The Frighteners (1996) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - July 14, 1996

As much as I would have loved to have gone and seen The Frighteners on the big screen, it was released at a time when such luxuries were out of reach.

When I finally was able to catch up to the film when it hit home video, I thought it was a tad unfocused and all over the place. The organizational threads of story and character seemed to have gotten tangled with the distractions of the massive amounts of special effects.

While Jackson was aiming for a PG-13 rating, it became clear that the MPAA, for whatever reason, did not want the film to have that rating. No matter the amount of cuts and alterations made. So Jackson amped up the gore for one character's death, just so the R rating felt earned rather than arbitrary.

This one movie I need to revisit sooner, rather than later.