The Frighteners (1996)
76%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 17 nominations
Boasting top-notch special effects and exuberant direction from Peter Jackson, The Frighteners is visually striking but tonally uneven
If you’re looking for a movie that’s part horror, part comedy, and all Michael J. Fox, then The Frighteners is the flick for you. Sure, the plot might be a little thin and the special effects a little over-the-top, but who cares when you’ve got Fox trying to get hip on the big screen? Plus, the movie has everything from heaven to hell, so you know it’s going to be a wild ride. Just be prepared for some violent, foul-mouthed ghosts along the way.
Production Company(ies)
Big Beach Films, Tencent Pictures, Tri Star Pictures,
Distributor
MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for terror/violence
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTSDTS-Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 19, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2005
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Michael J Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace, Chi McBride, Jim Fyfe, directed by Peter Jackson, written by Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, genre: Fantasy, Comedy, box office performance: $16.5M, budget: N/A, reviewed by Gene Siskel, Todd McCarthy, Nigel Floyd, Janet Maslin, Ben Falk, Kenneth Turan, James Croot, Travis Johnson, Alex Behan, David Nusair, Evan Narcisse, Charles Cassady, MPAA rating: R, produced by Jamie Selkirk, Peter Jackson
Worldwide gross: $29,359,216
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $56,039,272
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,279
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,111,153
US/Canada gross: $16,759,216
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $31,989,078
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,251
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,565,495
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,623,114
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 938
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $30,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $57,262,365
Production budget ranking: 707
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $30,835,784
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$32,058,877
ROI to date (est.): -36%
ROI ranking: 1,606
Trini Alvarado – Dr. Lucy Lynskey
Peter Dobson – Ray Lynskey
John Astin – The Judge
Jeffrey Combs – Milton Dammers
Dee Wallace – Patricia Ann Bradley
Director(s)
Peter Jackson
Writer(s)
Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Producer(s)
Jamie Selkirk, Peter Jackson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 17 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (14)
[Michael J.] Fox seems to be trying to get hip in the movies, and he’s lost his way here.
August 23, 2017 | Rating: 2/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Story was originally conceived as an episode of “Tales From the Crypt,” and that is perhaps what it should have remained, as the thinness of the conceit shows throughout, painfully so in the first half.
March 26, 2009
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
At times the relentless special effects and tangled plotting veer towards visual and narrative overkill, but the final tonal swerve is shocking and effective.
January 26, 2006
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The actors can’t keep the film’s mood from verging on hysteria as the story roams all over the map. “The Frighteners” has flitted everywhere, even to heaven and hell, before it’s over.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Full of special effects, but still strangely ‘indie’, the movie has a unique sensibility …
April 17, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
Ben Falk
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Fortunately director Jackson, at home with all kinds of excess, keeps everything spinning nicely, not even losing a step when the mood turns increasingly disturbing.
February 14, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Twenty-five years on and what’s striking about The Frighteners is how well the effects and Jackson’s tension-building have held up.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
The Frighteners is absolutely bursting with the desire to entertain.
August 8, 2021
Travis Johnson
Mr. Movie’s Film Blog
It’s a bonkers mix of comedy and horror by a brave, ambitious young director.
July 8, 2021
Alex Behan
Stuff.co.nz
There’s ultimately little doubt that The Frighteners is at its best in its briskly-paced and thoroughly entertaining first half…
September 21, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
There’s not a boring moment in the film and almost every single scene adds new layers to the film’s multiple mysteries.
June 14, 2018
Evan Narcisse
The Young Folks
Violent, frenzied, foul-mouthed ghost comedy.
December 15, 2010 | Rating: 2/5
Charles Cassady
Common Sense Media…
Plot
After a car accident in which his wife, Debra, was killed and he was injured, Frank Bannister develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts. After losing his wife, he then gave up his job as an architect, letting his unfinished “dream house” sit incomplete for years, and put these skills to use by befriending a few ghosts and getting them to haunt houses in the area to drum up work for his ghostbusting business; Then Frank proceeds to “exorcise” the houses for a fee. But when he discovers that an entity resembling the Grim Reaper is killing people, marking numbers on their forehead beforehand, Frank tries to help the people whom the Reaper is after!
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeffrey Combs delivers a “deranged, prattling” performance as a crazy FBI agent in The Frighteners.
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