Critical Reception and Legacy (The Frighteners) The Frighteners (1996)
The opening weekend
The Frighteners opened in 1,829 theatres on July 19, 1996. It finished fourth for the weekend with $7.7 million, behind Independence Day in its third week ($25.1 million), the Disney animated Hunchback of Notre Dame in its fifth week ($8.2 million), and the John Travolta vehicle Phenomenon opening at #1 ($14.6 million). The film's US theatrical run finished at approximately $16.8 million against a $26 million negative cost.
International release rolled out over the following six months and added another $12 million. The break-even point came on home video. By 1999 — three years after release — the film was in the black, primarily through VHS rentals, cable licensing to HBO and Showtime, and the first DVD release.
The critical split
Reviews divided on the film's tonal register. Major critics who liked it praised the visual ambition and Fox's performance; critics who disliked it complained that the comedy and horror registers undercut each other.
"The Frighteners is one of the most original horror comedies in years — a virtuoso piece of filmmaking that suggests Jackson is one of the most gifted directors of his generation. The CGI ghosts are a wonder; Michael J. Fox plays against type with skill." — Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com (1996) — three stars
"Jackson and Walsh seem unsure whether they're making a comedy or a horror picture, and they wind up making half of each. The CGI work is dazzling. The plot is exhausting." — Janet Maslin, The New York Times (1996)
"The plot grinds; the laughs go missing in the second hour; Fox is good but the film around him collapses under its own visual ambition." — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly (1996) — C+
"I had a good time. I am puzzled by the negative reviews. The Frighteners is twice the film Casper was, and Casper was a huge hit. There is something the marketplace did not understand." — Gene Siskel, Siskel & Ebert (1996) — thumbs up
The film's Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 64% (35 of 55 critics positive) on the retrospective sample. The Metacritic score is 63.
The retrospective re-evaluation
The film has been steadily reappraised since its DVD release in 1998. Three reframings have driven the re-evaluation: the recognition of Fox's performance as his last theatrical lead (in light of his 1998 Parkinson's disclosure), the recognition of WETA Digital as the proof-of-concept for Lord of the Rings, and the slow critical accommodation of Jackson's splatstick-to-prestige career arc.
"The Frighteners is the film that connects Peter Jackson's first decade to his second. It is also a better movie than it was credited as being in 1996. The tonal balance critics complained about then reads now as a deliberate register experiment — and a successful one." — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture (2018)
"Twenty-five years later this film looks like a major work. Fox is heartbreaking. The Bartlett-Patricia partnership is one of the most genuinely disturbing screen romances of the decade. The chapel climax holds up better than the LOTR climaxes that followed it. The film was underrated; the film is still underrated." — Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com (2021 retrospective)
The "what if" status
The Frighteners sits in a particular Hollywood category: the disappointment that turned out to be a pivot. Jackson's American studio career might have been derailed by the commercial result; the LOTR pickup at New Line in 1998 made the disappointment temporary. The film is now read as the audition that won Jackson the trilogy.
"If The Frighteners had grossed $80 million in 1996, Peter Jackson makes the Frighteners sequel and somebody else makes Lord of the Rings. The flop is the most fortunate accident in his career." — Mark Ordesky, New Line Cinema, Empire (2018)
Awards
The film won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film (1997) and Best Supporting Actor for Jeffrey Combs (1997 nomination). Danny Elfman's score was nominated for the BAFTA. The film was not nominated for any Academy Award.