DVD Review - Frighteners (Unrated Director's Cut)

Customer Review

The BEST Peter Jackson film that showcases what he does best: horror and comedy

I can remember the scene as if it were yesterday. My older brother, father and 13 year old self hit the movie theater, pumped to see another Michael J. Fox/Zemeckis teaming that we have long since loved since the days of 'Back to the Future'. It's the day after the film opened and the theater was filled with about 10 people (my brother, dad and myself included). The movie rolls and, by the end, I was jumping with how incredibly cool and fun the movie was. And to this day, the same holds true: This is one of the best horror comedies of all-time, if not THE best, and is Jackson's best film to date.

I'm sure, by now, you now the premise of the film based on the reviews prior to mine, so I wont bore you with all the babble of what the film is all about. I will, however, give my input as to why this film rocks!!! For one, it has Michael J. Fox. It had been a while since I had seen him in a film (I believe the last one I saw before 'The Frighteners' was 'Life With Mikey') and he was fantastic in this. His portrayal of a ghost hunting con man is a personal favorite of mine. No matter how he acted in the film, whether it was serious or downright goofy, he managed to keep his character extremely likeable...as always...and interesting. It seems as though he had a blast with this film. Another reason why this film was so cool was the lack of EXTREME gore that Jackson had used and was known for in his prior films ('Bad Taste', 'Braindead'). Instead, he relied more on story and character development, along with creating some of the best ghost effects ever seen. He did all of this without having to sacrifice a great story with incredibly gory effects. Also, when was the last time you saw a ghost...bleed??? But these aren't the only reasons why you should see this movie. Here are ALL the other reasons why you shouldn't miss this film:

-The awesome and strange Jeffrey "Yes I am, I'm an ass****...with an oozie!" Combs ('Re-Animator') in a GREAT, GREAT...GREAT performance.

-The very talented and always sweet Dee Wallace-Stone ('The Howling', 'The Hills Have Eyes') in a very creepy performance.

-Another incredibly brilliant, atmospheric and moody score from the great Danny Elfman ('Batman', 'The Nightmare Before Christmas').

There were also ALOT of great surprises in this film:

-R. Lee Ermey (`Full Metal Jacket', `Willard') in a classic spoof of one of his own characters, from another film. An amazing touch.

-John Astin (Gomez, 'The Addams Family' TV show) in a very good performance as the coolest looking ghost of all: A rotting Judge (they don't call him the hanging judge for nothin').

And a surprisingly good Jake Busey (`Starship Troopers') as a serial killer. (You will never see teeth as perfect and as white in another film until you see Jake's when he is killing people. They are very Looney Tunes-ish...which was a very nice touch to make his character extra creepy.) All of this, along with a cool, afro-sporting, funkadelic 70's ghost of Chi McBride (`Boston Public'), an underrated Trini Alvarado and not to mention the awesome script, makes this a film that should be on your "TO WATCH RIGHT NOW" list if you haven't seen it already.

* If anything, watch this film for the final half, especially when our two heroes enter the old, abandoned Hospital. Some cool, cool stuff. *

With the LOTR films, I'm sure there are a lot people who have either seen or have yet to see this film solely because of those fantasy epics, which is sad because this is a wonderful film all by itself. I'm proud to say that I saw this film when it opened, in the theater, and that I have been a fan of this and many of Jackson's earlier (and much better) films for a looooong time now.

I am just as pumped for this new unrated directors cut as I was that day at the movies when I was 13. I'm anxious to see what kind of extra footage is in this version. I'm hoping, like many others, that they will have the complete documentary on this film because that would just be the icing on the cake. All that we fans can do now is wait and watch the calendar for the day this DVD arrives.

Visually stunning and atmospheric, very funny, very spooky (at times very serious) but ALWAYS fun, THE FRIGHTENERS has everything you need for a night of great movie watching.

NOTE: If you're not a fan of gore, you're in luck. This film has very minimal gore. Yes, there is blood and some gory moments, but for the most part, it's VERY timid compared to Peter Jackson's older films that include some of the goriest scenes in movie history. (i.e. `Braindead'). It's enough to satisfy all you gore-hounds out there, but not so much that it will turn you non-gore fans away.

So if your "dying" to see a great, frighteningly funny and spooky film, check out THE FRIGHTENERS...before your number is up. Because, "When your numbers up...*SNAP*...that's it."