Post by Sara on Jul 14, 2006 21:26:39 GMT -5
Anyone who loved the LOTR trilogy should either stop by the video store or their Netflix movie queue and rent The Frighteners, if for no other reason than without the latter the former may have never existed; because Jackson's f/x company WETA Workshop ended up purchasing several computers in order to complete the effects for Jackson's ghost story, after filming was completed he started trying to figure out what kind of movie he could do that would enable him to put all those new machines to good use. Making a fantasy film seemed like just the ticket...
The Frighteners also happens to be a pretty damn entertaining film. It's a bit uneven at times, but features excellent acting, an intriguing storyline, and a surprising array of both laughs and chills. I suspect it's one of those films that the viewer either completely clicks with or sees as a true cinematic nightmare; for me the eclectic mix of humor and horror hits all the right buttons.
Michael J. Fox turns in what I consider to be one of the finest performances of his career as Frank Bannister, an architect turned so-called "psychic detective." Frank travels from town to town, offering his services at a time when the locals just happen to be experiencing an upswing in paranormal phenomena. Sound fishy? It is, although there's a bit of a twist to this particular con--Frank really can both see and speak to ghosts, and is in fact working with the very spirits he claims to eliminate. However, when Frank returns to his hometown he gets drawn into a genuine mystery as the locals begin dying at an alarming rate--and for no discernible reason. And therein, as they say, lies our tale...
Fox does some of his best work as a man who's completely at ease with actual spirits, and yet remains visibly haunted by his own past. Trini Alvarado grounds the movie with a deft mixture of warmth, strength, and intelligence, while DS9 fan favorite Jeffrey Combs is somehow both creepy and pathetic as an FBI agent who arrives to investigate the deaths. Oh, and I'd be utterly remiss if I didn't mention the hilarious turns put in by Chi McBride (who, with Jackson's blessing, wrote most of his own comedic lines) and John Astin--Gomez Addams himself--as two of Frank's undead cohorts.
If you do seek out this film, be sure to rent nothing less than the recently released director's cut; having seen the truncated version that's often aired on the SciFi channel, I can honestly say that the restored material truly adds to and improves the overall viewing experience. Besides, it's got great featurettes (as you'd expect from a Jackson DVD)--one includes footage from an early read-through of the scrip, while in another in which you see Chi McBride improvise a series of increasingly funny lines as he prepares to film an f/x shot.
Anyway. If you're looking for something interesting and different to help while away a couple of hours, The Frighteners might just be the ticket.
The Frighteners also happens to be a pretty damn entertaining film. It's a bit uneven at times, but features excellent acting, an intriguing storyline, and a surprising array of both laughs and chills. I suspect it's one of those films that the viewer either completely clicks with or sees as a true cinematic nightmare; for me the eclectic mix of humor and horror hits all the right buttons.
Michael J. Fox turns in what I consider to be one of the finest performances of his career as Frank Bannister, an architect turned so-called "psychic detective." Frank travels from town to town, offering his services at a time when the locals just happen to be experiencing an upswing in paranormal phenomena. Sound fishy? It is, although there's a bit of a twist to this particular con--Frank really can both see and speak to ghosts, and is in fact working with the very spirits he claims to eliminate. However, when Frank returns to his hometown he gets drawn into a genuine mystery as the locals begin dying at an alarming rate--and for no discernible reason. And therein, as they say, lies our tale...
Fox does some of his best work as a man who's completely at ease with actual spirits, and yet remains visibly haunted by his own past. Trini Alvarado grounds the movie with a deft mixture of warmth, strength, and intelligence, while DS9 fan favorite Jeffrey Combs is somehow both creepy and pathetic as an FBI agent who arrives to investigate the deaths. Oh, and I'd be utterly remiss if I didn't mention the hilarious turns put in by Chi McBride (who, with Jackson's blessing, wrote most of his own comedic lines) and John Astin--Gomez Addams himself--as two of Frank's undead cohorts.
If you do seek out this film, be sure to rent nothing less than the recently released director's cut; having seen the truncated version that's often aired on the SciFi channel, I can honestly say that the restored material truly adds to and improves the overall viewing experience. Besides, it's got great featurettes (as you'd expect from a Jackson DVD)--one includes footage from an early read-through of the scrip, while in another in which you see Chi McBride improvise a series of increasingly funny lines as he prepares to film an f/x shot.
Anyway. If you're looking for something interesting and different to help while away a couple of hours, The Frighteners might just be the ticket.
