Years ago a friend, which I define as someone who wishes me no specific bodily harm, suggested I watch The Frighteners. It finally came to a free streaming service (with commercials), so I gave it a go. I really enjoyed parts of it, but on the whole, there was too much going on to make it an effective film. It’s a horror comedy, and once films like that stretch beyond 90 minutes they tend to need a lot of magic juice to keep the engine running. So, here’s the basic idea: Frank can see ghosts. With the help of a couple of ghosts he makes a living driving spirits from peoples homes, after setting them up. Unfortunately there’s a serial killer ghost actually killing people. Since Frank tends to be the last one the victims see, there is some suspicion that he’s involved in their deaths.
A young widow, Lucy, is a doctor and is trying to help a woman (Patricia) who seems to be abused by her mother. It turns out that Patricia is associated with a serial killer from many years ago, and it’s unclear whether or not she’s innocent. Meanwhile, a neurotic FBI agent comes to town and decides Frank is guilty and tries to kill him without due process. Meanwhile, more and more people are dying. It’s probably a spoiler to say that the serial killing ghost is the same as the serial killer that Patricia was in love with and she’s still helping him to get to a record number of deaths. Frank ends up dying twice but is brought back to life at the end, after Patricia and the serial killer are taken to Hell.
The movie is stylish and a bit of fun, but if you’re watching it on a streaming service with commercials it ends up being over two hours long. Some parts are funny, but not hilarious. Some parts are spooky, but not really scary. The plot is complex and takes its time unfolding. The serial killers attempting to break a record is disturbing and not exactly in good taste. The acting is good but the viewer’s left feeling a bit confused as to what the message is and how they ought to feel. It’s the kind of movie that I might find myself in the mood to watch again, someways down the road, but in the short term, I’m glad to have seen it once. I’m not sure my friend and I share taste when it comes to movies, but at least he’s not wishing me any harm.
