A spine-chilling film that masterfully intertwines horror and humour, featuring a Hollywood star who has since bowed out of acting, is set to air on Film4 tonight. The Frighteners, released in 1996, centres around Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox), an ex-architect who now masquerades as an exorcist of malevolent spirits.

To lend credibility to his fabricated profession, he attributes his “unique” ability to a car accident that claimed his wife’s life. However, he didn’t anticipate the string of deaths that would plague his small town. As he attempts to unravel the eerie mystery behind these fatalities, he finds himself falling for the wife (Trini Alvarado) of one of the victims while contending with an unhinged FBI agent (Jeffrey Combs).

Featuring Michael J. Fox of Back To The Future fame, this film marked director Peter Jackson’s breakthrough into horror-comedy and was also Fox’s last leading role before he withdrew from acting due to his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease, reports The Mirror.

Peter Jackson and co-writer Fran Walsh conceived the story from a Tales from the Crypt concept, but executive producer Robert Zemeckis saw its potential as a standalone film, directing Jackson to pen the script years before he would gain fame for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

The Frighteners garnered attention for its pioneering use of advanced CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) for tits ghosts, merging traditional effects with cutting-edge technology. Nearly three decades after its debut, it continues to captivate audiences.

Film review platform Rotten Tomatoes reveals glowing audience reactions, with one viewer commenting: “The Frighteners is absolutely bursting with the desire to entertain.”

Another contributor noted: “There’s not a boring moment in the film and almost every single scene adds new layers to the film’s multiple mysteries.”

A third reviewer enthused: “I’ve loved this movie. Ever since I was a kid, I never understood the hate, I thought it was awesome for its time. Michael J. Fox is awesome in it. It’s weird, funny and creepy at the same time. Overall it’s a cool movie, kinda [sic] gives off early ghostbuster vibes.”

One fan wrote: “Easily one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen. It’s an absolute shame how bad it did at the box office. The cast is excellent, the soundtrack is awesome and the humour totally works. Michael J. Fox is amazing, miss him in cinema.”

Another assessment read: “This has been a favorite since I first saw it when I was 12. Nearly 22 years later I can still enjoy it as much as I did all those years ago. It scared me back then but it’s funny as well.”

A further critique praised: “Peter Jackson creates another horror-comedy thrill house with The Frighteners. Michael J. Fox is fantastic, Jeffery Combs’ performance is unnervingly unforgettable, and the rest of the cast pulls off their performances without any problems. The special effects have aged a bit but don’t distract.

“The writing is often times witty with very funny dialogue but sometimes the rules of being ghosts isn’t always the clearest. If you want to see what Peter Jackson did before he took the world by storm with the Lord of the Ring” films, this might be his best offering.”

The Frighteners is on Film 4 at 9pm on Thursday January 8.