Peter Jackson’s Underrated Horror-Comedy Starring Michael J. Fox Finally Streaming

The Frighteners, a fan-favorite horror-comedy from The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox, is headed to Peacock just in time for spooky season. Over the last few years, Peacock has become a great home for horror content in the fall, with the last two Halloween movies streaming on the platform right alongside their theatrical releases. This year, there’s no Halloween in time for Halloween, but there are a number of great horror and genre movies coming to the platform in September and October.

In the film, Fox stars as a paranormal investigator who has the genuine ability to see and interact with ghosts, though he exploits those gifts to scam customers by clearing houses of fake hauntings. The film marked Jackson’s first foray into delivering a genre film with a major studio, following a number of more indie efforts. To pull off the effects of The Frighteners, Jackson had to learn how to work well with digital effects. The success of the visuals emboldened Jackson to pursue the development of The Lord of the Rings films.

The Frighteners has been available to buy ever since its original VHS release, but this is its first time streaming free online at a major subscription service, although it has been available on the free, advertising supported streamer Tubi TV since 2021, according to social media posts made at the time. In 2019, a remake or reimagining of The Frighteners was rumored, but seems to have been quietly cancelled at this point.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Frighteners, as described by Vudu: 

In the sleepy little town of Fairwater, a monstrous evil has awakened…an evil so powerful, its reach extends beyond the grave. Director Peter Jackson and Executive Producer Robert Zemeckis unleash a riveting thriller with the most spectacular special effects this side of the hereafter. For Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox), death is a great way to make a living: ridding haunted houses of their “unwelcome” guests. But he’s in cahoots with the very ghosts he promises to evict! It’s the perfect scam…until Frank finds himself at the center of a dark mystery. A diabolical spirit is on a murderous rampage, and the whole town believes Frank is behind it. Boasting music by Danny Elfman and co-starring Trini Alvarado, Jeffrey Combs and John Astin, this supernatural chiller is so fiendishly entertaining, it’s scary!