jailed on suspicion of murder, and she is designated as the Soul Catcher’s next victim, there isn’t much she can do to save Bannister or herself.
If there’s one thing that this film has in common with Heavenly Creatures, it’s that Jackson explores the depths of his imagination once more. Suppose he can combine his vision with a more meaningful, less confusing plot his next time out (perhaps for his rumored re-make of King Kong). In that case, he should recover the form that launched him to international stardom last year.
Frank returns home to a half-completed house that he hasn’t finished working on. As he steps out of his car, a spirit emerges from the trunk – a young 1950s geek named Stuart (Jim Fyfe), followed by a 1970s afro-haired ghost named Cyrus (Chi Mcbride). The ghosts are Frank’s accomplices that assist him in duping the locals by haunting their homes so that Frank may step in and enjoy the benefits.
Frank closes the door just as Stuart is ready to enter the house, and he becomes trapped because his ectoplasm has gotten too rigid. Frank asks if they had anything to do with the luminous number that appeared on Ray’s head, but the ghosts have no idea what he means. Frank chops some wood from his house’s roof for his fireplace. He sits reading the newspaper, attempting to identify those who have lately lost family members. At the same time, The Judge considers going to the cemetery to rest his ailing body.
Frank tells him that he needs his aid to build his house, but The Judge warns him to quit plotting and stop manipulating Death to make a livelihood. In 27 bloody minutes, hospital orderly John Charles Bartlett killed murdered 12 innocent individuals. No one was spared in this madman’s rampage at Fairwater Sanatorium, neither patients, medical personnel, or visitors.
Even the hospital chapel was not a safe haven, as people praying on their knees were gunned down. Bartlett’s reason for what appears to be a senseless act remains a mystery to this day. Charles Starkweather had slain 11 people in a Nebraska killing spree six years before. The black and white tape depicts the victims’ and families’ awful sights in the hospital, as well as Bartlett being brought to court by police while bragging about his disgusting conduct.
The Frighteners is about as eclectic as it gets. The convoluted premise, as well as the slew of needless characters and subplots, are significant flaws. Because Frank has a past with the netherworld, he naturally becomes a suspect. When the dead begin to pile up, Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs), an odd FBI agent scared of women who raise their voices, concludes that Frank is the insane killer.
He blames the killings on created spirits. An intriguing notion, but how can you inflict a heart attack on someone? As Dammers, he follows Frank, urgently attempting to show that the killer is already dead. Anyone would get irritated by a nutcase FBI goon (Jeffrey Combs) and a nutty agoraphobic woman (Dee Wallace Stone); every time they appeared, I wished they would go. The former, ostensibly there for comedic relief, was a touch too eerie to be hilarious. At the same time, the latter was solely critical of an unneeded plot twist. Both were unnecessary, and The Frighteners would have been better without them.
Despite Frank’s efforts to save her, she is slain after the editor insults Frank in an editorial. The Grim Reaper strikes again, but this time the cops apprehend our hero. He’s now set his sights on Lucy, who has fallen for Frank. Dammer then kidnaps Lucy, revealing that he is a Manson Family victim. The film is based on the true story of Frank Dammer, an aspiring serial killer who murdered twelve people in 1964 before being apprehended and slain by Johnny Bartlett (Jake Busey), a hospital orderly.
He had always aspired to be the greatest serial murderer of all time. Due to his psychic powers, Ray has a feeling there is something dangerous hiding inside. Lucy informs Patricia that she needs to go and begin a new life for herself. On the side, she notices an urn. He had committed suicide after learning about Patricia’s involvement with a serial murderer. When she hears her mother approaching the stairs, she urges Lucy to hide in the wardrobe. She only gets inside as her mother walks in.
Patricia offers to make her a cup of tea before they go. Lucy discovers a Stanley knife with the letters F.B. in the closet and an urn containing the ashes of Patricia’s father. The Urn begins to glow, and a person emerges in the wall behind Lucy, attempting to creep up behind her. Lucy rushes out of the home, unaware of the peril, while Ray defends her. Ray’s face is slashed off by the figure’s hand, and as Lucy gets into her vehicle, Ray’s distorted soul is thrown upon the hood. The picture never quite strikes the point because it can’t decide whether it wants to be a comedy or a horror film.
Lucy visits Frank in his cell and informs him that Old Mrs. Bradley blames Debra’s Death. She discovered his knife in her bedroom and is insane enough to do anything like that. Frank is still silent and gloomy. He hugs Lucy as Cyrus and Stuart walk into the room. But when Frank looks Lucy in the eyes, the number 41 shines on her brow. He realizes she is going to be the next victim.
The Reaper bursts through the jail door and attempts to murder her. Dammers round the corner and pulls out his revolver. As Cyrus fights the Reaper, Lucy comes up to him and informs him that Frank is insane. To protect Frank, Lucy sprays Dammers with a fire extinguisher. Frank tells her that he must commit himself to become a ghost and protect her. He is about to shoot himself in the head.
Still, she convinces him not to and instead helps him undergo a near-death experience through hypothermia and the use of barbiturates to reduce his pulse rate. One cannot but draw parallels between Frighteners and Ghostbusters. Both include ghostbusting and tread the edge between humor and horror.
However, this resemblance conceals a critical distinction. Ghostbusters chose to be a comedy, and each scene was designed to make the audience laugh. It maintained a consistent cheerful tone hovering just above a rather serious drama, allowing the viewer to perceive the drama as driving the tale but the comedy as the film’s primary goal.
Soon, things take a turn. Lucy and Franks are hunted down when the truth is discovered, but now by the Reaper. Is Frank capable of rescuing Lucy? Is there anyone who can stop the Grim Reaper? The narrative will transcend beyond life and Death to provide you with the answers. In the pursuit of running away and finding the chapel in the old hospitals, Dammers comes in between, making things difficult for them.
The old chapel is crucial, and the only way to discover it is through Frank’s psychic ability. The ending just belittles the idea of trust and sympathy. The theories were true. However, the end seems a bit forced to me. It was confusing and, to a degree, a bit irrational. Ironical in a horror film. However, the movie culminates in a happy ending where past traumas are acknowledged, and a new beginning is initiated.
Frank Bannister Psychic Abilities
Frank can see ghosts resulting from trauma. To terrify others, he utilizes his trio of phantom companions, Cyrus, Stuart, and The Judge. Frank then enters the house and “exorcises” it. Even though the whole thing was just a set-up, by the end of the movie, you can see how Frank really goes to the other side without knowing about it and fights the Reaper. Things are obviously not the same anymore when you have been to the other side.
In the middle, he has flashbacks and snippets from the past that help him gauge the threat in real-time. His techniques are not conventional, yet he uses his instinct victorious. His powers also lie in the fact of how helpful he is. Over time, he genuinely wanted to save people from his capitalist and scamming mindset. He was the only one who knew about the Reaper. So, he believes it was kind of his responsibility to take it out.
Why should you watch The Frighteners (1996)?
While The Frighteners is undoubtedly a pleasant picture to see and an excellent film to look at, it’s scarcely significant, as is the case with most blockbusters, but that doesn’t matter in this instance. This also features the most basic of plots. Thankfully, a group of fascinating actors and actresses nearly make it all worthwhile by providing us with something to listen to in between all of the gory humor and enjoyment.
Still, it’s good when a film takes its time and allows its viewers to connect with something. This ultimately happens in “The Frighteners,” transforming it from a ghost adventure boring to a fascinating thrill ride; yet, it is nearly too late to elevate the experience beyond ephemeral enjoyment and spectacular effects. “The Frighteners” is so full of over-the-top, bang-bang excitement that it’s difficult to hold on to anything meaningful or valuable. The film isn’t meant to be profound or essential.
Having said that, the film kept my interest for the whole 110-minute runtime. It’s playful and fast-paced and part of the gore-and-humor combo works. The special effects, which were created entirely by a New Zealand business, are on par with ILM’s. The Frighteners isn’t as visually appealing as Twister or Independence Day, but it serves as a good visual pleasure. Michael J. Fox plays the lead part admirably. Even though their romantic relationship is undercooked, he and Trini Alvarado have a pleasant connection.
It’s genuinely refreshing to see a mid-90s horror film that isn’t explicitly aimed at a no-brainer teenage audience, that stands on the strength of its own grim convictions, that delivers laughs and jolts in abundance without canceling each other out, and that doesn’t even punk out at the end with some weak, pat, everything-gets-tied-up-nicely wimpy conclusion.
Peter Jackson’s “The Frighteners” is a strange yet fascinating and innovative picture. The Frighteners is a sophisticated, nuanced film masquerading as foolish boisterous. It takes you by the hair and drags you along. Because the plot is too violent for comedy and too silly for horror. The genre is a hybrid of humor, romance, horror, and fantasy. The Frighteners has its moments, but it somewhat overshoots its aim. In that way, it’s a pity since it has the potential to be a fantastic film but instead ends up being a flawed yet amusing film. This is an unexpected find for me because I had somehow missed even hearing about it. It is a fantastic blend of horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance, and humor.