The Frighteners Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: In a town that appears to be haunted by the grim reaper, a man who can see ghosts seeks to uncover the mystery.

Review: This is one of those movies that I have mixed feelings on, and I hardly know how to classify it: comedy/horror perhaps? No part of this movie is really scary, and it goes so over the top at many moments I don't know if it's supposed to be comedy or genuinely dramatic. One thing I do really like is that the story introduces many plot points at the beginning and brings them all together as the film unfolds; this was a nice touch that a lot of films fail miserably at. On the other hand, the true weakness of this film comes in the rather predictable twist about two-thirds of the way into the movie. The reveal is that, of course, they are not dealing with that actual grim reaper but just some ghost posing as him; the ghost belongs to a serial killer which killed the wife of the main character, Frank. From that point forward, the story really spirals out of control into what I often refer to as "zany antics ensue." Throughout the film we are introduced to many goofball characters (some interesting but most annoying) who start to go off the deep end toward the climax. This decline in quality and so many predictable plot developments lowers the score for me. The other thing that really bothered me was so many plot holes. There seemed to be no established rules to how ghosts function and often we would see ghosts doing one thing with one effect only in another scene to have a completely different effect. I mean, this is a fantasy film, but some semblance of consistency would be nice. For example, early in the film one of Frank's ghost sidekicks says he wishes he could have different clothes, and Frank tells him that he died in the 70s (in other words, tough luck). Then later we have a ghost that can change his appearance for, apparently, comedic film purposes. Uh, no. Overall, this is a fun movie with a weird vibe to it that you will either find entertaining or annoying. I mostly liked this film with the exception of the last 20-30 minutes, but even then it's not that bad; I just wanted more done with the material. If you can ignore the inconsistencies and even enjoy the twists, then give this one a go.

Notable Moment: When we see the grim reaper kill one of Frank's ghost sidekicks and he is clasping the soul; it makes for a nice trailer shot.

Final Rating: 6.5/10