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The Frighteners
- 672 statements
- 132 feature instances
- 63 referencing feature instances
| The Frighteners | type |
TVTItem | |
| The Frighteners | label |
The Frighteners | |
| The Frighteners | page |
TheFrighteners | |
| The Frighteners | comment |
The Frighteners is a 1996 horror/comedy film from Peter Jackson, who would go on to direct The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and The Hobbit Film Trilogy.Michael J. Fox is Frank Bannister, a "freelance exorcist" who's not quite as phony as he appears. Having gained the ability to see and talk to the dead after a tragic car accident, Frank sends his three ghostly accomplices—white n' nerdy Stuart (Jim Fyfe), black swinger Cyrus (Chi McBride), and cowboy corpse The Judge (John Astinnote Astin is the adoptive father of Sean Astin, who would go on to play Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings. According to Sean, it was John who persuaded him to take the role because he (John) had enjoyed working with Jackson so much.)—to wreak paranormal havoc in the homes of wealthy clients-to-be. These people call Frank, he shows up to perform an "exorcism," then takes off with the cash. He's the world's greatest con man... until dozens of perfectly healthy people in his hometown of Fairwater, California start dropping dead from cardiac arrest—the very same people who suddenly acquired numbers carved into their foreheads that only Frank can see.Soon after one of these victims, Ray Lynskey (Peter Dobson), becomes a ghost and pleads Frank to help him find his way toward the light, Frank and his undead buddies discover the cause of the phenomenon: A malicious spirit in the form of The Grim Reaper (Sinister Scythe included) has gone on a mad killing spree, literally squeezing the life from his victims' hearts. And not only that, it appears he has the ability to even kill ghosts by forcing them to move on to the next world. Frank and Dr. Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado), Ray's widow, hatch a radical plan to put an end to the murders, but along the way, they must deal with Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs), a maniacal FBI agent (basically a cross between Mulder and Hitler) who believes that Frank is psychically killing the murder victims, and will go to Hell and back to see him brought to justice. | |
| The Frighteners | fetched |
2023-10-12T09:16:00Z | |
| The Frighteners | parsed |
2023-10-12T09:16:00Z | |
| The Frighteners | processingComment |
Dropped link to CreepyOrderly: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
| The Frighteners | processingComment |
Dropped link to Poltergeist: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Frighteners | processingComment |
Dropped link to spiderman: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Frighteners | processingUnknown |
CreepyOrderly | |
| The Frighteners | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| The Frighteners / int_105cabdd | type |
Jacob Marley Apparel | |
| The Frighteners / int_105cabdd | comment |
Jacob Marley Apparel: Lampshaded and lamented by Cyrus, who is stuck in horrible clothes he wouldn't be caught dead in. But after being killed by The Grim Reaper and going to Heaven, he gets some nifty new threads. | |
| The Frighteners / int_105cabdd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_105cabdd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_105cabdd | |
| The Frighteners / int_120d0e3f | type |
Adam Westing | |
| The Frighteners / int_120d0e3f | comment |
Adam Westing: R. Lee Ermey as Sgt. Hiles. | |
| The Frighteners / int_120d0e3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_120d0e3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_120d0e3f | |
| The Frighteners / int_127fc252 | type |
Creator Cameo | |
| The Frighteners / int_127fc252 | comment |
Creator Cameo: In one scene, Frank bumps into a random hoodlum played by Peter Jackson. | |
| The Frighteners / int_127fc252 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_127fc252 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_127fc252 | |
| The Frighteners / int_13eea985 | type |
Arbitrary Skepticism | |
| The Frighteners / int_13eea985 | comment |
Arbitrary Skepticism: Mrs. Waterhouse, the rich lady who is Frank's second attempted on-screen con. Despite having witnessed, firsthand and not ten minutes before, things flying through the air (including her children) with no explanation, she immediately disbelieves the moment she sees a newspaper headline calling Frank a fraud. | |
| The Frighteners / int_13eea985 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_13eea985 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_13eea985 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1439161f | type |
Heroic BSoD | |
| The Frighteners / int_1439161f | comment |
Heroic BSoD: Frank goes through a major example of this halfway through the movie, to the point where he momentarily stops believing in his abilities (which makes them stop working). In his Backstory, it's revealed he went through this after Debra died, with the end result of gaining his abilities in the first place. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1439161f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1439161f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1439161f | |
| The Frighteners / int_14a5a8e2 | type |
Nerds Are Sexy | |
| The Frighteners / int_14a5a8e2 | comment |
Nerds Are Sexy: Apparently in Heaven, Stuart's a regular Chick Magnet. | |
| The Frighteners / int_14a5a8e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_14a5a8e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_14a5a8e2 | |
| The Frighteners / int_14ed6ab7 | type |
Does This Remind You of Anything? | |
| The Frighteners / int_14ed6ab7 | comment |
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Dammers wears his hair in a very suspicious style. | |
| The Frighteners / int_14ed6ab7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_14ed6ab7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_14ed6ab7 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1777688d | type |
Genre Savvy | |
| The Frighteners / int_1777688d | comment |
Genre Savvy: As someone who has been part of many supernaturally-themed investigations and read a lot of lore, Dammers instantly figures out that the ash urn Frank is running around with at the climax contains the mortal remains of Johnny Bartlett and that Frank believes they must be taken to holy ground to exorcise the ghost. Subverted immediately after when Dammers opens the urn and spills the ashes (letting Johnny out again) because he wants to piss off (and kill) Frank. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1777688d | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1777688d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1777688d | |
| The Frighteners / int_18bf4326 | type |
Anti-Magic | |
| The Frighteners / int_18bf4326 | comment |
Anti-Magic: After Dammers provokes Frank with his belief that he's the man who killed all of the Reaper's victims, especially his wife, he notices that Frank is starting to shake with what may be anguish or rage, and instantly believes that Frank is trying to use his Psychic Powers to try to kill him, to which he responds by tearing open his shirt to demonstrate he has a lead vest underneath (which he says will supposedly block the attack) and then continues to antagonize Frank. Whether a lead breastplate would actually work or not is never explained. | |
| The Frighteners / int_18bf4326 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_18bf4326 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_18bf4326 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1a6d9f92 | type |
By the Eyes of the Blind | |
| The Frighteners / int_1a6d9f92 | comment |
By the Eyes of the Blind: People who suffer a tremendous psychological shock can see things that other people can't. Frank starts to see ghosts after getting in a car crash with his wife and seeing her getting her forehead carved up by Patricia, while Lucy starts to see ghosts after seeing Frank getting killed by Patricia at the climax. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1a6d9f92 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1a6d9f92 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1a6d9f92 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1b122c5d | type |
Scare Chord | |
| The Frighteners / int_1b122c5d | comment |
Scare Chord: This is heard often in Danny Elfman's score. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1b122c5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1b122c5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1b122c5d | |
| The Frighteners / int_1c79ae8c | type |
Those Two Guys | |
| The Frighteners / int_1c79ae8c | comment |
Those Two Guys: Cyrus and Stuart. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1c79ae8c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1c79ae8c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1c79ae8c | |
| The Frighteners / int_1ca3c244 | type |
Who Are You? | |
| The Frighteners / int_1ca3c244 | comment |
Who Are You?: Frank says the trope name verbatim to the Grim Reaper, who turns out to be Johnny Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1ca3c244 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1ca3c244 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1ca3c244 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1e067a46 | type |
Obstructive Zealot | |
| The Frighteners / int_1e067a46 | comment |
Obstructive Zealot: Dammers will stop at nothing to antagonize Frank at every step of the way. | |
| The Frighteners / int_1e067a46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_1e067a46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_1e067a46 | |
| The Frighteners / int_203141e3 | type |
Cute and Psycho | |
| The Frighteners / int_203141e3 | comment |
Cute and Psycho: Patricia in the final act. And the flashback that appears in it shows that she's been this for a long time. | |
| The Frighteners / int_203141e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_203141e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_203141e3 | |
| The Frighteners / int_20a14df0 | type |
Wrong Genre Savvy | |
| The Frighteners / int_20a14df0 | comment |
Wrong Genre Savvy: Agent Milton Dammers. Because of all the trauma he's received with his investigations in "supernatural" cases, he thinks he's an Occult Detective who's tracked down a serial-killing psychic, not realizing that he's actually stumbled into a battle between a Not-So-Phony Psychic and a serial-killing ghost. His inability to stretch his mind that one extra inch results in him getting his head blown off by Patricia. | |
| The Frighteners / int_20a14df0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_20a14df0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_20a14df0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_21f3aa44 | type |
Good Is Not Nice | |
| The Frighteners / int_21f3aa44 | comment |
Good is Not Nice: Frank, at first. He's not particularly friendly towards the ghosts he works with and isn't above driving into the middle of a funeral procession just to get to his next call. He gets better towards the end. | |
| The Frighteners / int_21f3aa44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_21f3aa44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_21f3aa44 | |
| The Frighteners / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
| The Frighteners / int_22cf536c | comment |
Chekhov's Gun: Frank's utility knife. The shotgun in the intro of the film is later used by Patricia to attempt to kill Frank and Lucy. | |
| The Frighteners / int_22cf536c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_22cf536c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_22cf536c | |
| The Frighteners / int_23b059ec | type |
Bedsheet Ghost | |
| The Frighteners / int_23b059ec | comment |
Bedsheet Ghost: Played with. The Big Bad possesses and animates pretty much every other kind of "sheet" (wallpaper, carpet, the canvas of a painting) in the manner of this trope, but never an actual bedsheet. | |
| The Frighteners / int_23b059ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_23b059ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_23b059ec | |
| The Frighteners / int_24321e44 | type |
Only Sane Man | |
| The Frighteners / int_24321e44 | comment |
Only Sane Man: Frank, who unfortunately has the poor luck of being unable to prove it to clear himself of the murders. | |
| The Frighteners / int_24321e44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_24321e44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_24321e44 | |
| The Frighteners / int_253be057 | type |
Body-Count Competition | |
| The Frighteners / int_253be057 | comment |
Body-Count Competition: Barlett's motive, one he feels about so strongly that he came back from the dead to continue it. | |
| The Frighteners / int_253be057 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_253be057 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_253be057 | |
| The Frighteners / int_26a924fb | type |
Multitasked Conversation | |
| The Frighteners / int_26a924fb | comment |
Multitasked Conversation: Frank is the only one who can see ghosts, so this happens regularly. | |
| The Frighteners / int_26a924fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_26a924fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_26a924fb | |
| The Frighteners / int_2a7e7af1 | type |
Limited Wardrobe | |
| The Frighteners / int_2a7e7af1 | comment |
Limited Wardrobe: From the half point of the film onwards, Lucy wears only one outfit, the pink shirt. It eventually became a running joke throughout the film such, that on the last day of her schedule, the crew presented Trini Alvarado a Barbie doll with the Lucy-dressed outfit as a gift. | |
| The Frighteners / int_2a7e7af1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2a7e7af1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_2a7e7af1 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d4fa515 | type |
Ax-Crazy | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d4fa515 | comment |
Ax-Crazy: Dammers, Patricia, and Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d4fa515 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d4fa515 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_2d4fa515 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d6f00e4 | type |
Psycho for Hire | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d6f00e4 | comment |
Psycho for Hire: Dammers once worked as a undercover agent. The Director's Cut delves a little more into this. | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d6f00e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2d6f00e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_2d6f00e4 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2e8875f0 | type |
Misplaced Retribution | |
| The Frighteners / int_2e8875f0 | comment |
Misplaced Retribution: Both Magda Rees-Jones and Dammers seem to believe that Frank outright murdered his wife (rather than her dying in a car accident that was admittedly his fault as most believe), and have appointed themselves to punish him for it. They're not wrong that she was murdered, but their misidentification of the murderer gets them both killed. | |
| The Frighteners / int_2e8875f0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_2e8875f0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_2e8875f0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_309b8806 | type |
Cursed with Awesome | |
| The Frighteners / int_309b8806 | comment |
Cursed with Awesome: Frank gained the ability to communicate with the dead after a tragic accident that killed his wife and exploited it for profit as a "freelance exorcist." | |
| The Frighteners / int_309b8806 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_309b8806 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_309b8806 | |
| The Frighteners / int_315a122 | type |
Hospital Hottie | |
| The Frighteners / int_315a122 | comment |
Hospital Hottie: Lucy is a fairly attractive doctor. | |
| The Frighteners / int_315a122 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_315a122 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_315a122 | |
| The Frighteners / int_356b1efb | type |
Hammerspace | |
| The Frighteners / int_356b1efb | comment |
Hammerspace: Dammers is shown seemingly pulling various guns and a rubber round tube out of his coat. | |
| The Frighteners / int_356b1efb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_356b1efb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_356b1efb | |
| The Frighteners / int_38f5ed1a | type |
Dragged Off to Hell | |
| The Frighteners / int_38f5ed1a | comment |
Dragged Off to Hell: Patricia and Bartlett go on the "express bus to Hell" in the end. | |
| The Frighteners / int_38f5ed1a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_38f5ed1a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_38f5ed1a | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e87fc1f | type |
Psychological Projection | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e87fc1f | comment |
Psychological Projection: Dammers claims that Frank's efforts are all based around his own pathetic need for self-gratification. Dammers' mental issues and Wrong Genre Savvy leave him incapable of acknowledging that Frank is genuinely trying to stop a killer ghost, as opposed to Dammers' belief that Frank is a killer psychic. | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e87fc1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e87fc1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_3e87fc1f | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e8d3ea5 | type |
Escaped from Hell | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e8d3ea5 | comment |
Escaped from Hell: The Grim Reaper is revealed to be serial killer Johnny Bartlett who managed to escape Hell so he could set his record of having the highest body count. | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e8d3ea5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_3e8d3ea5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_3e8d3ea5 | |
| The Frighteners / int_3edcbe47 | type |
Flatline Plotline | |
| The Frighteners / int_3edcbe47 | comment |
Flatline Plotline: Frank enlists Lucy in entering the ghost world with the aid of drugs and cryogenics to stop his heart. | |
| The Frighteners / int_3edcbe47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_3edcbe47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_3edcbe47 | |
| The Frighteners / int_41271766 | type |
Happily Ever After | |
| The Frighteners / int_41271766 | comment |
Happily Ever After: Frank and Lucy get together in the end. But holy hell, do they have to work for it. | |
| The Frighteners / int_41271766 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_41271766 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_41271766 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4160410d | type |
Damsel in Distress | |
| The Frighteners / int_4160410d | comment |
Damsel in Distress: Lucy, with the exceptional moment when she pretends to run from Frank to distract Dammers and sprays him with a fire extinguisher while he's about to shoot Frank. | |
| The Frighteners / int_4160410d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4160410d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_4160410d | |
| The Frighteners / int_4781adbb | type |
Jerk with a Heart of Gold | |
| The Frighteners / int_4781adbb | comment |
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ray might be a vain, chauvinistic, and obnoxious boor, but it's shown several times that he does actually care about Lucy, even if he does likely care about himself more. Frank himself, given that he's a con man and he bullies the ghosts who help him out with his business. The Director's Cut makes him out to be more of a jerk, a notable example being that he drives into the middle of a funeral procession so he can get to his next house call quicker. The Judge even calls him out on it. | |
| The Frighteners / int_4781adbb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4781adbb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_4781adbb | |
| The Frighteners / int_485eb589 | type |
Sealed Evil in a Can | |
| The Frighteners / int_485eb589 | comment |
Sealed Evil in a Can: Happens temporarily to the Big Bad, then it gets undone by Dammers. | |
| The Frighteners / int_485eb589 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_485eb589 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_485eb589 | |
| The Frighteners / int_490bf391 | type |
Exploited Immunity | |
| The Frighteners / int_490bf391 | comment |
Exploited Immunity: An accidental example near the end. Frank (as a ghost) pulls Patricia into the afterlife with him, causing Bartlett to chase them. It turns out that it's "not his time" and he's sent back (and would have had a place in Heaven anyway), but the two serial killers are immediately dragged off to Hell. | |
| The Frighteners / int_490bf391 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_490bf391 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_490bf391 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4e7c4536 | type |
Wham Line | |
| The Frighteners / int_4e7c4536 | comment |
Wham Line: When Frank sees the Reaper's shot-off face transform into that of Johnny Bartlett again, he says, "Johnny Bartlett. I thought guys like you got fried in hell." | |
| The Frighteners / int_4e7c4536 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4e7c4536 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_4e7c4536 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4fc5ac56 | type |
Holy Backlight | |
| The Frighteners / int_4fc5ac56 | comment |
Holy Backlight: The tunnel to Heaven looks like a very bright light. | |
| The Frighteners / int_4fc5ac56 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_4fc5ac56 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_4fc5ac56 | |
| The Frighteners / int_504a1991 | type |
Body Horror | |
| The Frighteners / int_504a1991 | comment |
Body Horror: Happens to ghosts the longer they stay on the physical plane. Ray had only been dead a day or so before his skin started to decay. The Judge has been a ghost so long, his ghostly body is literally falling apart and he's gone slightly insane; it's generally Played for Laughs. | |
| The Frighteners / int_504a1991 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_504a1991 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_504a1991 | |
| The Frighteners / int_53bb954d | type |
Peek-a-Bogeyman | |
| The Frighteners / int_53bb954d | comment |
Peek-a-Bogeyman: Stuart, Cyrus, and The Judge. | |
| The Frighteners / int_53bb954d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_53bb954d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_53bb954d | |
| The Frighteners / int_53f5119f | type |
The Dragon | |
| The Frighteners / int_53f5119f | comment |
Patricia really did have a part in the murders. She's Bartlett's right hand. | |
| The Frighteners / int_53f5119f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_53f5119f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_53f5119f | |
| The Frighteners / int_54428f7b | type |
Ashes to Crashes | |
| The Frighteners / int_54428f7b | comment |
Ashes to Crashes: Dammers dumps out Bartlett's ashes on purpose to get Frank's goat, not realizing he just let the Big Bad out to play. | |
| The Frighteners / int_54428f7b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_54428f7b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_54428f7b | |
| The Frighteners / int_548bd053 | type |
Guns Akimbo | |
| The Frighteners / int_548bd053 | comment |
Guns Akimbo: Frank, in his ghostly form, wields two M-60s to fight the Grim Reaper with (which had previously belonged to a ghostly R. Lee Ermey). | |
| The Frighteners / int_548bd053 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_548bd053 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_548bd053 | |
| The Frighteners / int_57bb7b55 | type |
Near-Death Clairvoyance | |
| The Frighteners / int_57bb7b55 | comment |
Near-Death Clairvoyance: Frank got his powers from a nearly lethal car accident. | |
| The Frighteners / int_57bb7b55 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_57bb7b55 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_57bb7b55 | |
| The Frighteners / int_59907e4f | type |
Police Are Useless | |
| The Frighteners / int_59907e4f | comment |
Police Are Useless: Against ghosts. Much to Sheriff Perry's exasperation, this leads to them needing Dammers, the no-less-useless-but-completely-unhinged liaison from the FBI, to step in. | |
| The Frighteners / int_59907e4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_59907e4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_59907e4f | |
| The Frighteners / int_5abc8612 | type |
Unholy Matrimony | |
| The Frighteners / int_5abc8612 | comment |
Unholy Matrimony: Johnny and Patricia. | |
| The Frighteners / int_5abc8612 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_5abc8612 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_5abc8612 | |
| The Frighteners / int_60547993 | type |
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy | |
| The Frighteners / int_60547993 | comment |
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: At the end of the film, Debra tells Frank to be happy when he gets back into his body after sending Johnny to Hell. | |
| The Frighteners / int_60547993 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_60547993 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_60547993 | |
| The Frighteners / int_61b9028c | type |
Sinister Scythe | |
| The Frighteners / int_61b9028c | comment |
Sinister Scythe: To match The Grim Reaper getup. | |
| The Frighteners / int_61b9028c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_61b9028c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_61b9028c | |
| The Frighteners / int_62f9d08e | type |
Freeze-Frame Bonus | |
| The Frighteners / int_62f9d08e | comment |
Freeze-Frame Bonus: The cereal that Frank is eating when discussing Stuart and Cyrus' grievances is, appropriately enough, Boo-Berry. You briefly get a glimpse at the Grim Reaper's face when he charges through Frank's car. Attentive viewers will also notice that the eyes resemble the true identity of the Reaper: Johnny Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_62f9d08e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_62f9d08e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_62f9d08e | |
| The Frighteners / int_6331ba26 | type |
Plot Hole | |
| The Frighteners / int_6331ba26 | comment |
Plot Hole: The first scene of the film where Patricia is being harmed by a ghost clashes a little with what we see later on regarding her relationship with them: She and the ghost work with, and love, each other. The Director's Cut of the film explains this by revealing that Bartlett and Patricia would play role-play games like this shortly before making love. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6331ba26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6331ba26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6331ba26 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6375f746 | type |
Drill Sergeant Nasty | |
| The Frighteners / int_6375f746 | comment |
Drill Sergeant Nasty: Hiles, as played by R. Lee Ermey. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6375f746 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6375f746 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6375f746 | |
| The Frighteners / int_639cefd2 | type |
Go into the Light | |
| The Frighteners / int_639cefd2 | comment |
Go into the Light: When Frank meets up with his wife in Heaven, he intends on staying, but is told it's not his time and sent back. | |
| The Frighteners / int_639cefd2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_639cefd2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_639cefd2 | |
| The Frighteners / int_63d861f8 | type |
Even Evil Has Loved Ones | |
| The Frighteners / int_63d861f8 | comment |
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Johnny Bartlett and Patricia, surprisingly. Johnny even goes to save her when her soul is pulled out of her body by Frank near the end. Doesn't make either of them any less twisted or insane, though. | |
| The Frighteners / int_63d861f8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_63d861f8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_63d861f8 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6459cc02 | type |
I See Dead People | |
| The Frighteners / int_6459cc02 | comment |
I See Dead People: Frank, and when all is said and done, Lucy has gained this ability as well. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6459cc02 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6459cc02 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6459cc02 | |
| The Frighteners / int_66479d0 | type |
Our Ghosts Are Different | |
| The Frighteners / int_66479d0 | comment |
Our Ghosts Are Different: These ghosts are about as traditional as they get. | |
| The Frighteners / int_66479d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_66479d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_66479d0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_68068108 | type |
Evil Laugh | |
| The Frighteners / int_68068108 | comment |
Evil Laugh: When Frank reveals Johnny as the Grim Reaper, the latter gives out a sinister laugh. | |
| The Frighteners / int_68068108 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_68068108 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_68068108 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b05b601 | type |
Jerkass Has a Point | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b05b601 | comment |
Jerkass Has a Point: Ray tells Lucy to steer clear of the Bradleys because they give him the creeps. His intuition was right on the money on thus one. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b05b601 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b05b601 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6b05b601 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b2b3b59 | type |
The Reveal | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b2b3b59 | comment |
The Reveal: The Grim Reaper is the ghost of legendary serial killer Johnny Bartlett. The souls of good people can still go to Heaven even if they're "killed" by Bartlett. Patricia really did have a part in the murders. She's Bartlett's right hand. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b2b3b59 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6b2b3b59 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6b2b3b59 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6bd689ca | type |
Meaningful Echo | |
| The Frighteners / int_6bd689ca | comment |
Meaningful Echo: When Lucy asks Frank how he can see ghosts, he tells her about the car accident he was in and says, "They say that sometimes when you have a traumatic experience like that, it can alter your perception". Lucy says the same thing to Frank at the end of the film after she mentions how pissed the ghost of Dammers looks, making him realize she now can see ghosts, too. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6bd689ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6bd689ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6bd689ca | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d036d9c | type |
CoveredInScars | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d036d9c | comment |
Covered in Scars: As if we didn't needed any more evidence that Dammers has been driven completely nuts by the torture he's received from multiple cult infiltrations, he rips open his shirt in one scene to showcase lots of branding scars, knife scars, and mystic sigil tattoos scattered all over his torso. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d036d9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d036d9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6d036d9c | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d7026fa | type |
Punny Name | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d7026fa | comment |
Punny Name: Milton Dammers, as in John Milton, of Paradise Lost fame. As well as Jeffrey Dahmer. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d7026fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6d7026fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6d7026fa | |
| The Frighteners / int_6ef6417b | type |
Disney Death | |
| The Frighteners / int_6ef6417b | comment |
Disney Death: Frank, who manages to be brought back in time before his death becomes permanent. Both times. | |
| The Frighteners / int_6ef6417b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_6ef6417b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_6ef6417b | |
| The Frighteners / int_7142b38a | type |
The Grim Reaper | |
| The Frighteners / int_7142b38a | comment |
The Grim Reaper is the ghost of legendary serial killer Johnny Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_7142b38a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7142b38a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7142b38a | |
| The Frighteners / int_72cdfc33 | type |
Big Bad Ensemble | |
| The Frighteners / int_72cdfc33 | comment |
Big Bad Ensemble: There's The Grim Reaper (later revealed to be Johnny Bartlett) and his Dragon, Patricia, and Agent Dammers, who don't really work alongside each other but equally play a frustrating part in Frank and Lucy's lives. | |
| The Frighteners / int_72cdfc33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_72cdfc33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_72cdfc33 | |
| The Frighteners / int_76788531 | type |
Just for Pun | |
| The Frighteners / int_76788531 | comment |
Just for Pun: | |
| The Frighteners / int_76788531 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_76788531 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_76788531 | |
| The Frighteners / int_77073274 | type |
Monster Protection Racket | |
| The Frighteners / int_77073274 | comment |
Monster Protection Racket: How Frank makes a living as a con artist with the help of his three ghost buddies. | |
| The Frighteners / int_77073274 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_77073274 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_77073274 | |
| The Frighteners / int_77c9a628 | type |
Your Soul Is Mine! | |
| The Frighteners / int_77c9a628 | comment |
Your Soul Is Mine!: In a rare heroic example, temporarily ghostly Frank yanks Patricia's spirit out of her body to stop her from killing Lucy. Patricia's body dies instantly, and Frank uses her struggling spirit to bait Johnny into the afterlife gateway that opens up to receive her. | |
| The Frighteners / int_77c9a628 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_77c9a628 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_77c9a628 | |
| The Frighteners / int_780a078e | type |
Self-Made Orphan | |
| The Frighteners / int_780a078e | comment |
Self-Made Orphan: Patricia gorily knifes her own mother to death when she becomes a liability. | |
| The Frighteners / int_780a078e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_780a078e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_780a078e | |
| The Frighteners / int_7a81a554 | type |
Incongruously-Dressed Zombie | |
| The Frighteners / int_7a81a554 | comment |
Incongruously-Dressed Zombie: Some of the ghosts' outfits qualify as unusual, even discounting their date of origin. | |
| The Frighteners / int_7a81a554 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7a81a554 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7a81a554 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d12f7b1 | type |
Who You Gonna Call? | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d12f7b1 | comment |
Who You Gonna Call?: Frank Bannister, "freelance exorcist"! | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d12f7b1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d12f7b1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7d12f7b1 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d152a2d | type |
Agent Mulder | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d152a2d | comment |
Agent Mulder: Dammers is the only law enforcement agent who accepts that there is something supernatural going on, but is somehow convinced that Frank is using his powers to kill people by stopping their hearts and then summons an image of The Grim Reaper to absolve himself of guilt. | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d152a2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7d152a2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7d152a2d | |
| The Frighteners / int_7e6c0522 | type |
Off with His Head! | |
| The Frighteners / int_7e6c0522 | comment |
Off with His Head!: Patricia kills Dammers this way. With a shotgun, no less. | |
| The Frighteners / int_7e6c0522 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7e6c0522 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7e6c0522 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7febc23b | type |
Establishing Character Moment | |
| The Frighteners / int_7febc23b | comment |
Establishing Character Moment: Frank Bannister's very first scene is walking into someone's funeral and advertising his business. Milton Dammers' first scene showcases most of his eccentricities (difficulties around women, mostly), as well as his staunch belief that Frank is a murderer. | |
| The Frighteners / int_7febc23b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_7febc23b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_7febc23b | |
| The Frighteners / int_806b07e7 | type |
Black Eyes of Evil | |
| The Frighteners / int_806b07e7 | comment |
Black Eyes of Evil: Dammers has these. | |
| The Frighteners / int_806b07e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_806b07e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_806b07e7 | |
| The Frighteners / int_81ae2774 | type |
Evil Matriarch | |
| The Frighteners / int_81ae2774 | comment |
Evil Matriarch: Subverted. At first, it seems like Old Lady Bradley is an insane woman who abuses Patricia and it's later discovered that she has Frank's pocket knife in her closet. However, it turns out that she was merely trying to stop her daughter from participating in any more killings but had been unsuccessful in stopping Bartlett. It's also revealed that Patricia had actually stolen Frank's knife and had merely planted it in her mother's closet. | |
| The Frighteners / int_81ae2774 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| The Frighteners / int_81ae2774 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_81ae2774 | |
| The Frighteners / int_823c6e3e | type |
Large Ham | |
| The Frighteners / int_823c6e3e | comment |
Large Ham: Most of the cast gets their moment to shine. Dammers probably takes the cake, however. | |
| The Frighteners / int_823c6e3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_823c6e3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_823c6e3e | |
| The Frighteners / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
| The Frighteners / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: In what might be one of the most distracting cases of this trope, The Judge totally vanishes from the film after the museum scene, as if he never existed. We see Cyrus and Stuart in the afterlife, but we never see The Judge or Rusty the Dog after his intro. They had scenes later in the cemetery, and the end originally featured the Judge's upper body riding Rusty and heading west into the sunset, but they were deleted. Strangely, it is even absent in the Director's Cut for reasons that make little sense. | |
| The Frighteners / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_863fa679 | |
| The Frighteners / int_874176be | type |
Psychic Powers | |
| The Frighteners / int_874176be | comment |
Psychic Powers: Frank gains them as a result of his tragic accident, though Dammers seems convinced that Frank also has the ability to stop people's hearts with his mind. | |
| The Frighteners / int_874176be | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_874176be | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_874176be | |
| The Frighteners / int_8967e17f | type |
Back from the Dead | |
| The Frighteners / int_8967e17f | comment |
Back from the Dead: Frank, twice throughout the film. | |
| The Frighteners / int_8967e17f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_8967e17f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_8967e17f | |
| The Frighteners / int_8bff32a8 | type |
Creepy Doll | |
| The Frighteners / int_8bff32a8 | comment |
Creepy Doll: Played for Laughs during the Lynskey house haunting. | |
| The Frighteners / int_8bff32a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_8bff32a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_8bff32a8 | |
| The Frighteners / int_8ed5c6e4 | type |
Asshole Victim | |
| The Frighteners / int_8ed5c6e4 | comment |
Asshole Victim: Ray is a temperamental fitness nut who doesn't appreciate his wife and never bothers to hide how much he dislikes Frank. He even lost all of Lucy's savings ($16,000) on a bad investment. At his funeral, the preacher seems to be straining to say good things about him. This is slightly subverted when, after his death at the hands of the Big Bad, he at least tries to protect his wife from said Big Bad. Of course, it doesn't end very well... Magda Rees-Jones, the editor-in-chief of the Fairwater Gazette who seems to have it out for Frank. If she hadn't been so eager to believe the absolute worst of him (and to get shrill and aggressive about it), she might have survived. Well, at least a little longer. Her desire to be a bitch is such that, even as she realizes she's dead and is ascending to the next plane, all she wants to do is scream at him. Hiles, the loud and aggressive drill sergeant and de facto ruler of the local cemetery, has it out for Frank in much the same way as Magda does. Then he gets killed by The Grim Reaper. | |
| The Frighteners / int_8ed5c6e4 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| The Frighteners / int_8ed5c6e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_8ed5c6e4 | |
| The Frighteners / int_90328f91 | type |
Unscrupulous Hero | |
| The Frighteners / int_90328f91 | comment |
Unscrupulous Hero: Frank starts off this way, being a con artist who stages house hauntings and is a bit of a prick to the ghosts he works with. But he starts to get better once he learns of the killings and undergoes a Heroic BSoD. | |
| The Frighteners / int_90328f91 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_90328f91 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_90328f91 | |
| The Frighteners / int_90d44f44 | type |
Karmic Death | |
| The Frighteners / int_90d44f44 | comment |
Karmic Death: Dammers, who had been hounding Frank throughout the film, gets his head blown off by Patricia. The best part of it is his ghost instantly appears, head sticking out of the stump of the corpse's neck with a very surprised expression on his face. Bartlett and Patricia meet a gruesome "end" when they take the express bus to Hell. | |
| The Frighteners / int_90d44f44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_90d44f44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_90d44f44 | |
| The Frighteners / int_96a33f11 | type |
Riddle for the Ages | |
| The Frighteners / int_96a33f11 | comment |
Riddle for the Ages: How did Bartlett get hold of the Reaper's scythe? Notably, he seems to lose his cloak and unique powers when Frank takes it away, implying that the scythe truly belonged to the real deal. | |
| The Frighteners / int_96a33f11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_96a33f11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_96a33f11 | |
| The Frighteners / int_970c790a | type |
Big Bad | |
| The Frighteners / int_970c790a | comment |
Ray is a temperamental fitness nut who doesn't appreciate his wife and never bothers to hide how much he dislikes Frank. He even lost all of Lucy's savings ($16,000) on a bad investment. At his funeral, the preacher seems to be straining to say good things about him. This is slightly subverted when, after his death at the hands of the Big Bad, he at least tries to protect his wife from said Big Bad. Of course, it doesn't end very well... | |
| The Frighteners / int_970c790a | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| The Frighteners / int_970c790a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_970c790a | |
| The Frighteners / int_9919369d | type |
Con Man | |
| The Frighteners / int_9919369d | comment |
Frank himself, given that he's a con man and he bullies the ghosts who help him out with his business. The Director's Cut makes him out to be more of a jerk, a notable example being that he drives into the middle of a funeral procession so he can get to his next house call quicker. The Judge even calls him out on it. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9919369d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9919369d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9919369d | |
| The Frighteners / int_9c5472c7 | type |
His Story Repeats Itself | |
| The Frighteners / int_9c5472c7 | comment |
His Story Repeats Itself: The death of Frank's wife and Magda Rees-Jones happen in the same stretch of lonely road, after Frank crashes a car that they are both in, at the hands of the Reaper. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9c5472c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9c5472c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9c5472c7 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
| The Frighteners / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: The hospital massacre mentioned in the first part of the film brings up that Johnny Bartlett counted the victims he and Patricia killed. Patricia's mother also delivers this chilling line that hints at Patricia being her boyfriend's direct accomplice instead of just a suspect as she pretended to be. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9d12bbc1 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9dd84122 | type |
Occult Detective | |
| The Frighteners / int_9dd84122 | comment |
Occult Detective: Dammers and, to a lesser extent, Frank himself. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9dd84122 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9dd84122 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9dd84122 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9e0c3153 | type |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis! | |
| The Frighteners / int_9e0c3153 | comment |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: After shooting The Grim Reaper, Frank grabs its face and yells "Who... are... you?!" as he slaps it repeatedly against a gravestone in order to expose the Reaper as Johnny Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9e0c3153 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9e0c3153 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9e0c3153 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9f7769a2 | type |
The Gunslinger | |
| The Frighteners / int_9f7769a2 | comment |
The Gunslinger: The Judge hails from the Old West and wields a pair of six-shooters. | |
| The Frighteners / int_9f7769a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_9f7769a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_9f7769a2 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a0c7f4e9 | type |
Abandoned Hospital | |
| The Frighteners / int_a0c7f4e9 | comment |
Abandoned Hospital: The finale is set inside a hospital, which is the site of Bartlett and Patricia's original rampage. | |
| The Frighteners / int_a0c7f4e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a0c7f4e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_a0c7f4e9 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a10f3840 | type |
Heaven | |
| The Frighteners / int_a10f3840 | comment |
The souls of good people can still go to Heaven even if they're "killed" by Bartlett. | |
| The Frighteners / int_a10f3840 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a10f3840 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_a10f3840 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a4c37cbe | type |
Mood Whiplash | |
| The Frighteners / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash: To so great an extent that it comes off like two movies spliced together. There's a clear point in the movie where the whole thing shifts to a darker tone, but rolls with it into pitch-black humor. | |
| The Frighteners / int_a4c37cbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a4c37cbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_a4c37cbe | |
| The Frighteners / int_a551357f | type |
Evil Slinks | |
| The Frighteners / int_a551357f | comment |
Evil Slinks: The Grim Reaper, even once revealed to be Johnny, is humanoid most of the time, but can go all gooey and seep through cracks and crevasses. | |
| The Frighteners / int_a551357f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a551357f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_a551357f | |
| The Frighteners / int_a5a3ae2b | type |
Orifice Invasion | |
| The Frighteners / int_a5a3ae2b | comment |
Orifice Invasion: The gullet-tendrils of the "express bus to Hell" worm their way in and out of Johnny's eyes and mouth. | |
| The Frighteners / int_a5a3ae2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_a5a3ae2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_a5a3ae2b | |
| The Frighteners / int_aab6471d | type |
Not-So-Phony Psychic | |
| The Frighteners / int_aab6471d | comment |
Not-So-Phony Psychic: Frank uses his abilities to perform fake exorcisms. | |
| The Frighteners / int_aab6471d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_aab6471d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_aab6471d | |
| The Frighteners / int_adfd3165 | type |
For the Evulz | |
| The Frighteners / int_adfd3165 | comment |
For the Evulz: While real-life serial killers of the kind mentioned in the film (Bundy, Chikatilo, Starkweather) are driven by unnatural needs to exert power over people through death (and worse), Johnny Bartlett primarily... just wants to break the body count record of other serial killers. Or at least, that's his justification for how he exerts his power over others. | |
| The Frighteners / int_adfd3165 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_adfd3165 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_adfd3165 | |
| The Frighteners / int_b628db4c | type |
"Hey, You!" Haymaker | |
| The Frighteners / int_b628db4c | comment |
"Hey, You!" Haymaker: Frank says "Hey, asshole," when the ghostly reaper corners Lucy and is about to kill her, before he uses Hiles's machine guns to open fire on it. | |
| The Frighteners / int_b628db4c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_b628db4c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_b628db4c | |
| The Frighteners / int_b66a24a7 | type |
Trauma-Induced Amnesia | |
| The Frighteners / int_b66a24a7 | comment |
Trauma-Induced Amnesia: After his wife's death, Frank was found wandering around in the woods with no memory of what happened. | |
| The Frighteners / int_b66a24a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_b66a24a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_b66a24a7 | |
| The Frighteners / int_bbfaa837 | type |
Knight Templar | |
| The Frighteners / int_bbfaa837 | comment |
Knight Templar: Dammers, especially towards Frank. | |
| The Frighteners / int_bbfaa837 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_bbfaa837 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_bbfaa837 | |
| The Frighteners / int_bc1865fb | type |
Deader than Dead | |
| The Frighteners / int_bc1865fb | comment |
Deader than Dead: The "Grim Reaper" can kill people down to their souls, though all this does is force them to move on. | |
| The Frighteners / int_bc1865fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_bc1865fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_bc1865fb | |
| The Frighteners / int_bd2812b5 | type |
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence | |
| The Frighteners / int_bd2812b5 | comment |
Magda Rees-Jones, the editor-in-chief of the Fairwater Gazette who seems to have it out for Frank. If she hadn't been so eager to believe the absolute worst of him (and to get shrill and aggressive about it), she might have survived. Well, at least a little longer. Her desire to be a bitch is such that, even as she realizes she's dead and is ascending to the next plane, all she wants to do is scream at him. | |
| The Frighteners / int_bd2812b5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_bd2812b5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_bd2812b5 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c068a80f | type |
Resurrected Murderer | |
| The Frighteners / int_c068a80f | comment |
Resurrected Murderer: The Grim Reaper that is killing people turns out to be the ghost of an executed serial killer named Johnny Bartlett. His equally deranged girlfriend used Ouija Boards to summon him back from Hell, and now he's continuing his quest to become the most prolific murderer in history. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c068a80f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c068a80f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c068a80f | |
| The Frighteners / int_c0f6b6c4 | type |
Adrenaline Makeover | |
| The Frighteners / int_c0f6b6c4 | comment |
Adrenaline Makeover: Lucy goes from frumpy woman in an unhappy marriage to hot widow after her husband's death. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c0f6b6c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c0f6b6c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c0f6b6c4 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c3585f4a | type |
Boom, Headshot! | |
| The Frighteners / int_c3585f4a | comment |
Dammers, who had been hounding Frank throughout the film, gets his head blown off by Patricia. The best part of it is his ghost instantly appears, head sticking out of the stump of the corpse's neck with a very surprised expression on his face. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c3585f4a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c3585f4a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c3585f4a | |
| The Frighteners / int_c55c31e2 | type |
Non-Standard Character Design | |
| The Frighteners / int_c55c31e2 | comment |
Non-Standard Character Design: Johnny Bartlett's ghost is a darker blue than the other ghosts in the film. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c55c31e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c55c31e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c55c31e2 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c5835f29 | type |
Ghostly Goals | |
| The Frighteners / int_c5835f29 | comment |
Ghostly Goals: Of the omnicidal kind. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c5835f29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c5835f29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c5835f29 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
| The Frighteners / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Twisted In-Universe example: Bartlett compares his own body count to those of a few Real Life serial killers and mass murderers. | |
| The Frighteners / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_c75df49a | |
| The Frighteners / int_d39e327f | type |
What the Hell, Hero? | |
| The Frighteners / int_d39e327f | comment |
What the Hell, Hero?: In the Director's Cut, The Judge gives Frank one of these after Frank cuts into a funeral procession. | |
| The Frighteners / int_d39e327f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_d39e327f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_d39e327f | |
| The Frighteners / int_d6519b1b | type |
Rabid Cop | |
| The Frighteners / int_d6519b1b | comment |
Rabid Cop: Milton starts to rile Frank's goat from the very first second he starts to interrogate him for no damn good reason, tries to shoot him when he's escaping the police station, and chases after him with an Uzi at the climax. | |
| The Frighteners / int_d6519b1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_d6519b1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_d6519b1b | |
| The Frighteners / int_d9779053 | type |
Plato Is a Moron | |
| The Frighteners / int_d9779053 | comment |
Plato Is a Moron: Bartlett's only reason to become a mass murderer in life and in death (other than because he can) is so he can boast of having the greatest body count ever to the other serial killers in Hell. His last words before being executed were even: "I got me 12 [kills], sir, one more than [Charles] Starkweather!" | |
| The Frighteners / int_d9779053 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_d9779053 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_d9779053 | |
| The Frighteners / int_dca70c44 | type |
Reasonable Authority Figure | |
| The Frighteners / int_dca70c44 | comment |
Reasonable Authority Figure: Sheriff Perry. Though obviously befuddled by dealing with a Serial Killer he can't fight, he knows Frank knows his stuff, often allows Frank to do what he must, and is highly resistant to Dammers's attempts to pile everything on him. | |
| The Frighteners / int_dca70c44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_dca70c44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_dca70c44 | |
| The Frighteners / int_dddc0035 | type |
Wormsign | |
| The Frighteners / int_dddc0035 | comment |
Wormsign: The walls and floor of Patricia's house buckle and distort as the Big Bad ghost chases her along the hallways. Presumably, it's a lover's spat. | |
| The Frighteners / int_dddc0035 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_dddc0035 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_dddc0035 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e0789c2a | type |
Your Head A-Splode | |
| The Frighteners / int_e0789c2a | comment |
Your Head A-Splode: When Dammers gets shot, his head is blown off instantly. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e0789c2a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e0789c2a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e0789c2a | |
| The Frighteners / int_e132a621 | type |
Fluffy Cloud Heaven | |
| The Frighteners / int_e132a621 | comment |
Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Heaven is portrayed this way in the final act. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e132a621 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e132a621 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e132a621 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e431c24c | type |
Not Quite Dead | |
| The Frighteners / int_e431c24c | comment |
Not Quite Dead: Frank's plan to confront the ghostly Reaper involves deliberate flat-lining in order to fight as a ghost. Both times, he's thankfully able to revive before it becomes permanent. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e431c24c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e431c24c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e431c24c | |
| The Frighteners / int_e4bf37d8 | type |
Healthy in Heaven | |
| The Frighteners / int_e4bf37d8 | comment |
Healthy in Heaven: Cyrus and Stu both appear healthy and happy after their ghostly forms are "killed" and they're finally sent up to Heaven. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e4bf37d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e4bf37d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e4bf37d8 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5421161 | type |
Expy | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5421161 | comment |
Expy: Bartlett and Patricia of Charles Starkweather and Carli Ann Fugate. A clear case of Expy Coexistence since Bartlett mentions Starkweather several times and seems the most proud of beating his bodycount. Less directly, Magda can be seen as a variation of J. Jonah Jameson, considering that she condemns Frank's actions even before he starts trying to be a better person. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5421161 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5421161 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e5421161 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e54326a2 | type |
Hell | |
| The Frighteners / int_e54326a2 | comment |
Bartlett and Patricia meet a gruesome "end" when they take the express bus to Hell. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e54326a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e54326a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e54326a2 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5467735 | type |
Expy Coexistence | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5467735 | comment |
Bartlett and Patricia of Charles Starkweather and Carli Ann Fugate. A clear case of Expy Coexistence since Bartlett mentions Starkweather several times and seems the most proud of beating his bodycount. | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5467735 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_e5467735 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_e5467735 | |
| The Frighteners / int_ebe5d89c | type |
Disco Dan | |
| The Frighteners / int_ebe5d89c | comment |
Disco Dan: Cyrus, who died during The '70s and is dressed appropriately. | |
| The Frighteners / int_ebe5d89c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_ebe5d89c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_ebe5d89c | |
| The Frighteners / int_ec9a5f50 | type |
Deconstructed Character Archetype | |
| The Frighteners / int_ec9a5f50 | comment |
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Milton Dammers is a deconstruction of the Agent Mulder, in that his decision to pursue any and all "odd" cases the FBI tosses at him (mostly to get him out of their hair, it's implied) ended with him being driven pretty much insane, scarred, and unable to determine what is actually useful when it comes to analyzing the details of a supernatural case (notice that when he tells Lucy about what happened to Frank's wife, he gets caught up on numerology after telling how many blades Frank bought, for example), hence his assumption that Frank is a killer psychic. The real Mulder would have at least pretended to believe Frank's story of a killer ghost if that would lead to Bluffing the Murderer or arresting him harmlessly, but Milton actually keeps deliberately trying to piss Frank off. | |
| The Frighteners / int_ec9a5f50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_ec9a5f50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_ec9a5f50 | |
| The Frighteners / int_eff83d77 | type |
Mundane Utility | |
| The Frighteners / int_eff83d77 | comment |
Mundane Utility: Frank uses his power to make a living as a con man. | |
| The Frighteners / int_eff83d77 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_eff83d77 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_eff83d77 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f237981e | type |
The Alleged Car | |
| The Frighteners / int_f237981e | comment |
The Alleged Car: Frank's "pus-yellow" Volvo junker. | |
| The Frighteners / int_f237981e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f237981e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_f237981e | |
| The Frighteners / int_f2a167fe | type |
Lamprey Mouth | |
| The Frighteners / int_f2a167fe | comment |
Lamprey Mouth: The "express bus to Hell" that engulfs Bartlett and Patricia manifests as a gigantic worm with hundreds of lamprey-mouthed tendrils in its gullet. | |
| The Frighteners / int_f2a167fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f2a167fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_f2a167fe | |
| The Frighteners / int_f6f2ff1 | type |
Insult Backfire | |
| The Frighteners / int_f6f2ff1 | comment |
Insult Backfire: Frank and Dammers when the latter releases Johnny's ashes. | |
| The Frighteners / int_f6f2ff1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f6f2ff1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_f6f2ff1 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f96f188c | type |
Drives Like Crazy | |
| The Frighteners / int_f96f188c | comment |
Drives Like Crazy: Frank, when he tries to save Magda Rees-Jones from becoming the ghostly reaper's next victim, which only makes him look crazy to the editor who already hated him for his reputation as a fraud. He does drive pretty badly every time he's in his car. He takes his eyes off the road to paw at his business cards and nearly hits a funeral procession, and when he chases the Grim Reaper, he drives so badly that even the Judge (who is already dead) looks freaked out. And of course, he had a fight with his wife while driving that ended with a crash and him getting Psychic Powers (although it was Bartlett and Patty who killed his wife). | |
| The Frighteners / int_f96f188c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_f96f188c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_f96f188c | |
| The Frighteners / int_fe0330fb | type |
Brick Joke | |
| The Frighteners / int_fe0330fb | comment |
Brick Joke: Cyrus complains about not being able to get new clothes or a cigar. In Heaven, he's seen with a cigar and a new suit. | |
| The Frighteners / int_fe0330fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_fe0330fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_fe0330fb | |
| The Frighteners / int_name | type |
ItemName | |
| The Frighteners / int_name | comment |
||
| The Frighteners / int_name | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners / int_name | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Frighteners | hasFeature |
The Frighteners / int_name | |
| The Frighteners / int_name | itemName |
The Frighteners |
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