In July 1996, Universal released a little film called
The Frighteners directed by one Peter Jackson and starring Michael J. Fox. Despite generally positive reviews, the film was a flop at the box office, scoring just $29.3 million against a $26 million budget.
Too bad, because
The Frighteners is actually pretty great, and actually foreshadows Jackson’s filmmaking genius.
For those unaware, here’s the plot synopsis: “Once an architect, Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his “special” gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife (Trini Alvarado) of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent (Jeffrey Combs).”