6 of 10
Cinematography by John Blick
Michael J. Fox
Trini Alvarado
Jeffrey Combs
Jake Busey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
| The Frighteners 6 of 10 |
||||||
| Directed by Peter Jackson Cinematography by John Blick Michael J. Fox Trini Alvarado Jeffrey Combs Jake Busey |
||||||
| This film was the first big-budget picture made by Peter Jackson, shortly before he was to become incredibly famous on account of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those films are great. No doubt about it. Is this one great? No. This one is not great. Is it a good movie? No, not really. It's not even a good movie. Is it fun? You bet! And that's probably the essence of true B-movie greatness. You enjoy it, and part of the enjoyment is certainly connected to the fact that you are laughing at things you couldn't really enjoy in a more realistic setting. It's gory and disgusting...or at least it would be if any of it was actually believable. Michael J. Fox is fabulously over-the-top as the hero, and Trini Alvarado is the sweet, if somewhat confused, heroine. And there are actually some touching moments amongst all the slime and absurdity. Jeffrey Combs is incredibly bizarre as Special Agent Milton Dammer, FBI. (If you have seen The Two Towers, you will recognize how much Grima Wormtongue was influenced by Combs' portrayal.) I'm hard-pressed to explain exactly why I enjoyed this so much. Its very campy, has a ton of Easter eggs, and constant nods to other horror flicks. And, absolutely, positively no connection to reality whatsoever. You'll either like it or not. There will be no reasoning about this movie afterwards. It's a total feel thing. I must just be crazy. | ||||||