So much average

Best movie of this year hands down!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Michael J. Fox plays Frank Bannister, a paranormal investigator, after a near-death accident which killed his wife he's been able to see and communicate with ghosts. The small town he's living in in the grips of a plague of death, people are unexpectedly dying, all with the same symptoms of a crushed heart. Fox accidently stumbles on clues which slowly help him piece together what's going on. Along the way he discovers that he's more embroiled in things that he knew. I first watched this in cinema in the 90's, I thought it was great. A fun mix of dark supernatural thrills with tongue in cheek humour too. Watching this about 20 years later I still enjoyed this film. By today's CGI standards and refined productions this does look a little dated but it's still a fun film which has a great story, plot and delivery. Directed by Peter Jackson, this film came at an in-between period, going from low-budget films, via this to bigger epics like Lord of the Rings. He retains his ability to spin a good story - but when you are vested as a writer you would expect a certain narrative drive - which is delivered here. Danny Elfmann's score fits this movie so well, and gives the film a charming feeling - close your eyes and this could be a creepy Tim Burton film - Elfmann has that ability to turn cooky and creepy into charming and be recognised. The cast is great; Fox tries to remain straight while humour is all around - in fact his acting should be commended as he's delivering his lines alone a lot of the time and drives the film forward for the audience; Busey is a fitting nutcase, Coombes and Wallace play oddballs really well too; Alvarado plays the naive Dr Lucy well, a good love interest for Fox mixing clever with delicate - even the cameo's and small parts are done well - I loved seeing R. Lee Emery as the graveyard drill sergeant!I don't think this film got the credit it deserved when it was first released, and I'm surprised that even now it doesn't have a bigger cult following. I've brought it up in conversation before and people look at me with blank expressions. I enjoyed this film when I first saw it and again recently. It's definitely worth a watch; it's fairly family friendly now-a-days; it's in-offensive; it's got a good story; it's clever; and most of all, it's entertaining. I'm giving this a 8 out of 10.

Do some of you Believe in Ghosts? Well Knowing Japan, They are very superstitious, But I'm talking about Ghosts in movies... I know they are sometimes seen in Halloween, But There is one Ghost movie that is very... Interesting, The Frighteners, Now As you all know Peter Jackson is one of most Recognizable Directors in Hollywood, He did Movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, And his Remake of King Kong, But he also did projects that I thought where the guys Film-College experiments, This is one of his movies that I'd say was a Nexus of his Directing life, And Remember Michael J. Fox, He is in this movie I always thought he looked like Matt Damon back then, Also I have this movie on Blu-Ray while Mr Jackson has it on Laserdisc (While might have been the Prototypes to DVD's HD-DVD's and Blu-Rays)... First off I have to point out that This poster of the Movie is pretty Confusing then Scary, I mean WHAT THE HECK I'M I LOOKING AT HERE? This was the best you could come up with Peter Jackson? All we see is a Face of some strange Smiling Alien skull Pressing his face against a Wall of Fabric, Gives me no idea what the movie is about, Well seeming that Oliver Harper Review this movie, Don't know if the Critics from Channel Awesome have done this yet, But At least I'll be second place.I seen this movie many times in the past on when it was in the TV and on Blu-Ray... Well, I never thought Id say this on a Peter Jackson movie but... I thought it was an alright movie, Arthur McCartney might not have been into this movie but for me... Well you know, I found the Story interesting, Mr Fox was alright in it, There where some cleaver Ideas in this, using ghosts for exorcist profit was a original idea, And there are some Jump-Scars that would work for anyone that's never seen this before, But this movie does have problems, Some of the Jump-Scars will get old, And seeming it was made in the 90's the CGI would look dated, I found Heaven and Hell very strange, But I'll give this movie credit on the look of the ghosts, They look more Realistic in some strange way if we are able to see them, (YEAH TAKE THAT CASPER!!) I know there is a Novel of this movie that's based on the Original script, But there is an extended version of the movie that is included in Blu-Ray, Two disk special edition DVD's and possibly on the Laserdisc Special Edition, I seen the extended version and let me tell you, It's a lot better, has more to the story then the theatrical release, If this movie was released in the Halloween season, then it would have made more money out of it, But it's an Average Peter Jackson Movie from his Early Days of Movie making.As Oliver Harper once aid on his Review in this movie, You will return to it on a Regular bases!Here is a link to his Review of this movie, Now if you excuse me, I'm off to see is my Old TV down stares is not possessed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYI5KrZDjcA

You know, there is a strong reason why I find this movie utterly badly done: it starts out of nowhere. The story begins with a bunch of "spirits" and a medium talking lots of things. The get go is to messy to make you feel any interest for what's gonna happen next. Besides, spirits play very ridiculous, making you feel like you're watching an "adult" version of 1995's "Casper". Not only that, but you can also feel like it's a bad parody of the classic "Ghost". Given that I found the story utterly boring and it lacked any fun, 50 minutes were enough for me to turn it off, and that's something I rarely do. In the end, I don't know what was the real deal with this film-- or even it had one--, but it just plays bad for most of the time. Maybe it's just a cheap "Ghost Busters" wannabe.

This movie only becomes a kind of horror movie towards the end of it. Even then there is humor. I find this to be a rather funny show. Michael J. Fox does his usual fine job of acting, Trini Alvarado is cute as the widowed love interest, John Astin is good as a spirit named the Judge. There are a couple of things that do not hang together though. Why can the spirits go through walls, doors, etc but a vehicle that runs into them carries them along? Why did the murderer spirit's hand pass through Lucy's head and then he could punch her and Frank in the face and bodies? How about that FBI agent? Talk about a whack-a-doodle!! And how about that haircut of his? The sheriff is played by a long character actor Troy Evans. the mouth that roars "R. Lee Emery" appears here as the cemetery control freak sergeant and as usual about all he does is rant and rave.