FILM · 1996
The Frighteners
36 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (36)
- #001
While shooting in New Zealand, Michael J. Fox decided he was tired of making films away from his family and chose to return to television to star in a new sitcom (Spin City (1996)). It turned out to be his last leading role in a film.
- #002
The film was initially made as a PG-13, but the MPAA felt it was too intense for that rating and gave it an R. No matter how much Peter Jackson edited the film to secure the desired rating, the ratings board kept it at R (citing reasons such as a door being shot too many times). Angered that he had softened the film for nothing, Jackson altered a death scene to be more graphic so the film would feel more deserving of the rating.
- #003
Michael J. Fox performed many of his own stunts in the film. Ironically, he broke his foot in a simple fall while shooting in the forest at night. Sir Peter Jackson said Fox's injury was actually a disguised blessing, because it allowed Fox to work on the script a bit more and edit some scenes of the film while he recovered for a week.
- #004
No actor other than Michael J. Fox was ever considered for the role of Frank Bannister. Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh were meeting with Robert Zemeckis about the film when his name came up. Jackson liked the idea and sent the script to Fox.
- #005
Danny Elfman was so impressed by Sir Peter Jackson's previous film Heavenly Creatures (1994) that he offered to score one of Jackson's next films and accepted this one without even knowing what it was about.
- #006
While writing the role of the drill sergeant in the cemetery, Dame Fran Walsh and Sir Peter Jackson wrote it as a parody of R. Lee Ermey's character in Full Metal Jacket (1987) and intended to cast a New Zealand actor for the part. However, they did not think the actors who auditioned were right, and eventually approached Ermey himself.
- #007
To convince the audience that Patricia Bradley was innocent in the Fairwater murders, Sir Peter Jackson specifically wanted Dee Wallace for the role. He thought of her role as Elliot's mother in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which was about the sweetest character you could find, and therefore none of the viewers would suspect her.
- #008
During shooting, Dee Wallace's husband Christopher Stone died tragically from a blood clot, which forced her to travel back and forth between New Zealand and the United States. After filming ended, she learned that Peter Jackson had personally paid all of her flight costs as a gift.
- #009
(At about 25 minutes) The bearded, pierced man Frank hits just before Ray's ghost knocks him down. Jackson had to wear punk clothing (leather jacket, makeup and plenty of piercings) for the entire shooting day, which was also the day the studio invited the media to the set for publicity.
- #010
The real-life killer named in the film, Charles Starkweather, killed eleven people (and two dogs) during a murder spree that lasted about two months. His 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate accompanied and took part in most of the murders. Over a 17-month period he was caught, tried, convicted and executed (by electric chair). Fugate was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled after serving 17 years.
- #011
It was Jeffrey Combs who, to show his character's extreme nationalism after long service to his country, suggested an Adolf Hitler-inspired haircut for Milton Dammers. Combs also suggested two ear appliances that made his ears stick out quite comically, as well as several of Dammers's chest tattoos.
- #012
It was initially planned as a Tales from the Crypt (1989) film, but executive producer Robert Zemeckis liked the script so much that he decided it should stand on its own and not be part of a series.
- #013
(At about 10 minutes) Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet appear on the cover of the serial killer video Lucy watches, recreating a famous photo of their real-life characters from Sir Peter Jackson's previous film Heavenly Creatures (1994).
- #014
(At about the 9th minute) As a joke, the black-and-white footage of Johnny Bartlett's trial includes many small images of the crew in the picture.
- #015
Sir Peter Jackson liked Jeffrey Combs's work in the Re-Animator (1985) films so much that, because he was not sure, he asked casting director Victoria Burrows to find out whether Combs was still available and working. Fortunately Combs was available and signed on. For the role he wore black contact lenses.
- #016
Sir Peter Jackson's son Billy Jackson, who was three months old at the time, plays a baby that is blown up.
- #017
From the middle of the film onward, Lucy (Trini Alvarado) wears only a single outfit: a pink shirt. It eventually became a running joke throughout the film, and on the last day of the schedule the crew gave her a Barbie doll dressed in Lucy's outfit.
- #018
(At about 1 hour 35 minutes) Dammers's (Jeffrey Combs's) death scene became even more horrifying once it was clear the MPAA would give the film an R instead of the PG-13 the filmmakers had aimed for. He originally died from a bullet wound to the chest, which was changed in post-production to his head exploding. The TV cut includes the original death scene.
- #019
(At about 32 minutes) During Ray Lynskey's funeral, you can see Frank Bannister's house burning in the background (it is not clear, but you can see a large orange blur right behind Lucy). It was burned because the film crew had finished shooting there.
- #020
Director Sir Peter Jackson and executive producer Robert Zemeckis waged an unsuccessful campaign to have the film released during Halloween week in October 1996, but the studio wanted it released in the summer. Because it did not perform well at the box office, the move ultimately backfired.
- #021
While working on the film, Trini Alvarado suffered so many bruises that new ones appeared almost every day, and the makeup department would take photographs of them to use as reference later.
- #022
(At about 1 hour 25 minutes) The "Russian cannibal creep" Bartlett mentions is the Ukrainian Andrei Chikatilo. He was convicted of 52 murders and sentenced to death. Although he had a wide area of operation, mostly because of business travel, the number of murders is suspected to be in the triple digits.
- #023
Sir Peter Jackson's visual effects company, Weta Digital, Ltd., had to expand its capacity from one computer to thirty-five to meet the film's visual effects demands. They later put these to very good use, since their next projects were the effects-heavy trilogy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
- #024
Johnny Bartlett takes his name from Velda and Marion Bartlett, the second and third victims of Charles Starkweather, who killed eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming in 1958, together with his fourteen-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate, whose exact role in the murders is unknown. The story was dramatized in Badlands (1973) and other films. In the film, Johnny Bartlett cites Starkweather as a role model. Strangely, Starkweather and his victims the Bartletts were buried together in Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- #025
The film was not released in cinemas in Tasmania, an Australian state. The Port Arthur massacre eerily mirrored the film's content and occurred shortly before its release. Its first showing was on video, followed by a broadcast.
- #026
Initially, the Judge did not disappear from the film after the museum scene. After the character was split in two, more scenes were filmed, including one in which he crawls on his hands in the museum, one in which Frank meets him during the cemetery battle and he helps Frank fight the Reaper, after which he says, "I have to give you this, Frank, you beat Death itself!" and finally an appearance in which he and the Dog Rustlers say goodbye to Frank and head west. These scenes were cut because of the pace of the film and were not re-added to the director's cut because there was not enough funding to finish the effects properly, but they can be seen in the deleted scenes section of the documentary production.
- #027
One of the main reasons Sean Astin took the role of Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy was the advice of his stepfather, John Astin, who had previously worked with director Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh on The Frighteners (1996) and had been very impressed by their closeness, their understanding of film and their appreciation of their team.
- #028
Chi McBride agreed to appear in this film after watching Sir Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994).
- #029
John Astin said that it took Rick Baker five hours to do his makeup before each shoot.
- #030
In the scene where Trini Alvarado runs from Dee Wallace, she was supposed to pull the key out of the door and escape as the door slammed behind her. However, she was too slow on one take and nearly had her hand crushed when the door slammed, which frightened Peter Jackson badly. This is included in the DVD/Blu-ray releases.
- #031
The film was released essentially unfinished. It was originally scheduled for a Halloween release, but after seeing the rough cut the studio liked it so much that they decided to make it their big summer film and moved the premiere date from October to July of the same year. This shortened the post-production period by several months and is the reason some effects shots are of extremely low quality at times.
- #032
Michael J. Fox is said to have turned down the role of Edward Douglas in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) in order to make this film.
- #033
The shooting script initially included another character in the cemetery, a large fat angel called the Gatekeeper who would serve as the guardian of the cemetery. A large Gatekeeper prop was created and some scenes with it were filmed. However, because Sir Peter Jackson could not find a really good explanation for the angel's presence, they were removed from the film. Most of its role was taken over by the character Sergeant Hiles (R. Lee Ermey).
- #034
(At about the 3rd minute) The production designer appears as Chuck Hughes's obituary photo at the beginning of the film.
- #035
(At about 12 minutes in) When Frank's ghost friends attack the Lynskey house, a miniature statue of Elvis Presley floats in front of Ray. Peter Dobson, who plays Ray, portrayed Elvis in Forrest Gump (1994).
- #036
(At about 10 minutes) While the married couple watch TV, a VHS copy of Sir Peter Jackson's previous film Heavenly Creatures (1994) (based on a real murder case) can be seen on the right side of the TV.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work