THE FRIGHTENERS
A film review by P-M Agapow
Copyright 1997 P-M Agapow
[laserdisc/film] "The Frighteners"
In a provincial town, people are dying suddenly and inexplicably. Snooping around the edges of the mystery is the smarmy but disturbed "psychic investigator" Frank Bannister (Fox) whom many suspect of being involved. Bannister, who fears they may be correct, is only slightly fraudulent for he can see the dead and the sinister figure which stalks the town.
Whoever the genius was that recognised the talent in New Zealand director Peter Jackson should be congratulated. His first three features ("Bad Taste", "Braindead" aka "DeadAlive", "Meet the Feebles") were low budget, disgusting gorefests that were a lot of fun but are hardly the sort of thing that would encourage you to see Jackson as a director of Major Serious Projects. Yet "Heavenly Creatures" confirmed this vision.
"The Frighteners", although not his best picture and sometimes illogical, is yet further evidence. It shows a perceptive balance in juggling a humorous, sad and even frightening story in an economical framework. The sad sight of Bannister's half-complete dream house gives way to comic misfit ghosts to angry poltergeists literally straining the structure of an old house. Even once in a while the plot throws us a curve ball but neither this nor the extensive but subdued special effects are allowed to dominate. Jackson insists that the story be told and that these other things are there merely to support the tale.
As one wonders who would have picked Jackson, a similar thing might be said of Michael J Fox. It's all too easy to cast the perpetually cherubic Fox as cloying or overly-earnest, the legacy of too many years in "Family Ties". Yet he comfortably slips into the role of the downbeat Bannister, an shyster but a pathetic and broken one, just skimming the surface of life. The seriousness of this central character is balanced by his spectral sidekicks, including an unrecognisable John Astin, and lunatic Jeffrey Coombs playing a deranged FBI agent (in what may well be a sly "X Files" reference).
In truth the climax is rather cluttered and in parts very Hollywood but not to any extent that ruins the picture. In summary "The Frighteners" is a well constructed and entertaining picture. Despite Jackson's next project being "King Kong" (no, really) his work will be looked forward to with some anticipation. [***/interesting] and summer bays at the beach on the Sid and Nancy scale.
"The Frighteners" Directed by Peter Jackson Starring Michael J Fox, Jeffrey Coombs, Trini Alvarado. Released 1995.
------ paul-michael agapow (agapow@latcs1.oz.au), La Trobe Uni, Infocalypse [archived at http://www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~agapow/Postviews]
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