Os Espíritos

What sets out to be a comedy movie with ghosts, (and anyone could be forgiven for thinking this is what it would be given that Michael J Fox has the lead) rapidly becomes a very dark supernatural thriller.

The special effects still look good even by todays standards, and the story is solidly written, good characters and good direction, there is not much to criticise in this movie.

The film itself is one that you should not miss, and certainly not because you think its something that it isn't.

8/10 A surprising film, that has probably been overlooked by too many movie lovers.

The Frighteners is a fun little movie from the mid-90s. It has an pleasing mix of stars who hit their stride in the 80s (Fox,Wallace, and Ermey) and others who count this as among their first works (Alvarado, Busey, McBride). It is an odd mix of horror and humor from Peter Jackson and had state-of-the-art special effects for the time.

The Frighteners, filmed and produced in New Zealand, was the biggest special effects movie made at that time outside the Hollywood movie base. It made extensive use of blue screens and had over 400 computer-enhanced special effects. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh wrote the script and Jackson directed and produced the film.

The Frighteners has an overall tone of whimsy but also has some impressive horror movie moments. The Danny Elfman score fits the movie perfectly. Frank Bannister, played by Fox, is a widowed psychic investigator exploring supernatural goings on in a placid rural town. Newcomer Alvarado plays his romantic interest. Veteran actor John Astin plays a ghost called The Judge who has seen his better days. Ermey plays drill instructor (go figure), Sgt Hiles, who is in charge of the local cemetery. He has several lines and a general demeanor that pays homage or satirizes (depending on your viewpoint) his character in 1987's Full Metal Jacket. Jake Busey plays a good bad man, and McBride plays a funny role as Bannister's ghostly aide.

The Frighteners is amusing, frightening, entertaining, and a bit exhausting. It is a great Fall or Halloween movie.

The Frighteners is a textbook example of how to do a horror/comedy. Peter Jackson once again proves he can handle the genre masterfully. With Psychic Investigator Frank Bannister, Michael J. Fox adds another great character to his pantheon of heroes. The rest of the cast is top notch as well. Horror icon Dee Wallace Stone is great in this. John Astin is great in this. R. Lee Ermey is great in this. Even Jake Busey is great in this. Everyone is great in this. The actors and actresses do a wonderful job of handling the humor and the scares. But the actor that really shines here is genre veteran Jeffrey Combs. His portrayal of F.B.I. Special Agent Milton Dammers is one of his most memorable in long career of genre roles. Only the best went into this movie: Rick Baker was brought in to handle some of the visual effects and Danny Elfman composed the score. I don't know that it's my favorite, but this may be Jackson's best horror offering thus far in his career. That's a bold statement considering he's no stranger to horror.

Note for genre buffs: Peter Jackson cameos as the pierced passerby.

THE FRIGHTENERS has just the right blend of comedy and horror, and will please most audiences. Director Peter Jackson did a great job directing this film, and Michael J. Fox gives one of his most unusual performances as a "ghost buster" who has a rare gift that allows him to see the dead.

All in all, a unique film that is very different from its competition in the horror drama and really only falls apart towards the end, when it resorts to the typical slasher ending with plot twists. Apart from the end, it's sure to keep you entertained throughout!

4/5 stars

JOHN ULMER

After the traumatic experience of losing his beloved wife Debra (Angela Bloomfield) in a car accident, the architect Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) acquires the ability of seeing ghosts. He quits his profession; abandons the construction of his dream house to live with Debra and becomes a con man, using the ghosts Cyrus (Chi McBride), Stuart (Jim Fyfe) and The Judge (John Astin) to haunt houses and then charging the dwellers to exorcise their homes.

Dr. Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado) visits the reclusive Patricia Ann Bradley (Dee Wallace-Stone), who was a former delinquent and girlfriend of the serial–killer Johnny Bartlett (Jake Busey) that lives with her mother, she notes that Patricia has bruises. Lucy returns home and together with her husband Ray Lynskey (Peter Dobson), they are haunted by a poltergeist. She calls Frank and soon Ray has a heart attack. Lucy meets Frank in a restaurant and he realizes that Soul Collector is marking numbers in the forehead of his victims before killing them. Frank becomes prime suspect of the police due to his knowledge about the murders and he is arrested. Meanwhile the psychotic FBI agent Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs) comes to the city to investigate the murder cases. When Frank finds that Lucy will be the next victim of the Reaper, he takes the ultimate decision to fight the entity to save her.

"The Frighteners" is a weird, but entertaining and original film by Peter Jackson. The story is too violent for comedy and too silly for horror; therefore the genre is indeed a combination of comedy, romance, horror and fantasy. The special effects are excellent and state-of-art for a 1996 movie. Michael J. Fox shines in the role of the psychic Frank Bannister and Trini Alvarado is perfect in the role of his romantic pair Dr. Lucy Lynskey. All the characters are interesting and peculiar, and the cast has great performances independently of the special effects. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Espíritos" ("The Spirits")