The Frighteners (1996)

Oh Michael J. Fox, how good you look in tight jeans. No, this isn't just another opportunity to show off the Foxy package (right?). It's actually a horror-comedy creation presented by Robert Zemeckis, directed by Peter Jackson and with a score by Danny Elfman. Damn, those are some high-profile names, so why no love from the audiences? For one, I have absolutely no idea which audience Jackson is actually trying to reach...Apparently the film was originally scripted to be a Tales of the Crypt episode (that shit is sick [and not in the good way]!), but Zemeckis just thought it was so high-larious, it had to hit the big screen. It certainly seems like a comedy (flying babies anyone?) and one the kids might enjoy (walking mummies?), but then it's rated R for terror/violence (I guess all that necrophilia, heads exploding, creepy psycho-killer stuff took its toll. Or are they just talking about the fact that Jake Busey's in it? Man, he's ugly!). I mean, the use of paranormal and ghastly themes (it took 35+ computers!) is always tricky, and if you start adding comedic, crude, belligerent, and often 'inside' jokes, 70's inspired ghosts, creepy cult-tainted Feds, and heaven and hell, it's probably pretty difficult to get "artistically-minded," "drama-oriented," "discerning movie critic" adults into the theater seats. Without the teenagers, what's left? I guess maybe we hadn't quite reached that "that's where the money's at," "I'll let you have as much cash as you want because I feel guilty that I can't spend more time with you," "tween saturation point" by 1996. Because now, if you're making an rated-R movie (have you seen how many are coming out?...practically none!), you better have a pretty good fucking reason for throwing up your middle finger at the million dollar generation. On the other hand, I thought it was pretty fracking brilliant. It's like Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice meets Grosse Pointe Blank (which actually came out a year later) Natural Born Killers and Casper (live-action of course), and that is definitely not a bad thing.

Final Verdict: "Classically Contagious!"