A depressed con artist who uses real ghosts for fake hauntings is the only one who can stop a series of supernatural murders in Peter Jackson’s hilarious, unique, and thrilling horror-comedy The Frighteners. The 1996 horror-comedy comes to 4k and Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
The Film
It’s too bad The Frighteners fizzled at the box office. For whatever reason, it didn’t catch on (mainly because of a bad release date that clashed with Independence Day). Sad, as if it did, it could have been the next Ghostbusters. Ultimately, its failure was a stepping stone to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, so I guess we could be thankful (not unlike how Jordorowsky’s Dune’s crashing down brought about Alien, Star Wars, and more). But I just wish more people saw it. Yes, the people who excitedly follow Arrow and other boutique releases will bounce with giddy excitement, but here’s to this new release putting it on radars somehow, even if just for streaming. If anything about “supernatural horror comedy from Peter Jackson” strikes you, it’s worth picking up sight unseen.
And if you’ve never heard of it, or you’re kinda aware and clicking this review, I suppose you’re wondering what the fuss is and why Bob spent the first paragraph saying it isn’t taking the world by storm. Because The Frighteners is freakin’ awesome. It’s a blast of supernatural horror-comedy fun, with fantastic special effects, a clever plot, a slew of awesome performances, and an all-around peppy energy that helped bridge a regional filmmaker to the rest of the world. Before The Frighteners, Peter Jackson, and sometimes his writing/prodcuter/life parters of Fran Walsh, made three over-the-top, goopy and goofy genre films: the alien-invasion film Bad Taste, Muppets-on-EVERTING Meet the Feebles (it’s Muppet-canon as per a recent show), and the gonzo zombie comedy Dead Alive, which matches Evil Dead 2 for every B-movie lover’s first love. He also made the not-seen-by-me silent-film satire Forgotten Silver and the deadly serious true story of writer Anne Perry’s deadly teenage obsession and co-dependence in truly fantastic Heavenly Creatures, featuring Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their first roles.
So, what’s our madcap murder ghost caper about? Michael J. Fox, who had famously worked with producer Robert Zemeckis (the film started as a Tales from the Crypt pitch) on Back to the Future, is a paranormal investigator who does what Walter Peck accuses the Ghostbusters of doing: setting up a light show to make people think they are haunted, then charging them to take the ghosts away. The shift in his hucksterism? He actually works with ghosts, played by Jim Fyfe, Chi McBride, and a scene-stealing John Astin. Fox’s Frank Bannister is in a depression spiral after losing his wife in an accident, but the town thinks he killed her due to a number carved in her forehead. When more bodies start showing up with numbers in their foreheads, he’s put under suspicion, leading the local police, with Twin Peaks’Troy Evans and Yellowjacket’s Melanie Lynskey, and an FBI Agent, Jefferey Combs, stealing every scene Astin doesn’t (I probably say MY BODY IS A ROADMAP OF PAIN at least once a week) on his trail. All while trying to woo Trini Alvarado. Also featuring Dee Wallace, Jake Busey, and R. Lee Ermey, Jackson has a committed, active, all-in cast.
The ghost effects are awesome, if somewhat dated (early Weta before they truly wowed with Lord of the Rings and King Kong), the humor lands, and the characters are notable and interesting. Like Dead Alive, The Frighteners is a film of one great set piece after another, building up in set-ups and pay-offs in glorious ways. Moving around town, in a restaurant, through a museum, and leading to the “I wanna explore this so bad” abandoned asylum, The Frighteners keeps surprising with pitch-perfect timing, jokes, and a solid heart at its center. This sucker moves, bouncy and brimming with energy; Jackson’s films slide right through, making longer epics like Lord of the Rings feel much shorter than their runtimes.
I was so happy to return to The Frighteners for this review. Damn, do I love everything about it. Let’s hope The Frighteners finally gets a solid HD release; Jackson’s pre-Lord of the Rings films deserve better editions. Now bring me Dead Alive in 4k! (and Bad Tate, Meet the Feebles, Forgotten Silver, and Heavenly Creatures!)
Director’s cut:
About ten minutes longer, this is the preferred version and the most widely available on disc. It has more plot and character bits, but doesn’t slow down anything.
The first disc contains both cuts. The second disc features both cuts in open matte. The films are the same, but with more to see.
The Packaging and Presentation
Arrow Video puts The Frighteners on three discs. Disc 1 is either 4k or Blu-ray, depending on your preference. The 2nd and 3rd discs are both Blu-ray. I don’t know how they are arranged inside, as I work from check discs. They all feature the cover image of the ghost face pushing through the white wall. They come in a case matching your choice, with a reversible sleeve; each side features the original art, either ghostface pushing through or the character option with Fox surrounded by his friendly ghosts. A cardboard o-sleeve features the ghost image.
The image is astonishing. I love how the ghosts pop with their blue tints, and the impressive indoor and outdoor scenes keep every moment sharp. It’s all detailed and gorgeous. I loved living in this film. The audio comes in a variety of options and shifts depending on the cut. But it sounds great. I loved Danny Elfman’s score, teh goofy sound effects, and how well it all mixed. In English with English subtitles
The Features
A glance might say, “Why aren’t there so many? Why, with Lord of the Rings filling up those massive boxes?” but I reply with “there might be a half-dozen, but damn, are they hefty.” It’s worth noting here: This release is essentially the 2022 German Turbine release, with the separate discs for the cuts moved to shared discs, and the physical goodies.
Discs 1 & 2
Commentary (2006)
Peter Jackson, on the director’s cut, gives a fantastic commentary. He has a great sense of humor and natural storytelling, and he gets into all the details of how it came together: Weta’s special effects work, the challenges of working with American studios for the first time, everything and anything.
Introduction to the 10th anniversary (2006)
A nice, quick chat from Jackson welcoming us into the film!
Disc 3
No Way to Make a Living: A Look Back on the Frighteners (2022, new to our shores)
A collection of Zoom interviews with VHS artifacts. Nicely edited, each participant- people on both sides of the camera- is recorded separately, but they flow into one another. They all come back to the project with great stories, a solid appreciation, and it’s a joy to recall. The stories are plentiful and fun, and they don’t repeat in the documentary, with each person looking back on their career, how it works in this film, and how film and special features have changed since then. (94m)
The Making of the Frighteners (1998)
Yes, that number at the end is right. This sucker is four hours and 30 minutes. But it’s everything you’d usually see spread out. From the same folks that would bring out the Lord of the Rings appendixes. Think of that as a “play all.” Wholly encompassing and totally entertaining. From idea, to casting, to working with Universal, 45 minutes of storyboards, deleted scenes (the gatekeeper!), release, music, and bloopers. I’ve seen this a few times now, and it’s a great making-of, an example of what LaserDiscs, and later other discs, could do beyond the film. Funny enough, the extreme length comes from Jackson getting bored when King Kong fell through the first time. (270m)
Richard Taylor (2022)
Alexandre Poncet talks with Weta’s special effects master over a Zoom call. It’s a nice chat that looks at how groundbreaking Frighteners was at the time and how it led to Weta’s mastery of the work. Taylor talks about the turning point of Jackson and Weta’s history and the production. Like the new doc, it doesn’t feel repeated from the big guy of the disc (42m)
Image Gallery
About 90 images of production stills and behind-the-scenes shots.
Booket
A nice 40-page bound booklet is included. It has the normal stuff, plus a series of text from 1996. Interesting not to have anything new. It includes: Peter Jackson’s welcome, and the extensive liner notes come from the LaserDisc. Scared Silly by David E. Williams first appeared in the August 1996 issue of American Cinematographer. A wonderful article getting into the details of Jackson’s specific style and how the pair of cinematographers (one had a car accident and had to be replaced) worked with this, the specialty of the ghosts, and on-location shooting in New Zealand. New Zealand’s New Digital Age by Ron Magid and David E. Williams also appeared the same. This talks about Weta’s work in the growing CG field, how they did it for The Frighteners, and how they were preparing for King Kong (which was paused for a while before coming back for a 2005 film).
Final Thoughts
Have you figured out I love this movie? I was utterly esctatic when this release was announced. And I’m just as escatic to give it 1600 words to tell you how great this release is. A loaded release with all sort of optiosn to watch and giving all the great suppliments of earlier releases, it’s a must buy, IMHO.