The Coli Movie Club: The Frighteners

[Jello Biafra]

Charlatan Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) has genuine psychic powers, but he doesn't use them to help people. Rather, he generates cases for his supernatural private-eye firm by harassing a group of hapless ghosts (including a dearly departed Wild West outlaw and an undead judge played by John Astin) into staging hauntings and poltergeists in the homes of likely marks. Bannister's world turns on its head when he starts noticing real hauntings around town -- ghostly assassinations that seem to be tied to the execution 20 years earlier of a brutal serial killer. Lucy Lunskey (Trini Alvarado), the wife of one unlucky victim, teams up with Bannister to get to the bottom of the killings and find out what shut-in Patricia Bradley (Dee Wallace Stone) and her witchy mother (Julia McCarthy) have to do with the sinister spree.

@Jax @hexagram23 could one of you brothers sticky this please? Thanks.

 

[Jello Biafra]

A little backstory on the movie:

The Frighteners is a 1996 New Zealand-American comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with his wife, Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, and Jake Busey. The Frighteners tells the story of Frank Bannister (Fox), an architect who develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts after his wife's murder. He initially uses his new abilities to work with various spirits to cheat money out of customers for his "ghosthunting" business. However, the spirit of a mass murderer comes back from Hell, able to attack the living and the dead, as the ghost of the Grim Reaper, prompting Frank to investigate the supernatural presence.

Jackson and Walsh conceived the idea for The Frighteners during the script-writing phase of Heavenly Creatures. Robert Zemeckis hired the duo to write the script, with the original intention of Zemeckis directing The Frighteners as a spin-off film of the television series, Tales from the Crypt. With Jackson and Walsh's first draft submitted in January 1994, Zemeckis believed the film would be better off directed by Jackson, produced by Zemeckis and funded/distributed by Universal Studios. The visual effects were created by Jackson's Weta Digital, which had only been in existence for three years. This, plus the fact that The Frighteners required more digital effects shots than almost any movie made up until that time, resulted in the eighteen-month period for effects work by Weta Digital being largely stressed.

Despite a rushed post-production schedule, Universal was so impressed with Jackson's rough cut on The Frighteners, the studio moved the theatrical release date closer by four months. The film was not a box office success, but received generally positive reviews from critics. Despite its lackluster performance at the box office, the film has gained a cult following in more recent years, and was listed on Den of Geek's list of the25 Most Underappreciated Films of 1996.

The Frighteners is also Fox's last leading role in a live-action feature film; Fox then went on to a four-year run on the television series Spin Citybefore semi-retiring in 2000 due to the effects of Parkinson's disease.

 

[FlyRy]

its been in my queue for like 2 years and the only PJ movie I haven't seen

will peep

 

[flea]

I'll be skipping this week also. Can we get some more current movies on the future movie picks? I ain't tryna watch this old shyt. Last week was a cotdamn silent movie. C'mon man

 

[Jello Biafra]

its been in my queue for like 2 years and the only PJ movie I haven't seen

will peep

Figured I'd offer a little popcorn after being in film school for the past couple weeks.

 

[Jello Biafra]

I'll be skipping this week also. Can we get some more current movies on the future movie picks? I ain't tryna watch this old shyt. Last week was a cotdamn silent movie. C'mon man

You acting like this is a black-and-white movie from 1956.

 

[flea]

You acting like this is a black-and-white movie from 1956.

It stars michael J fox. It's fukkin old enough

 

[Jello Biafra]

It stars michael J fox. It's fukkin old enough

Alright, homie...hope you have better luck next week.

 

[Roaden Polynice]

In

 

[FlyRy]

It stars michael J fox. It's fukkin old enough

 

[Ghost Utmost]

I for one appreciate being out of my comfort zone with these pic(k)s. I have had all my life to watch things I think I'd like.

The movie club is turning me on to things I wouldn't think I would likehave and for the most part I have enjoyed every movie. Uncle Sam was kinda rough, but having recently become aware of Troll 2, I found it educational (the whole "so bad it's good" category).

I'm down.

 

[Dirty Mcdrawz]

One of my favorite movies

 

[STAN JONES]

Finally a movie I might actually watch

 

[STAN JONES]

I for one appreciate being out of my comfort zone with these pic(k)s. I have had all my life to watch things I think I'd like.

The movie club is turning me on to things I wouldn't think I would likehave and for the most part I have enjoyed every movie. Uncle Sam was kinda rough, but having recently become aware of Troll 2, I found it educational (the whole "so bad it's good" category).

I'm down.

I see what you're saying but you atleast have to pick something that people will give a chance or might be interested in

I don't know what the hell dude was thinking picking a silent movie...he damn near killed the movie club with that shyt

 

[MartyMcFly]

I see what you're saying but you atleast have to pick something that people will give a chance or might be interested in

I don't know what the hell dude was thinking picking a silent movie...he damn near killed the movie club with that shyt

But that's the thing about the club man, you don't have to watch everything. If you want a more current pick then when your turn comes or someone else's make that your pick. Film has been going on for a long long long time and what's the point of having a club if we're just going to look at movies from the last 20 years or so? You're picking based on what you want to share with other people, not based on what you think they're going to decide to watch