Overview: Before The Lord of the Rings made him a household name, Peter Jackson delivered The Frighteners - a wildly inventive blend of supernatural horror and dark comedy. Produced by Robert Zemeckis, it cemented Jackson’s reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers of his generation.

Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future) stars as Frank Bannister, a small-town psychic who uses his ghostly friends to con unsuspecting locals - until a series of mysterious deaths points to a far darker force. Racing to uncover the truth, Frank realizes he’s the only person capable of stopping a malevolent spirit from claiming more victims... even if it means facing his own haunted past.

As macabre as it is mischievous, The Frighteners blends chilling suspense with offbeat humor and groundbreaking visual effects. Stylish, spooky, and full of heart, this cult classic continues to thrill from beyond the grave.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: In truth, The Frighteners is a strange ol’ movie, but a cult one now, nonetheless. Peter Jackson had a great reputation on making very gory but brilliant horror movies like the instant classic Braindead and of course his debut Bad Taste. This movie was going to be something else though. Produced by Robert Zemeckis and music from Danny Elfman kind of shows that this was going to be more of a fantasy then a horror movie. Still, it is genuine horror stuff with some essential Jackson touches to it like the FBI agent and the groovy dialogue.

Michael J. Fox puts down a fine performance as a psychic detective but the best performance comes from the freaky Mulder FBI agent Jeffrey Combs, his role and dialogue plus his facial expression a truly Jackson style. It reminded me quite a bit of several Braindead characters. There is also a hilarious performance by R. Lee Ermey (most famous from his drill sergeant role in Full Metal Jacket) playing just that role once again.

The concept is pretty creative and I couldn’t get enough of it. Mixing serial killers with a physical form of The Death is something to dig. Also, the paranormal business Frank Bannister runs was a clever sub-plot.

The first twenty minutes of the movie really make you wonder what is going on, because there isn’t a defined main plot situation. Then, the movie starts to get shape and that’s when you are totally hooked in. Also, the good F/X and non-sense but witty dialogs really captivate the audience.

At first, I had trouble with the ghost’s physical form. I mean, I didn’t like the ghoulish glow, but then I get used to it and I understood that it works perfectly for the movie’s tone. Like many Jackson/Zemeckis films, it boasts excellent production values, a not untalented cast, appropriate New Zealand locations, an underlying, almost tongue-in-cheek comical thread and a special effects driven narrative.

It’s true that the movie gets more serious and darker as it heads toward its ending though. It shows how difficult it is to maintain a good balance of comedy and horror throughout an entire movie. Still this movie succeeds in that for about 90% of its running time.

In closing, The Frighteners contains a massive load of impressive special and visual effects that sadly cost a lot more than the film made at the box office. It’s most unfortunate that few people opted to see the film on the big screen, as I imagine that’s exactly where the stupendous effects are at their most mesmerizing. Danny Elfman’s haunting score and the awesome soundtrack (including Sonic Youth and a nice cover version of Don’t Fear The Reaper) put the cherry on the cake.

4K ULTRA HD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
4K restoration from the original camera negative
Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
Collectors’ booklet featuring Peter Jackson’s 1998 introduction to the LaserDisc release, original production notes, and two 1996 articles from American Cinematographer

DISC 1 - THEATRICAL AND DIRECTOR’S CUTS (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)br> 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation of both cuts in Dolby Vision (HDR10/compatible)
Original lossless theatrical mix in DTS-HD MA 5.1 (theatrical cut only) and original lossless 2.0 stereo audio (both cuts), plus DTS-HD MA 5.1 home video mix (both cuts) and optional Dolby Atmos remix (director’s cut only)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Optional English subtitles on all bonus materials
Audio commentary by co-writer/producer/director Peter Jackson (director’s cut only)
Peter Jackson’s 10th anniversary introduction to the film
Theatrical trailer

DISC 2 - OPEN MATTE VERSIONS (BLU-RAY)
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both cuts, with the same audio/subtitle options and extras as Disc 1

DISC 3 - EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
No Way to Make a Living: A Look Back at The Frighteners, a feature-length documentary produced in 2022, featuring new interviews with actors Dee Wallace Stone and Jake Busey, cinematographer John Blick, production designer Grant Major, creature and miniature effects supervisor Richard Taylor, visual effects supervisor Wes Takahashi, and producer/editor Jamie Selkirk
The Making of The Frighteners, an exhaustive 225-minute documentary exploring every aspect of the film’s production, from script development and casting to post-production and release, produced in 1998 for the LaserDisc release, with a 2005 retrospective introduction by Jackson
A Conversation with Richard Taylor and Alexandre Poncet, a 2022 interview with the man behind the film’s creature and miniature effects
Image gallery

Original 1996 Trailer

Official Purchase Link

www.arrowvideo.com