Search - The Frighteners on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 08/18/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Horror, Horror Comedy, Supernatural Horror See Also: The Frighteners [Director's Cut], The Frighteners [HD DVD], The Frighteners [$5 Halloween Candy Cash Offer]

Charlatan Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) has genuine psychic powers, but he doesn't use them to help people. Rather, he generates cases for his supernatural private-eye firm by harassing a group of hapless ghosts (including a dearly departed Wild West outlaw and an undead judge played by John Astin) into staging hauntings and poltergeists in the homes of likely marks. Bannister's world turns on its head when he starts noticing real hauntings around town -- ghostly assassinations that seem to be tied to the execution 20 years earlier of a brutal serial killer. Lucy Lunskey (Trini Alvarado), the wife of one unlucky victim, teams up with Bannister to get to the bottom of the killings and find out what shut-in Patricia Bradley (Dee Wallace Stone) and her witchy mother (Julia McCarthy) have to do with the sinister spree. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Michael J. Fox - Frank Bannister
Trini Alvarado - Lucy Lunskey
Peter Dobson - Ray Lynskey
John Astin - Judge
Jeffrey Combs - Milton Dammers

Director Peter Jackson mixes comedy, horror, special effects, and Michael J. Fox in Universal's The Frighteners. Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, this transfer looks stunning and is very sharp in both detail and clarity. The black levels are all very well-rendered with the color patterns and fleshtones all solid and even. Except for a slight amount of edge enhancement in a few scenes, this transfer is truly top-notch. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English and French. This is a very enveloping soundtrack that features a ton of directional sounds in both the front and rear speakers. All aspects of the soundtrack are free and clear of any hiss or distortion. Much like the video portions, the audio is also very well produced. Also included on this disc are English and Spanish subtitles. While a laserdisc filled with extras exists, Universal has decided to produce a relatively bare-bones edition of this film on DVD. The only extra features included on this disc are some production notes, a few talent bios, some film highlights, and a theatrical trailer for the film. Maybe someday there will be a better edition of this popular film; until then viewers are stuck with this lackluster edition. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide