(1996)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace, Jake Busey, Chi McBride, Jim Fyfe, Troy Evans, Julianna McCarthy, R. Lee Ermey
Being a fan of Peter Jacskson since Bad Taste (1987) and Meet the Feebles (1989), I was very excited when I heard he was moving to the bigtime, directing his first Hollywood movie, even starring Michael J. Fox. Of course, also reading that genre faves Dee Wallace and Jeffrey Combs were being cast, I had even more hopes. While this film is more of a supernatural comedy than horror, it was still a fun ride, with some great performances. Now, returning to the film 30 years later, now in 4K from Arrow Video, will the film still hold up? You bet, it does!
When this was made, CGI was really still in its infancy but looking better all the time. With the amount of CGI shots in here, watching it now, some of the ghostly images do look cartoony at times. Honestly though, it didn’t affect my enjoyment. What Jackson, and co-writer Fran Walsh, have created is a wonderful cast of characters to bring this whimsical story to life. Fox plays a not-so-great character that uses his ability to see dead people to scam the living. Granted, he does have a past that caused him to be a bit anti-social and cynical towards life, which we learn about as the film goes on. But when a recent flurry of unexplained deaths starts to happen around town, the FBI sends in someone to investigate. Special Agent Dammers is probably one of the greatest characters in comedy/horror history, played by Jeffrey Combs. From his look, the way he moves, the way he talks, even getting lost in his own words at times, he makes this character so much fun to watch, even if he is not there to help our soon-to-be protagonist. When Fox starts to piece everything together, it’s up to him, and whoever else he can get to believe his strange tale to help win the day.
Dee Wallace plays Patricia Bradley, who we think is the innocent victim being tortured by a poltergeist. Again, genre legend Wallace shows why she is just that… a legend. Her character transition is fantastic to watch unfold onscreen. And of course, Jake Busey is pretty terrifying in a real-world sort of way. Troy Evans is a character actor that is usually just in the background in most films, but here has a little bit to chew on, making a very likable and memorable character.
While the CGI is a wee bit dated on the new 4K, the rest of the film looks just amazing. You get 2 versions of the film, the theatrical cut, which runs 110 minutes, and the director’s cut, which runs just over 2 hours. Both versions come in 4K and regular Blu-ray.
I remember renting the laserdisc special edition when that came out, where there was a huge documentary on the making of the film, which is brought over to this new release. One of the things I remembered loving about the laserdisc features were that in a lot of releases around that time, there would be either storyboards, production designs, stills, or whatever, that you had to step through to see them. What Jackson did was film each of these images so it would play through them, instead of having to always hit the step button. That same thing was transferred over and is in the part of documentary, that runs 4 ½ hours long, which covers pretty much all aspects production
There is a feature made in 2022, called No Way to Make a Living, that features director of photography John Blick, production designer Grant Major, editor James Selkirk, creature miniature effects supervisor Richard Taylor, visual effects artists We Takahashi, and actors Dee Wallace and Jake Busey. Unfortunately, this whole thing looks like it was done over Zoom meetings. The information and fun facts are still there, but honestly, it makes me feel like I’m at work!
There is also a conversation from 2022 with Richard Taylor, the miniature effects supervisor, as well as the introduction for the 10th anniversary that Jackson did for the laserdisc release, which is also where the audio commentary is from as well. Between the commentary, the super long archival documentary, as well as new zoom meeting one, there is a ton you will learn about the film, with a ton of behind scenes information.
If you’re a fan of this movie, then you’re going to want this new edition. The print looks just amazing, and with close to 6 hours of behind-the-scenes information, you’ll either learn a lot about the film, or it will be nice to remember some of the things we have forgotten since then.
