THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240031
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 63 lines
``THE FRIGHTENERS'' scores high, very high, in the special effects department. Hordes of ghosts fly through the air and move through walls. This is no cheap flick, by any means.
In this summer of high-tech wizardry, with so many awesome sights on so many screens it's nearly impossible to see them all, ``The Frighteners'' is just one more entry - even though its quirky subject matter, at the least, makes it unique.
In fact, the film is difficult to categorize. It moves fitfully and frantically from comedy to horror, ending up something like ``Ghostbusters'' meets ``Twin Peaks.'' Audiences may be puzzled as whether they are to laugh or gasp.
Michael J. Fox is attempting a comeback after producers found it difficult to use his little-boy looks in more mature roles. He plays a con man who uses his ghostly friends to run a kind of bogus ghostbusting business. The ghosts rattle the dishes, move the furniture and generally scare the yell out of the residents. Fox shows up and, for a price, gets rid of the ghosts. It's a good racket.
As a wry comedy, it works. Things go from wry to awry, though, when the film becomes hectic and heavy. A dead serial killer returns from the beyond and wants to set an all-time record. Fox, who has been able to see ghosts since his wife died in an auto accident, also sees the numbers on the foreheads of the otherworldly killer's next victims.
Jeffrey Combs almost steals the film as a demented FBI agent who has investigated paranormal cases so long he has become paranormal. Decked out in a Hitler haircut, he's straight out of ``Twin Peaks.'' John Astin is an aged, Western-style ghost who only has a few haunts left in him.
Scoring most notably, though, is Dee Wallace Stone, as a seemingly sweet woman once accused of murder. It's a marked change from the days when she was the mom in ``E.T.''
The film is directed by Peter Jackson, the New Zealander who created one of the best movies of recent years with ``Heavenly Creatures,'' about two teenage murderers. That was a personal, little film; this is a huge special effects monster.
We've had cute (``Casper''), romantic (``Ghost'') and comedic (``Ghostbusters'') ghosts. In its second half, ``The Frighteners'' gives us dark and mean.
Give it high marks for being high-tech, but its gory heaviness doesn't score as well. It works much better as a comedy than as a thriller. Even though there is a great deal to see, the last 30 minutes are so frantic and disorganized, you'll be exhausted and perhaps a little irritated. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Universal Pictures
Michael J. Fox, left, and one of his ghostly business partners, Chi
McBride, star in the comedy-horror ``The Frighteners.''
Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Frighteners''
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin,
Dee Wallace Stone, Jake Busey
Director: Peter Jackson
MPAA rating: R (language, some gore)
Mal's rating: ** 1/2 by CNB