The Frighteners (1996)

July 19, 1996 (NZ) • Horror, Comedy • 110m

Overview

Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.

Director

Peter Jackson

Writers

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh

Top Billed

Michael J. Fox

Keywords

daughter small town mother sheriff judge funeral widow fbi architect supernatural poltergeist hell con man black humor lovers murder scam serial killer grim reaper reporter doctor car accident investigator widower threat psychotic recluse ghost graveyard multiple murder army sergeant haunted playful hilarious

Where to watch

Rent

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Top Billed Cast

Michael J. Fox

Frank Bannister

Trini Alvarado

Lucy Lynskey

Peter Dobson

Ray Lynskey

John Astin

The Judge

Jeffrey Combs

Milton Dammers

Dee Wallace

Patricia Bradley

Jake Busey

Johnny Bartlett

Chi McBride

Cyrus

Jim Fyfe

Stuart

Troy Evans

Sheriff Perry

Julianna McCarthy

Old Lady Bradley

R. Lee Ermey

Hiles

Elizabeth Hawthorne

Magda Rees-Jones

Angela Bloomfield

Debra Bannister

Desmond Kelly

Harry Sinclair

Jonathan Blick

Steve Bayliss

Todd Rippon

Deputy

John Sumner

Deputy

Michael Robinson

Deputy

Jim McLarty

Deputy

Anthony Ray Parker

Deputy

Paul Yates

Deputy

Melanie Lynskey

Deputy

John Leigh

Bryce Campbell

Nicola Cliff

Young Patricia

Ken Blackburn

Dr. Kamins

Stuart Devenie

Museum Curator

Genevieve Westcott

TV Presenter

K.C. Kelly

Doctor

Leslie Wing

Mrs. Waterhouse

Leslie Klein

Maid

Frank Edwards

Resuscitating Man

Alan O'Leary

The Waiter

Danny Lineham

Barry

Charlie McClellan

Reporter

William Pomeroy

Jacob Platz

George Port

Orderly

Billy Jackson

Baby in Bouncer

Sophie Watkins

Nursery Baby

Taea Hartwell

Nursery Baby

Max Grover

Nursery Baby

George Grover

Nursery Baby

Tony Hopkins

Hospital Patient

Lewis Martin

Hospital Patient

Clay Nelson

Passerby

Matthew Chamberlain

Passerby

Vivienne Kaplan

Nun

Liz Mullane

Nun

Matt Aitken

Cowboy Ghost (uncredited)

Grae Burton

Guest (uncredited)

Michael Elsworth

Undertaker (uncredited)

Nic Farra

Ray's Friend (uncredited)

Peter Jackson

Man with Piercings (uncredited)

Fran Walsh

Passerby (uncredited)

Paul Kingdom

Museum Guest (uncredited)

Jason Te Patu

Dr. Thomson (uncredited)

Crew

Peter Jackson

Director

Peter Jackson

Screenplay

Fran Walsh

Screenplay

Danny Elfman

Original Music Composer

John Blick

Director of Photography

Alun Bollinger

Director of Photography

Jamie Selkirk

Editor

Victoria Burrows

Casting

Vivienne Kaplan

Casting

Grant Major

Production Design

Dan Hennah

Art Direction

Barbara Darragh

Costume Design

Chris Hennah

Art Department Coordinator

Matt Aitken

CG Supervisor

John Sheils

CG Supervisor

Steve Ingram

Special Effects Coordinator

Matt Holmes

Visual Effects Coordinator

Wes Takahashi

Visual Effects Supervisor

Jane Holland

Assistant Costume Designer

Ellen Segal

Music Editor

Steve Bartek

Orchestrator

Merrin Ruck

Script Supervisor

Jane O'Kane

Hairstylist

Gail Wilson

Hairstylist

Marjory Hamlin

Makeup Department Head

Bron Roylance

Makeup Artist

Cheryl Newton

Wigmaker

Peter Jackson

Producer

Jamie Selkirk

Producer

Liz Mullane

Casting Associate

Pierre Vinet

Still Photographer

Brian Scadden

Visual Effects

Fran Walsh

Associate Producer

Robert Zemeckis

Executive Producer

Vance Hartwell

Makeup Effects

Jurgen Heimann

Makeup Effects

Bridget Bourke

Production Manager

Rick Porras

Post Production Supervisor

Carey Carter

First Assistant Director

Michele Priest

Second Assistant Director

Ed Mulholand

Construction Manager

Troy Stephens

Scenic Artist

Norman Willerton

Construction Foreman

Phil Benson

Supervising Sound Editor

Steve Boeddeker

Sound Effects Editor

David Boulton

ADR Mixer

Brent Burge

Sound Effects Editor

Chris Burt

ADR Mixer

Ross A. Chambers

Dialogue Editor

Gethin Creagh

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Corrin Ellingford

Boom Operator

Scott Guitteau

Assistant Sound Designer

Michael Hedges

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Mike Hopkins

Supervising Sound Editor

Richard Hymns

ADR Supervisor

Hammond Peek

Sound Recordist

Tim Prebble

Sound Effects Editor

Charleen Richards-Steeves

ADR Mixer

Kim Shaw-Williams

Boom Operator

Randy Thom

Sound Designer

Craig Tomlinson

Sound Effects Editor

Beth Tredray

Foley Artist

Chris Ward

Foley Editor

Steve Ingram

Special Effects Supervisor

Bruce brown

Stunt Coordinator

Charles Croughwell

Stunt Double

Steve Doherty

Stunts

Aaron Lupton

Stunts

Mark Prowse

Stunts

Joanne Strong

Stunts

Rick Allender

Steadicam Operator

Richard Bluck

Camera Operator

Ants Farrell

Electrician

Harry Harrison

Key Grip

Brett Jarman

Gaffer

Ian McCarroll

Assistant Camera

Mark Newnham

Electrician

Ian Nicholls

Electrician

Andy Reid

Dolly Grip

Hansel Verkerk

Electrician

Eric De Beus

Assistant Editor

Emma Haughton

First Assistant Editor

Josie McClutchie

Assistant Editor

Jo Priest

Assistant Editor

Hamiora Williams

Assistant Editor

Karyn Childs

Production Coordinator

Nina Saxon

Title Designer

Jacqui Wood

Production Coordinator

Rick Baker

Makeup Artist

Paul Story

Rotoscoping Artist

Andrew Stroud

Assistant Camera

Simon Higgins

Best Boy Electric

Reviews

John Chard

⭐ 7/10

December 25, 2018

When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation.

Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is an odd blend of outright comedy and supernatural thriller, if able to get onside with that then there's a whole lot to enjoy. Plot essential has Michael J. Fox as a psychic who really can see dead people, so much so in fact that he has befriended three ghosts and makes a living out of setting up hauntings and charging people to exorcise the spirits. However, things turn decidedly deadly when he encounters a grim reaper like spirit that is killing people and putting a number on their foreheads. It seems there is a serial killing spirit on the loose.

Frank Bannister (Fox) is grieving from the death of his wife and he has become a conman, this is an interesting characterisation for Fox to play and he does so with relish. Initially the pic is all about the comedy, with Bannister's interactions with the three ghosts devilishly funny. Ok, the effects work now look a bit crude, but there's a vibrancy on offer both visually and orally.

Come the second third the pic shifts into a serial killer investigation and the narrative gets dark. Oh there's still fun in the mix, but Jackson and his team are toying with the very real facet of a celebrity serial killer (ebulliently played by Jake Busey). Trini Alvarado (what happened to her?) is playing what ends up as Bannister's side-kick and love interest and the pair of them are thrust into a frantic final third of a life and death battle with Busey's psychotic spirit Johnny Bartlett. Bartlett in turn is aided by mentally ill Patricia Bradley (horror icon Dee Wallace Stone), while an outrageously over the top Jeffrey Combs is in the mix as a damaged FBI agent intent on destroying bannister and all he stands for.

When you strip it down it's a live action horror comedy cartoon, which when you look in context to Jackson's early work is not surprising. It's also not surprising that The Frighteners has become a cult movie of some standing. The bonkers plot, the close to the knuckle humour and choice narrative threads make it a fascinating viewing experience. 7.5/10

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Gimly

⭐ 6/10

June 18, 2020

Has maybe not aged flawlessly, but it's very silly and very involved in a good kind of way. Kind of feels like a spoof but I'm honestly not sure what of, so I think that it's maybe just a light toned take on some pretty dark subject matter. It's been about 20 years since I last watched The Frighteners and I think I could probably go about that long before I watch it again, but I still do think it's worthwhile.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. … read the rest.

misubisu

⭐ 7/10

January 7, 2026

### **Review: *The Frighteners (1996)***

**Score: 7/10**

*The Frighteners* is a fascinating, energetic, and gloriously uneven goulash of a film—a horror-comedy-ghost-mystery that showcases Peter Jackson's wild imagination in full bloom during his transition from gross-out splatter to blockbuster fantasy. It's a film brimming with brilliant ideas and technical wizardry, hamstrung slightly by a tonal identity crisis, but ultimately winning yo… read the rest.