|
People are content with the most miniscule of things. In
the same respect, the miniscule Michael J.Fox is the reason
I enjoy The Frighteners.
Yep, there you go, I said it. Fox. Something tells me that
I should probably be singing the praises of its imaginative
director – Oscar boy Peter Jackson – as I’m
sure the rest of the film’s fans do. But Fox is a pocket-sized
legend: when he’s on the screen, no amount of effects
in the background can overshadow.
It goes without saying then that if you’re a fan of
the Canadian charmer – you’ll be well and truly
taken care of with The Frighteners.
Released in 1996 – to little to no fanfare, and consequently,
wee wee box office – The Frighteners was shot
in New Zealand and is part comedy, part horror, part effects
demo, part Fox vehicle.
Nope, not all these elements gelled in the final production,
but most of it did and it opened the world’s – or
studio execs – eyes to the bearded man behind the Nikon,
Peter Jackson. (It was also the last film Michael J.Fox did
before his comeback on TV’s 'Spin City').
Though the film marked a semi-reunion of Back to the Future
team Fox (actor), Robert Zemeckis (producer) and Universal
(studio), Jackson’s film existed in a few different galaxy
than the one Marty’s 4-wheeled Delorean did.
In it, Fox plays a specious ghostbuster who actually gets
the local ghosts – which, of course, only he can see
– to scare up local households, so that he can be paid
to get rid of them. Things, obviously, get complicated when
the ghost of a murderer starts lurking about, giving Foxxy
a run for his money.
The Frighteners isn’t a great film, but it’s
an enjoyable and admirable one. For Peter Jackson, it was
quite an achievement. Not only did he turn New Zealand into
smalltown USA, but he outdid himself with the effects.
CGI wasn’t as common in 1995 as it is now, but he managed
to make most of the effects scenes here look slipperier than
butter. In addition, Fox is his usual likeable-self, and here,
he manages to easily transform into something of an unlikely
action hero.
DVD Extras
The special edition of The Frighteners is one for
the fans. In addition to fifteen minutes or so of new scenes
in the movie, there’s a commentary – his first ever
actually! – by King Kong's Peter Jackson, who’s
as nervous as he is informative.
And then there’s a four hour – yes 4 hour! –
documentary, broken into separate sections about the making
of the film. Everything, and I mean everything, you want to
know about the movie – it’s here: casting, effects,
locations, goofs (it’s amusing to see Fox accidentally
yell out to ‘Doc’ in a couple of scenes when he
should be screaming for ‘Judge’).
There's also cut and unfinished scenes (like the unused puppet
character, The Gatekeeper), storyboarding, the marketing campaign
and even thoughts on why the film wasn’t a success theatrically.
If you have the laserdisc, you will have seen this 4-hour
doco before, but if not, make sure you watch it on DVD.
Conclusion: Movie 70% Extras: 85%
|
