Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- witty
- macabre
- frantic
- halloween viewing
- late night genre marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Peter Jackson's exuberant direction and top-notch special effects while finding the film tonally uneven and overcrowded.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Frank's comic ghost-haunting scams give way to grim reaper killings, grotesque deaths, and increasingly disturbing stakes.
Frank exploits his ability to communicate with ghosts by staging hauntings and charging residents to remove them.
The killer marks intended victims with numbers before their deaths, giving Frank a concrete investigative pattern to follow.
The film foregrounds elaborate ghost interactions, grotesque bodily transformations, and a visually distinctive grim reaper figure.
Films like The Frighteners, and why
Beetlejuice
supernatural comedy, eccentric ghosts, macabre humor, and inventive visual effects
Ghostbusters
darkly comic supernatural investigation with heightened violence and playful genre blending
Dead Alive
black comedy, grotesque horror imagery, and an unstable collision between comedy and dread
Odd Thomas
small-town supernatural mystery with a charismatic outsider confronting a lethal paranormal force
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Release Date
- 1996-07-19
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1833)
Cast
- Michael J. Fox
- Trini Alvarado
- Peter Dobson
- John Astin
- Jeffrey Combs
- Dee Wallace
- Jake Busey
- Chi McBride
- Jim Fyfe
- Troy Evans
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Frighteners about?
- A fraudulent small-town ghostbuster must turn his psychic gift toward stopping a numbered-killing specter while confronting the grief he has kept frozen in place.
- What is The Frighteners like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Frighteners as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Frighteners violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Frighteners as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Frighteners?
- Critics broadly praised Peter Jackson's exuberant direction and top-notch special effects while finding the film tonally uneven and overcrowded.
- Which films are like The Frighteners?
- Films with a similar feel include Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Dead Alive, and Odd Thomas.
- How long is The Frighteners?
- The Frighteners runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Frighteners?
- In United States, The Frighteners is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
