The Frighteners (1996)

As you might know by now I’m a big fan of Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future is my favourite film of all time), and a totally underrated film of his is:

The Frighteners (1996)

The Frighteners was one of the last movies he did before stepping out of the Hollywood spotlight due to Parkinson’s disease.

It’s such a great movie!

For anyone that hasn’t seen it it’s a supernatural comedy/horror about a guy called Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) who, after a tragic car accident where his wife is killed begins to see ghosts.

He teams up with a couple of spooks and sends them out to stage “fake hauntings” where he can then turn up and get paid to heroically “expel” the ghost(s) for money. But when a demonic spirit appears in town and starts killing people in a way that looks (to the living) like a heart attack, Frank may be the only one who can stop it.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), co-written by Peter Jackson (screenplay writer and director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and co starring Trini Alvarado (Little Women - 1994), Jake Busey (Identity), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) and Dee Wallace (E.T.), this is a fun supernatural romp that needs to be watched.

As it turns out there are two versions of the film. I recently watched the Director’s Cut which has scenes in it that I’d never seen before. I have to say though, I prefer the original theatrical release but that might just be because I’m more familiar with it.

If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend and haven’t seen The Frighteners, I recommend you give it a go.

Seen it? What do you think? 🤔