No Rest For The Wicked
May 28th 2009 09:10
I work in a college in Norfolk, England and every year we have a film poll. Staff are asked to provide their top 100 films which is then processed and analysed by Rob, the administrator - a man who probably has too much time on his hands - and every year this request is met with a collective groan by most - these are people with not enough time on their hands.
Now here really is a forgotten gem that I'm ashamed to admit is not in my top 100, but which I have promised myself to rectify next time around.
The Frighteners, released in 1996, stars Michael J. Fox as Frank Bannister, a sort of one-man Ghost Buster, who gains the ability to see the dead following a car accident in which his wife is killed. The brilliant twist is that the so-called "hauntings" are actually the antics of his co-conspirators, Stuart and Cyrus, a pair of crafty ghosts. They show up at potential properties and rattle their chains, generating business for Frank, who shows up soon after to "exorcise" them.
Of course, there's more to the story and inevitably Frank becomes embroiled in a sinister mystery. Dead bodies start showing up with numbers branded on their foreheads at the hands of a creepy Grim Reaper figure who may have been responsible for the death of Frank's wife.
The movie didn't get great coverage at the time, which was reflected at the box office but I believe that the film deserves greater credit.
It was directed by Peter Jackson whom just about everybody now knows as the man behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy and just like those three movies it was co-written quite brilliantly with long term collaborator, Fran Walsh. Some of Jackson's early eccentric style of direction can be found in this movie although it does mark a progression towards the more commercial polished style of his later work, and Fran's twisty plot keeps you guessing right through to the truly scary climactic hospital scene.
Robert Zemekis, the executive producer on the movie was originally set to direct but after seeing the final screenplay, was so impressed that he gave the job to Jackson.
If you've never seen it then I highly recommend it as a very spooky, darkly comic thriller. And with a score by Tim Burton mainstay, Danny Elfman, a brilliantly manic performance by Jake Busey, who plays the bad guy, fantastic special effects and Fox's unusually downbeat sardonic anti-hero, this is a real treat.
Marc Paterson.
Now here really is a forgotten gem that I'm ashamed to admit is not in my top 100, but which I have promised myself to rectify next time around.
The Frighteners, released in 1996, stars Michael J. Fox as Frank Bannister, a sort of one-man Ghost Buster, who gains the ability to see the dead following a car accident in which his wife is killed. The brilliant twist is that the so-called "hauntings" are actually the antics of his co-conspirators, Stuart and Cyrus, a pair of crafty ghosts. They show up at potential properties and rattle their chains, generating business for Frank, who shows up soon after to "exorcise" them.
Of course, there's more to the story and inevitably Frank becomes embroiled in a sinister mystery. Dead bodies start showing up with numbers branded on their foreheads at the hands of a creepy Grim Reaper figure who may have been responsible for the death of Frank's wife.
The movie didn't get great coverage at the time, which was reflected at the box office but I believe that the film deserves greater credit.
It was directed by Peter Jackson whom just about everybody now knows as the man behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy and just like those three movies it was co-written quite brilliantly with long term collaborator, Fran Walsh. Some of Jackson's early eccentric style of direction can be found in this movie although it does mark a progression towards the more commercial polished style of his later work, and Fran's twisty plot keeps you guessing right through to the truly scary climactic hospital scene.
Robert Zemekis, the executive producer on the movie was originally set to direct but after seeing the final screenplay, was so impressed that he gave the job to Jackson.
If you've never seen it then I highly recommend it as a very spooky, darkly comic thriller. And with a score by Tim Burton mainstay, Danny Elfman, a brilliantly manic performance by Jake Busey, who plays the bad guy, fantastic special effects and Fox's unusually downbeat sardonic anti-hero, this is a real treat.
Marc Paterson.
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