The 1996 cult classic ‘The Frighteners’ almost made an unexpected comeback. It turns out that Charlize Theron‘s Denver and Delilah Productions was looking into turning the movie into an ongoing series. Originally created to be a sequel to ‘Tales From the Crypt,’ the film was a bit of a dud which is a surprise since it was directed by Peter Jackson and starred Michael J. Fox. The movie also included performances by Jake Busey, Dee Wallace, Jeffrey Combs, and the late R. Lee Ermey.
The premise for the film is that Fox’s character found out that he could speak with the dead. Like any good, upstanding citizen, he wanted to use this ability for good! Well, the good of his own wallet as he was conning people with it. It was absolutely a fun and entertaining film though that wasn’t the direction the new series would go.
The idea is that it could be “stripped of humor” is a concept that was being developed over the past year at Denver and Delilah Productions. It sounds as if there were talks of a movie as well. All of this work fell flat as it has been revealed by a source that the development was canceled “due to complicated rights issues.”
Unless the rights issue gets straightened out, it doesn’t seem that Denver and Delilah Productions will be able to move forward with the show. While the concept could be fun to see without the humor element, you have to wonder why they aren’t trying to create something new instead of remake an existing property in the first place.
Would you have been open to an ongoing series or new film based on ‘The Frighteners’? Do you feel that having it “stripped of humor” would create something that would better resonate with today’s audiences? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Bloody-Disgusting
