Tracey FrinkThe Frighteners: A real cult classic.
June 9th 2009 18:33
I had to post this in honor of Michael J. Fox's 48th birthday, today. Aside from the Back To The Future trilogy, it's one of my faves from his movie career.
This movie is just wrong on so many levels. Of course, its director, Peter Jackson, is not a normal guy (look for his cameo in this film and you'll see what I mean). It opens on a darkly humored, yet weird, note where you are introduced to town outcast Frank Bannister (Fox) soliciting business for his psychic investigation business at a funeral in progress (the latest in a series of apparent heart attack victims). Having no luck there, he throws a bunch of business cards at the mourners and drives off like a bat out of Hell and crashes into the fence owned by Ray Linskey, played by Peter Dobson.
Of course, Ray and his wife, Lucy (Trini Alvarado) become Frank's next business targets. When their home later erupts into chaos with flying furniture and other household items, Lucy calls Frank to come get rid of the spirits. Fox plays this to a hilt and you can see it is absolute bullshit (Dobson's character is far from impressed). However, when Frank is "finished" at the house (more like thrown out), he notices something strange and possibly sinister number carved into Ray Linskey's forehead.
And he's the only who can see it.
No one believes him, of course, and he goes home, empty handed. He promptly rats out his two ghostly associates, Cyrus (Chi McBride) and Stuart (Jim Fyfe) for their ineptitude. "You didn't even bang the toilet seat lid? You made me look like an asshole!"
When he tries to rat them out for the number, neither one knows what he'stalking about. And this is where things start to get interesting. The film continues at this darkly humored pace for a while longer, but takes a dramatic turn at Frank and Lucy's retaurant dinner where Frank first encounters the specter that is really responsible for the series of heart attack deaths that have been haunting the town, deaths that continue to occur during this movie
Poor Frank. As he is the only one who can see the specter and is conveniently around when the latest victims die, he becomes accused of their deaths. It doesn't help his case when it comes to light that his late wife died in a similar fashion after they had a nasty argument that resulted in a car crash. At this point, Frank has no memory of the crash or how his wife died, but FBI special investigator, Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs) is convinced that Frank is killing all these people with his mind. Yeah, this guy is special, all right. The kind of special that should be strapped to a gurney and heavily sedated.
I won't tell you any of the plot from this point. That wouldn't be fair to those who haven't seen it.
THis movie, though, has the strangest endorsement that I have ever heard. The critics panned this film, of course, and it didn't do well in theaters. However, in a later interview with Michael J. Fox, it was revealed that it was favored among the Heaven's Gate cult members (it was on their approved movie list).
Gives new meaning to the term, "cult classic," doesn't it.
This movie is just wrong on so many levels. Of course, its director, Peter Jackson, is not a normal guy (look for his cameo in this film and you'll see what I mean). It opens on a darkly humored, yet weird, note where you are introduced to town outcast Frank Bannister (Fox) soliciting business for his psychic investigation business at a funeral in progress (the latest in a series of apparent heart attack victims). Having no luck there, he throws a bunch of business cards at the mourners and drives off like a bat out of Hell and crashes into the fence owned by Ray Linskey, played by Peter Dobson.
Of course, Ray and his wife, Lucy (Trini Alvarado) become Frank's next business targets. When their home later erupts into chaos with flying furniture and other household items, Lucy calls Frank to come get rid of the spirits. Fox plays this to a hilt and you can see it is absolute bullshit (Dobson's character is far from impressed). However, when Frank is "finished" at the house (more like thrown out), he notices something strange and possibly sinister number carved into Ray Linskey's forehead.
And he's the only who can see it.
No one believes him, of course, and he goes home, empty handed. He promptly rats out his two ghostly associates, Cyrus (Chi McBride) and Stuart (Jim Fyfe) for their ineptitude. "You didn't even bang the toilet seat lid? You made me look like an asshole!"
When he tries to rat them out for the number, neither one knows what he'stalking about. And this is where things start to get interesting. The film continues at this darkly humored pace for a while longer, but takes a dramatic turn at Frank and Lucy's retaurant dinner where Frank first encounters the specter that is really responsible for the series of heart attack deaths that have been haunting the town, deaths that continue to occur during this movie
Poor Frank. As he is the only one who can see the specter and is conveniently around when the latest victims die, he becomes accused of their deaths. It doesn't help his case when it comes to light that his late wife died in a similar fashion after they had a nasty argument that resulted in a car crash. At this point, Frank has no memory of the crash or how his wife died, but FBI special investigator, Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs) is convinced that Frank is killing all these people with his mind. Yeah, this guy is special, all right. The kind of special that should be strapped to a gurney and heavily sedated.
I won't tell you any of the plot from this point. That wouldn't be fair to those who haven't seen it.
THis movie, though, has the strangest endorsement that I have ever heard. The critics panned this film, of course, and it didn't do well in theaters. However, in a later interview with Michael J. Fox, it was revealed that it was favored among the Heaven's Gate cult members (it was on their approved movie list).
Gives new meaning to the term, "cult classic," doesn't it.
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Comment by Marc P
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The Frighteners is a great blend of horror laughs. Darker than Ghostbusters and the final act is genuinely tense. The extended Directors cut takes this even further.
Good choice!