The Frighteners

"No rest for the wicked."

1996 1h 50m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

65%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 1,839🍅65%Rotten Tomatoes●52Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 101,803

HorrorComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“No rest for the wicked.”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh
Languages: English
Countries: New Zealand, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: New Zealand, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Jackson, shot by John Blick. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jamie Selkirk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael J. Fox and Trini Alvarado and Peter Dobson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "No rest for the wicked.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Jackson directs. John Blick behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Jamie Selkirk cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in New Zealand, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: New Zealand, United States of America.
4Directed by Peter Jackson, shot by John Blick. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jamie Selkirk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael J. Fox and Trini Alvarado and Peter Dobson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "No rest for the wicked.".
9IMDB entry: tt0116365 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 35 themes, including "daughter", "small town", "mother", "sheriff".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Blick
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Jamie Selkirk
Production design: Grant Major
Costume design: Barbara Darragh
Makeup / hair: Marjory Hamlin
VFX supervisor: Wes Takahashi
Sound: Gethin Creagh
Stunt coordinator: Bruce brown
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $29,359,216
Return: 98% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Frighteners (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 52/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 101,803 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 wins & 17 nominations total

Also by

Peter Jackson

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Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-12-25
★ 7/10
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
Gimly2020-06-18
★ 6/10
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. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
misubisu2026-01-07
★ 7/10
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 you over with its sheer creative verve and a game cast led by a perfectly cast Michael J. Fox. What Works (The High Points): * Michael J. Fox's Magnetic Charm: Fox is the film's beating heart. As Frank Bannister, a conman psychic who genuinely communes with the dead, he delivers his signature everyman charm laced with a world-weary sadness. He makes the outrageous premise feel grounded and gives the frenetic plot a crucial emotional anchor. * Pioneering Visual Effects & Design: This is where Jackson's genius shines. The CGI ghosts, while dated in texture, are brimming with personality and inventive, cartoony physics that still hold a unique charm. The design of the main antagonist, a terrifying, cloak-like Reaper, is a standout piece of pre-Weta Workshop visual storytelling that creates genuine moments of dread. * A Supporting Cast of Delights: The ensemble is a blast. Jeffrey Combs steals every scene as a deranged, paranoid FBI agent in a performance of unhinged, scenery-chewing perfection. Dee Wallace Stone and Jake Busey create a genuinely disturbing villainous duo, and the trio of Frank's ghostly accomplices provide consistent, spooky comic relief. Why It's a 7, Not an 8 or 9 (The Uneven Ride): Tonal Whiplash: The film struggles to balance its competing impulses. It lurches from broad, almost Beetlejuice*-style comedy to genuinely grim horror involving serial murder and disturbing flashbacks. The shifts can be jarring, preventing the film from settling into a cohesive groove and diluting the impact of both its scares and its laughs. * A Overstuffed, Convoluted Plot: The mystery at the film's core becomes unnecessarily tangled in its own mythology. Subplots about past murders, ghostly rules, and a climactic showdown in a haunted hospital sometimes feel like a series of cool set-pieces in search of a streamlined narrative. * A Missed Emotional Beat: While Frank's backstory is tragic, the film's breakneck pace doesn't always allow its emotional core—his grief and redemption—to resonate as deeply as it should. The spectacle occasionally overshadows the heart. The Verdict: The Frighteners is not a seamless masterpiece, but it is an essential and wildly entertaining cult classic. It's a film to be admired for its boundless creativity, its fearless blending of genres, and its role as a clear runway for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings ambitions. You watch it for the spectacularly weird moments: Combs' manic energy, the ingenious ghost effects, and Michael J. Fox outrunning the Grim Reaper. It's messy, inventive, and thoroughly unique—a Halloween-season delight that earns its 7/10 for pure, unfiltered imaginative spirit, even if it can't quite corral all its brilliant ghosts into a perfectly harmonious haunt. Watch if: You love 90s genre mash-ups, inventive practical and early-CGI effects, Peter Jackson's early work, or Jeffrey Combs at his most unhinged. Skip if: You prefer tonally consistent horror or tightly plotted narratives. This is a chaotic, loveable mess.