THE FRIGHTENERS
A film review by David Wilcock
Copyright 1997 David Wilcock
STARRING MICHAEL J. FOX DIRECTED BY PETER JACKSON RUNNING TIME: 2HRS 10MINS UNIVERSAL RELEASE
After Heavenly Creatures, Peter Jackson returns to the genre that started him off...the over the top horror comedy. Sadly, this is not as over the top as some of his other films (Dead Alive, Meet the Feebles) but is still very good fun. Fox plays a ghost exterminator who can really see ghosts, thanks to an near death experience that he had. He is running a scam by making the ghosts he knows mess up people houses a bit, and then he comes and gets 'rid' of them. However, things start to go weird when people really are being visited by a ghost who gives their heart a bit of a squeeze. The suspicion falls to Fox, and he must prove his innocence.
One of the main things about this film is the speacil effects. And they really are quite speacil. The ghosts faces get ripped off, ceilings ripple, and the Soul Taker is a very impressive piece of speacil effects. And, even the plot if quite good. However, don't take this film as a proper comedy. The main emphasis is on gore etc, and there is a lot of it.
If there is one bad thing about this film, it will have to be Jeffrey Combs FBI agent. He is way over the top, and is irritating after a while. Also, he is not really needed in the picuture, and his charecter should've been toned down if they wanted an FBI agent that much.
Another bad thing about the film is the gaping plot holes. For example, when Fox dies, he can walk though the floor, while the other ghosts can't. Also, although ghosts can interact with anything, John Astins character sits down in a chair! They are also many other gaps like this. But because you're enjoying yourself so much, you never really think about these things until after the movie.
So, overall, this is a good film, and if you can stand blood and guts and intense speacil effects, then this is the film for you.
OVERALL=**** OUT OF *****
MY RATING SYSTEM ================ *=Oh dear **=Average ***=Fairly Good ****=Enjoyable *****=Don't miss it!
-- A DAVID WILCOCK REVIEW VISIT THE WILCOCK MOVIE PAGE FOR MORE REVIEWS http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/9061
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