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[[Michael J. Fox]] is Frank Bannister, a fraudulent [[Who You Gonna Call?|freelance exorcist]] who's not ''quite'' as fraudulent as he appears. Having acquired the ability to [[I See Dead People|see and communicate with the dead]] after a tragic car accident that killed his wife years ago, Frank sends his three ghostly accomplices -- white n' nerdy Stuart, black swinger Cyrus and cowboy corpse The Judge -- to wreak paranormal havoc at the homes of wealthy clients-to-be. These people call Frank, he shows up to perform a phony exorcism, then leaves with the cash. He's the world's greatest con man...until dozens of perfectly healthy people in his hometown of Fairwater, Maine start dropping dead from cardiac arrest -- the very ''same'' people who suddenly acquired numbered tattoos on their foreheads that only Frank can see.
 
Soon after one of these victims, Ray Lynskey (Peter Dobson), becomes a ghost and pleadsbegs Frank to help him find his way toward [[Go Into the Light|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|scythe]] and all) 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 [[Deader Than Dead|even kill ghosts]] by forcing them to move on to the next world. Frank and Dr. [[Love Interest|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 [[The X-Files|Mulder]] and [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]) who believes that Frank is psychically killing the murder victims, and will go to [[Hell]] and back to see him brought to justice.
 
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* [[Abandoned Hospital]]: The finale, {{spoiler|the site of the killers' original rampage}}.
* [[Adam Westing]]: [[R. Lee Ermey]] as himself.
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* [[Disco Dan]]: Cyrus, who died during [[The Seventies]] and dresses appropriately.
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Frank}} who manages to be brought back in time before his death becomes permanent.
* [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]]: Lucy, with the exceptional moment when {{spoiler|she pretends to run from Frank to distract Dammers and sprays him with a fire extinguisher while he's about to shoot Frank}}.
* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: Hiles, as played by [[Adam Westing|R. Lee Ermey]].
* [[Drives Like Crazy]]: Frank, when he tries to save a newspaper editor 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.
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* [[Hospital Hottie]]: Lucy.
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]:
{{quote| "They don't call me the Hanging Judge for nothing!"}}
* [[Inspector Javert]]: Dammers.
* [[I See Dead People]]: Frank, {{spoiler|and when all is said and done, Lucy has gained this ability as well}}.
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* [[Nerds Are Sexy]]: Apparently in [[Heaven]], {{spoiler|Stu}}'s a regular [[Chick Magnet]].
* [[Not Quite Dead]]: {{spoiler|Frank's plan to confront the ghostly reaper involves deliberate flatlining in order to fight as a ghost. Both times, he's thankfully able to revive before it becomes permanent.}}
* [[Not -So -Phony Psychic]]: Frank uses his abilities to perfrom fake exorcisms.
* [[Obstructive Zealot]]: Dammers will stop at ''nothing'' to antagonize Frank at every step of the way.
* [[Occult Detective]]: Dammers and, to a lesser extent, Frank himself.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Horror Films]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:TheFilms FrightenersWith Recuts]]
[[Category:FilmWorks by Peter Jackson]]
[[Category:Cult Classic]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frighteners, The}}
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