AmateurMovieReviews.com

The Story: A broken down architect preys on the families of the recently deceased by using his ability to communicate with the dead.

We start the film with Patricia Bradley (Dee Wallace-Stone of Cujo, The Howling, and E.T.) being chased through her home by some sort of entity. This entity is after her with a vengeance and is coming at her through the house. It crawls through the walls, carpet and furniture. The second it catches her, Patricia's mother (Julianna McCarthy) puts it down with a double barreled shotgun.

Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) has a unique ability. After a car accident years ago, he's now able to communicate with the dead. Not only does he communicate with them, he uses them to make a living as a psychic investigator. Cyrus (Chi McBride of Fox's Boston Public), Stuart (Jim Fyfe), and the Judge (John Astin) all work with Frank haunting houses. Frank's plan is simple; plant a business card in a house (or a pocket), send the ghosts to haunt it, and wait for the phone call.

During a call to a clients house, Dr. Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado), Frank sees a number carved into the forehead of the Doctors husband Ray, (Peter Dobson). Shortly after this, Ray dies and Frank runs into his ghost on the way to the funeral. Frank explains to Ray that he's dead and Ray forces him to communicate with Lucy. During a dinner with Lucy and Ray's ghost, we find that the marriage between the two had fallen apart and Ray had lost a large amount of Lucy's money on a bad investment.

While in the bathroom, Frank sees a second man with an incremental number carved into his forehead. He then witnesses the Grim Reaper reach into the mans chest, crushing his heart, killing him. Frank runs from the restaurant chasing the cloaked figure in an attempt to catch it. Shortly after this at a local museum, Frank sees a third number engraved into a reporters forehead. He kidnaps her in an attempt to save her life but the Grim Reaper catches them and kills the woman anyway. The local Sheriff, played by Troy Evans, brings Frank in for questioning after the reporters death.

Frank is introduced to FBI Agent Milton Dammers (Jeffery Combs). Dammers is an odd agent with 20 years of parapsychology case experience. We also find out later in the film that Dammers is obsessed with parapsychology and the ability to communicate with the dead and other things.
While Frank is incarcerated, Lucy comes to visit and attempts to bring him out of his depression. Once Frank comes around, he hugs Lucy and sees a number carved into her forehead. Seconds later, the Grim Reaper pays a visit to the cell and tries to kill Lucy. But thanks to Frank's sidekicks Cyrus and Stuart, Lucy is saved and they both escape the jailhouse.

After this event, the story starts to unfold and the viewer gets a peek as to who the Grim Reaper is and why he's taking the lives of innocent people.

Although you'd never know it due to its all American cast, The Frighteners was produced and shot in and around New Zealand. The countryside settings and the remarkable sets all add to the atmosphere of the film.

Performances by Fox, Stone, McBride, Alvarado, and Combs are all outstanding. Combs in particular plays his role as FBI Agent Milton Dammers brilliantly and should have been nominated by the academy with a "best supporting" actor nomination. If you ask me, this is his best performance in a horror film since his role as Herbert West in Re-Animator.

The script and story are fairly tight but could have used a bit more polishing. For the most part though, the story is believable and the mix of comedy and horror make this a fun film to watch. This is something Peter Jackson has a knack for.

I didn't care too much for the CGI effects, but they work well in adding to the film and it's over-all goal to scare the audience. For those of you who despise the over-use of CGI, no fret here, it's only used when needed.

As in most Jackson films, Peter does make an appearance in the film. Although he's tough to see, you can catch him bumping into Frank Bannister coming out of the Gazette. Just look for the punk rocker with the Grim Reaper t-shirt.

In the end, I highly recommend this modern day ghost story. It's fun from start to finish and has a bit of everything for everyone.