Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Frighteners Blu-ray Movie Review

Mr. Jackson's Wild Ride

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 17, 2011

If you happened to buy a ticket to The Frighteners in July 1996, you had the rare experience of discovering something new at the movies. First of all, the film had visual effects unlike anything we'd seen to date. Director Peter Jackson's fledgling WETA Digital effects house started the project with one computer and ended it with dozens; they were literally inventing their techniques as they went along. (Today, of course, WETA is one of the industry's major providers of CGI.) Second, the film was a horror comedy nominally set in America, but shot entirely in New Zealand, which Jackson hadn't yet put on the map for worldwide audiences. As cleverly as Jackson's production team had adapted the locale to mimic the fictional California town of Fairwater, it still looked "off" in numerous subtle ways, and Jackson used the incongruous architecture and overcast skies to unsettling effect, as if Stephen King's Castle Rock had inexplicably been transplanted to the Pacific Coast Highway.

But the real element that distinguished The Frighteners was the script, the last original creation by Jackson and his writing, producing and life partner, Fran Walsh, before they embarked on the series of adaptations that have occupied them ever since (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, currently The Hobbit). Freed of any responsibility to service revered source material, The Frighteners is its own master, and the film has a loose, casual, "anything goes" quality that has largely disappeared from Jackson's work ever since. Fans of Jackson's earlier low-budget splatter efforts should recognize The Frighteners' gleefully mischievous tone, but here for the first time Jackson had a decent budget to work with, courtesy of executive producer Robert Zemeckis, to whom Jackson had pitched an initial outline of the story as a possible episode for Tales from the Crypt. Zemeckis saw the larger potential and persuaded Universal to back a full-fledged movie. He also got Jackson a bona fide star in Michael J. Fox. (This would be Fox's last major role, before Parkinson's disease forced him to retire.)

Unfortunately, though, only a few of us turned out for The Frighteners that summer. Universal was partly to blame. Jackson and Zemeckis had intended the film for a Halloween release, but the studio tried to pitch it as a summer action movie, which made no sense, and opened it on the first weekend of the Olympics. And the MPAA slapped it with an R rating, even though Jackson had studiously avoided explicit gore and direct violence, and no amount of trimming would persuade the ratings board to change their decision. (Annoyed that he'd restrained himself for nothing, Jackson did go back and add a single exploding head.) The summer release geared toward teens collided with an R rating that kept them out, and the box office fizzled.

It wasn't all bad news. The expansion of WETA Digital started Jackson thinking about the kind of project that would keep all those computers busy. He decided to pursue a fantasy epic (and we all know how that turned out). In the meantime, he issued a longer version of The Frighteners on laserdisc with thirteen additional minutes and extensive supplements. That version appeared on DVD in 2005, and Universal has now issued both the theatrical and the so-called "director's cut" on Blu-ray, with all of the extensive extras.

A spectre is haunting Fairwater, California -- the spectre of sudden and inexplicable death. It began in 1958, when an orderly at a local sanitorium, Johnny Charles Bartlett (Jake Busey), suddenly went wild, gunning down twelve people with no apparent motive. Bartlett made crazed utterances about having gotten "one more" than Charles Starkweather, the Nebraska killer whose eleven-victim spree would later inspire films such as Badlands and Natural Born Killers. And like Starkweather, Bartlett had a teenage girlfriend over whom he seemed to wield a Svengali-like influence: Patricia Ann Bradley (played in flashbacks by Nicola Cliff), daughter of a hospital administrator. Bartlett was executed, Patricia was imprisoned, and Fairwater tried to forget.

But Fairwater is being menaced anew. The first to die under mysterious circumstances was Debra Bannister (Angela Bloomfield), wife of local architect Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox), after a heated argument with her husband. Several dozen more died over the next five years, all of them young and healthy, all of them without good medical reason. Perhaps by coincidence, perhaps not, the latest round of deaths coincided with the release from prison of Patricia Ann Bradley (now played by Dee Wallace Stone). She lives under strict supervision by her mother (the formidable Julianna McCarthy) in a gothic mansion that makes the Bates house look cozy by comparison. In the pre-credit sequence, we see Patricia menaced and pursued throughout the house by a formless spirit that seems to inhabit the walls and floors -- until Mrs. Bradley blasts it with a shotgun. It's unclear what this spirit is or what it wants.

Frank Bannister is a changed man since his wife's death. No longer an architect, he lives in the uncompleted and decaying shell of the house he was building for them when she died. He attends the many funerals held in Fairwater, handing out business cards offering paranormal services. He's also started seeing ghosts -- real ghosts. Apparently, Debra's death left him with a foot on either side of the grave, and he's not behaving very well in either world.

"Emanations are normally confined to the cemetery", Frank says, when he's in professional mode. But sometimes they wander, and Frank has three such spirits living and working with him (though why they do so is a good question and one they often ask themselves). Stuart (Jim Fyfe) is an insecure nerd who can't even pass through walls without help; Cyrus (Chi McBride) is a militant Seventies soul brother, whose outfit looks like a reject from the wardrobe department of a blaxploitation flick; and the Judge (John Astin) is a gunslinger of the Old West in an advanced state of decay. These ghosts are the key to Frank's business, because they create the hauntings that Frank "clears". In other words, Frank is perpetrating exactly the kind of fraud of which the Ghostbusters were (wrongly) accused.

A newcomer to Fairwater, Dr. Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado), knows nothing of these matters, when she drives up to the Bradley household one day to cover a colleague's rounds. Mrs. Bradley greets strangers with the hospitality of a hermit, but she lets Dr. Lucy treat Patricia for cuts and bruises sustained in the attack by the mysterious spirit. Lucy becomes concerned that the child-like Patricia is being held against her will, but Mrs. Bradley shoos her out the door with ominous warnings. That night, Lucy does some quick research on Fairwater's history, while her meathead husband, Ray (Peter Dobson), works out. But as luck and the happenstance of small towns would have it, Peter has already had an encounter with Frank Bannister that day, and the Lynskey household is the latest target for Frank's spectral assistants, who proceed to simulate a poltergeist. Frank's card magically appears, and Lucy calls him to do a "clearance", thus introducing our hero to our heroine.



Shortly thereafter, Ray becomes the latest resident of Fairwater to die inexplicably. Frank Bannister has lived under a cloud of suspicion since his wife's death, but this latest death is too much of a coincidence. Sheriff Perry (Troy Evans) likes Frank, but he has a job to do. Others don't like Frank at all, a notable example being the editor of the local newspaper, Magda Rees-Jones (Elizabeth Hawthorne), a sharp-edged harpy who suspects Frank of murder (no!) and is sure he's a con man (yes!). Then again, Magda isn't above hinting that her reporters should create the news if there's nothing interesting happening. (Although it's a small-town American newspaper, the character is Fleet Street British, for a simple reason: Jackson felt that New Zealand actors don't do American accents well.)

Bannister's most committed foe is a freakish FBI agent named Dammers, played by a great specialist of the bizarre, Jeffrey Combs. (As Jackson relates in the extras, he essentially said to his casting director: "Is the guy from the Reanimator movies still working?") Dammers is what The X-Files' Mulder might have become if the Bureau had ever taken him seriously enough to put him to work, but without vacations, therapy or a partner to preserve his sanity. A tic-ridden, self-righteous lunatic, Dammers has studied Bannister for years; his presentation of Frank's past is a master class in how a gifted actor can make pages of exposition seem fascinating by finding an offbeat delivery. Dammers thinks Frank caused all the deaths via telekinesis (or astral projection, or something), and his approach to justice involves almost no due process. For a corporeal being, Dammers has a remarkable knack for popping up at the most inconvenient possible times. To say more would be unfair to first-time viewers.

Frank's most outlandish foe is -- well, you remember the terrifying Marine drill sergeant in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket? His ghost has taken up residence in the Fairwater cemetery, and he exerts the same maniacal discipline over its spectral residents as he did over his recruits (until one of them blew him away). The sergeant despises Frank for messing with the dead, and he lets Frank know it whenever he enters the premises. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh modeled the character on Kubrick's martinet, wrote the dialogue according to his rhythms, then couldn't find an actor to strike the right tone. Just for the hell of it, they asked R. Lee Ermey if he'd recreate his original role, and to their delight, he said yes. And there he is, framed much the way Kubrick shot him, except that now he's translucent, relentlessly hammering Frank Bannister into the ground just as he did the recruits he trained for Vietnam. Ermey has only a few scenes in The Frighteners, but they're memorable, because you're torn between cowering in your seat and giggling uncontrollably.

Jackson keeps all these plates spinning in the air, while the mysterious figure that attacked Patricia in the opening keeps appearing and disappearing. The Judge calls it "the Soul Collector"; others call it the Reaper. Whatever it is, every single character, living or dead, ends up involved or connected, while the story hurtles forward at a brisk pace, moving easily between this life and the next and, in one bravura sequence, the present and the distant past. For first-time viewers, I recommend the theatrical version, which still bears Jackson's seal of approval, because it's lean, swift and efficient. For repeat visits, try the director's cut, which adds back numerous bits of additional business, most of it involving the ghosts, that are entertaining and have been seamlessly integrated into the whole; when you know where you're going, they won't feel like they're slowing you down.

There's a scene that exists in both cuts that, to me, perfectly captures the special quality of The Frighteners. Frank, who is an astral projection at that point, is battling the Reaper, using ear-splitting weaponry borrowed from the sergeant. At the same time, Dr. Lucy is battling a corporeal individual who's trying to hold her captive for reasons too complicated to explain here. The fights are occurring on different planes of existence, yet Jackson gets them into the same frame and has them convincingly bumping up against each other. The whole thing looks random and tossed off, but of course nothing could be further from the truth. Not since The Frighteners has Jackson created anything with the same lightness and sense of spontaneous improvisation, and I hope someday he tries it again, because when he's in top form, no one does it better.

The Frighteners Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Three cheers for another catalogue title that has arrived in good shape on Blu-ray! The Frighteners was made in the days before digital intermediates, but it had more effects shots than any previous studio film at the time, all of which had to be digitally composited and rendered. Although I have no information about Jackson's involvement with the Blu-ray, it is well-established that he oversaw prior video releases (not that such oversight guarantees viewer satisfaction, as the various Lord of the Rings Blu-ray controversies have shown). Whatever sources have been used to produce this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, the result is excellent clarity throughout, rendering minute details of the village of Fairwater (really the New Zealand town of Lyttleton), of the various elaborate interiors (including the antique Bradley household and a local museum where the Reaper makes a memorable appearance), and of faces and wardrobes of all varieties (Dammers is hard to forget, though you may wish you could).

Black levels are excellent, and this becomes crucial in the film's finale, where Frank moves psychically between dimly lit scenes in a derelict building's present and brightly lit ones that happened there in the past. (It's a subtle, seamless effect.) Black levels are also crucial for the night scenes where Frank and his compatriots chase the Reaper, and it's critical that the blacks balance appropriately with white levels, since Stuart, Cyrus and the Judge are always composed of glowing ectoplasm. And then there's Dammers, whose eyes appear to be one solid expanse of black, with no border between the iris and the pupil (Combs wore special lenses).

Lest anyone worry that the often desaturated funk that has fallen over Fairwater's present is a flaw in the transfer, the sequences in the past are golden-hued and brightly colored. Equally colorful is a wealthy household that Frank tries to shake down.

I saw no compression errors, DNR or other digital artifacts. Nor did I detect any pauses or "hiccups" at points where the additional footage had been branched into the original cut (though, of course, it's possible that results may vary on different hardware).

The Frighteners Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Two words characterize The Frighteners' DTS-HD MA 5.1 track: loud and active. Unless you have one giant box of a sub, you may find yourself turning down the volume just to prevent the bass from bottoming out the woofer -- not from the effects, mind you, but from Danny Elfman's aggressive score. Elfman was such a fan of Jackson's Heavenly Creatures that he said "yes" the minute he heard Jackson wanted him to score a film, without having the slightest idea what kind of film it was. Of course, Jackson wanted Elfman, because, as he explains in the documentary, Elfman can pivot between comedy and horror more skillfully than any film composer around. His Frighteners score is terrific, but the mixers went wild with bass extension; so watch your dials.

As far as effects are concerned, sound technicians always find it liberating when they're not bound by realism, and in The Frighteners Frank Bannister routinely hears things to which other living people are oblivious. This presents plenty of interesting opportunities for exaggerated effects all around the room. Take one elaborate example, which could easily become a demo sequence. Frank and Dr. Lucy are locked in a room, when the Reaper attacks Lucy. Stuart and Cyrus come to their rescue, and since ghosts aren't limited by walls, the battle rages all around (and above) them, and you hear voices and struggles the whole time, while Frank and Lucy huddle in the frame. (For how it ends, you'll have to see the film.)

The dialogue is always clear and natural, except for those voices that aren't supposed to sound natural. In a story populated by so many ghosts, that's more than a few.

The Frighteners Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The extras have been ported over from the 2005 director's cut DVD, which was itself a port of the 1998 Universal "Signature Edition" laserdisc set.

• Peter Jackson's 10th Anniversary Intro (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 2:40): This introduction by a newly svelte Jackson was recorded in 2005 and plays before the director's cut. It is also available as a separate extra from the director's cut menu.



• Commentary by Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson (director's cut only): Jackson recorded this commentary in his living room. Like the documentary, it was completed during the unexpected hiatus that occurred in the late Nineties when Universal initially shelved his remake of King Kong. It's lively, entertaining and benefits from being done just a few years after the film was made, so that Jackson's memory is still fresh.
  
  Jackson is painstaking in pointing out the restored footage, and he is clear that the theatrical version was released with his full approval. Most cuts were made for pacing and overall running time, although a few were either requested by the studio or made in response to preview feedback (e.g., the swastika on Dammers' hand, which audience members mistook to indicate that Dammers was a Nazi, even though the dialogue clearly explains that he'd had to acquire it when he went undercover with the Manson Family -- youthful viewers appeared not to know the history).
  
  Jackson ranges over a wide array of topics and, unlike many commentaries, much of what he says supplements rather than simply repeating the documentary. This is particularly so where he has the opportunity to point out cameos (including a rare one by Fran Walsh), recalls the circumstances during the day(s) when a specific sequence was shot, or recounts the evolution of a plot point as it unfolds on screen.



• The Making of The Frighteners (SD; 1.33:1; 3:45:54): How comprehensive do you like your documentaries? Would you believe three and three quarter hours, made by the filmmakers themselves? Jackson was an afficionado of elaborate special editions since before the days of DVD, and he had a video crew documenting production of The Frighteners from early on. The result is a film geek's treasure assembled with a filmmaker's skill. Any summary would be inadequate, but here are the chapter headings:
  
  
  • Ghost Stories
  • Script Development
  • Michael J. Fox & Trini Alvarado
  • Jim Fyfe, Chi McBride, John Astin
  • Rehearsing
  • Lyttleton as Fairwater
  • Introduction to WETA
  • Scene 28
  • Ghost Effects
  • Motion Control & Bluescreen
  • The Jackson Boys, Peter's Cameo & Billy Jackson
  • Stunts
  • On the Set
  • The Reaper
  • Rustler
  • The Gatekeeper
  • Jeffrey Combs
  • Miniatures
  • Dee Wallace Stone & Jake Busey
  • Trini's Bruises
  • Slimeface & Blobman
  • Wallpaperman & Portraitman
  • Acceleration
  • The Worm
  • The Gatekeeper, the Judge & Other Deleted Stories
  • Music
  • Bloopers
  • Ratings & Final Thoughts
  • Credits
  
  The documentary is preceded by a new introduction by Jackson taped in 2005, which is framed at 1.78:1 and enhanced for 16:9.



• Storyboarding (SD; 1.33:1; 45:39): If you have ever read that the "Making of" documentary on the laserdisc was four and a half hours, don't worry; nothing has been lost. For whatever reason, the remaining 45 minutes has been broken out and presented separately here. As Jackson explains in his introduction, he always found it frustrating as a laserdisc viewer to be forced to keep hitting a button to view each new storyboard. So this extra organizes the sketches into a slide show; the viewer just has to watch.



• Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1.85:1, enhanced; 2:03): Probably because Zemeckis was involved, the trailer opens with the theme from Death Becomes Her, which I've always enjoyed.



• MyScenes.
• pocketBLU™.
• D-BOX™ Motion Enabled.
• BD-Live.

The Frighteners Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, rare and treasured copies of The Frighteners Signature Edition laserdisc set with the director's cut and these fabulous extras fetched as high as $500 on eBay. For that princely sum, you still had to change discs twice and wait for two additional side breaks. Today you have can all that material (and more) for a list price of $26.98 and a street price of less. You won't have to change discs, and the image will trounce the laserdisc and match, or even improve on, the image and sound that we happy few who bought tickets in 1996 saw in theaters. Now that's progress. Both the film and the disc are highly recommended.