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When a serial killer reaches out from beyond the grave and, in the guise of the Grim Reaper, embarks on a New England killing spree, it is up to a hapless young man with special powers, aided by some friendly earthbound spirits, to stop him. Original. Movie tie-in. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"The woman's eyes were ablaze, and blood was dripping from the knife. . . as she walked away from Dammer's corpse."
He may be a legend now, but there was a time when Peter Jackson was just a guy trying to make the movies that he liked to watch.And he started out making gore and horror movies.Breaking out of this genre, he made the landmark psychological crime story Heavenly Creatures; he then made The Frighteners, which would be his last movie until The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen Edition) five years later."Heavenly Creatures" got critical raves, but you would have thought that Jackson had then mooned a busload of schoolgirls by the reaction that he got with "The Frighteners".Too bad.Too bad for them."The Frighteners" was a funny, and suspenseful flick that I saw after my brother recommended it.I didn't even know that there had been a novelization published until recently, and I ordered it from Amazon.

Most of us read novelizations for any number of reason, but the most common seems to be that we want to re-live the movie experience, but in a different manner.Most novelizations are written from the original script and are written simultaneously with the shooting of the movie, so while they will have the same source material, the movie and novelization can both end up being completely different products.And "The Frighteners" is one of those that end up being different than the movie.As this review progresses there will spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book.There will also be references to things that might be confusing to those who haven't seen the movie.

For those who haven't seen the movie, it, and the book, starts off with an attention grabbing set piece as the Bartlett House and its occupants are being terrorized by a violent specter.The same haunt that is serially killing people in Fairwater.We then quickly switch to a rainy funeral where Frank Bannister, with his typical lack of class, is trying to pump up support for his business.Bannister is a sleazy second tier psychic.He sees dead people, and he saw them a long time before Haley Joel Osment did, and he's trying to pay the rent by being a medium.He gets tossed out of the funeral, and on the way home he skids through the meticulously kept front yard of Ray Lynsky, much to Ray's verbose and belligerent disconcertment.

Meanwhile his wife, the newly minted young doctor Lucy Lynsky is substituting for Dr. Kamins, who is at a funeral (see above).One of her stops is the Bartlett House, whose occupants are Mrs. Bartlett and her daughter Patricia, who once was the sidekick of a famous mass-murderer, and who Mrs. Bartlett has been watching over since the early sixties.

Until the halfway mark, this novelization is pretty much on the money, with everything intact, including Bannister having the four ghostly sidekicks of the black disco disaster Cyrus, the white nerd (Stuart), the old coot (Judge), and the hound dog Rustler.But, after the halfway mark, the story starts out on a different path.The plot is essentially the same, but there are some real differences in the story itself.If you've seen the movie then you know the fate of Judge, and his heroic second death.His fate is completely different here, as is where he meets it.The same is true of the fate of Special Agent Milton Dammers.And there are different things in the book than there are in the movie; the whole fight in the graveyard is different, and the graveyard has TWO guardians instead of just one.

Still, these are the reasons why we read novelizations; we get a glimpse of what the pre-shooting script was like.However, just between you and me, and don't let it leak to Jahn, the movie's improvements on the original script were better than Jahn's adapted version.The whole section where Bannister is chasing Death to the graveyard just doesn't work in the book, though it does in the movie.

Another thing that the movie had besides script improvements, is a sense of humor.The movie was state-of-the-art entertainment, with great special effects, AND a sense of humor.You could be thrilled one minute and laughing the next.Jahn's version seems to be humor free.

Jahn's novelization, while professionally done, clearly reads like it was speed written.We get gaffs like Dammer's hand is NEARLY sliced off, when it is NEATLY sliced off, and in the freezer scene we are told that Bannister is "frozen solid".Eh?Say what?No, he was not cryogenically frozen, you can't revive a totally frozen body.

As you read this, once again you are reminded how essential actors can be to filling out a screen character.As the novel progresses you realize that you will never know what any of the characters look like, and you realize just how much Michael J. Fox, John Astin, Jeffery Combs, Jake Busey, and Dee Wallace Stone just owned their characters.It could be an awesome experience just watching them chew up the scenery.Combs, Busey, and Wallace in particular just demolished all that stood before them.And none of that is really here.

All-in-all, this is not a book for the casual movie or horror fan.It is only a book for a true fan of the movie, as you can see that the finished movie product is far superior to the original script.

For this site I have also reviewed these other movie novelizations:

"Barb Wire": Novelisation
Ju-On
Ju-On Volume 2
Mutant Chronicles
Rabid ... Read more

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Here are 25 walks in the Lammermuir, Moorfoot and Tweedsmuir Hills, an area steeped in history and legend. It is a land of bright waters, wide moorland, rounded hills and forested glens. The walks lead to ancient burial grounds, prehistoric hill forts and romantic Border abbeys, as well as the haunts of Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg and John Buchan around the Tweed and Ettrick valleys and St Mary's Loch. This new edition brings the walker fully up-to-date with new developments in the area, including walks linked to the Southern Upland Way and recently opened routes in this paradise for ramblers. The 25 Walks books are practical guides and attractive souvenirs. Written by experienced authors, they can be used with confidence. The carefully selected local walks are accompanied by easy-to-use maps and colour photographs. ... Read more

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With racism on the increase across Europe, and nationalist divisions proliferating throughout the world, "Constructions of Race, Place and Nation" offers a perspective on debates of crucial contemporary significance. Taking as its starting point the idea that "race" and "nation" are social constructions rather than natural phenomena, the book provides a sustained analysis of how these constructions vary from place to place. Covering a range of issues from nation-building, immigration and refugee policy, through land rights and housing issues, to education and policing, the book includes material from Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States. All of the authors are well versed in current social theory and they provide evidence from their own empirical research. They all employ a social constructionist approach without slavishly following a common agenda. As geographers, they share an interest in the spatial constitution of social life and in the territorial expression of racist and nationalist ideologies.; "Constructions of Race, Place and Nation" is intended for social and cultural geographers with an interest in "race" and place. It should also be of interest to political geographers, as well as social and political scientists with interests in nationalism and ethnic relations.; Peter Jackson is author of "Maps of Meaning" 1989.; This book is intended for students, researchers and libraries in race and ethnic studies throughout the social sciences. Interest will be particularly strong among social geographers. ... Read more

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This is the first comprehensive management guide for hospital doctors since the NHS reforms. It recognizes the need for clinicians to become involved in management issues and offers them a continuing structure and source of ideas. It is a source of reference for clinical doctors and any other doctors with an interest in or involvement with management at any level. It also give doctors in training a solid background as they prepare for a consultant appointment. The full range of management issues that may be raised at interview for hospital consultants' posts are encompassed. The book combines detailed practical guidance with a wider framework within which to analyse and assess current management challenges in NHS hospitals. It draws on the expertise of a wider range of senior hospital doctors who have management experience in clinical directorates and service, highlighting particular problems they encountered and the methods they employed to resolve them. This is an authoritative guide for senior management to medical thinking about the challenges facing hospital management.Their close working partnerships with consultants is essential for the success of the hospital and the well-being of its patients. ... Read more

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How do Asian cultures construct queer genders, sexualities, and eroticism?

Gay and Lesbian Asia demonstrates the astonishing diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered identities in countries including Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Although many Asian cultures borrow the language of the West when discussing queerness, the attitudes, relationships, and roles described are quite different.

Gay and Lesbian Asia discusses cultural issues as well as the unique political position of gays in Asian societies. For example, the Thai concept of phet--eroticized gender--is quite different from the Western view that classifies people by the sex of the partners they desire, not by their level of masculine or feminine traits. Similarly, some gay and lesbian Chinese people “come home” rather than “come out.” By bringing their partners into the extended family, they can maintain the filial relationships that define them while being able to love whom they choose.

The essays in Gay and Lesbian Asia cover a broad range of approaches and subjects:

• globalization theory exploring the political and cultural ramifications of the Western gay identity movement
• Foucauldian discourse on sexuality and sharply distinct erotic cultures
• political and cultural analyses of gay and lesbian comradeship and filial relationships in Chinese societies
• research on the “T” and “po” lesbians (similar to butch and femme) in Malaysian bars
• the formation of gay cybercommunities in Asia
• the effects of class distinctions on Jakarta lesbians
• studies of local historical forms of homoeroticism and transgenderism
  
  Gay and Lesbian Asia continues Haworth's landmark series of books on gay and lesbian issues in Asia and Australia. Along with Tongzhi: Politics of Same-Sex Eroticism in Chinese Societies; Queer Asian Cinema; Multicultural Queer: Australian Narratives; Gays and Lesbians in Asia and the Pacific; and Lady Boys, Tom Boys, Rent Boys: Male and Female Homosexualities in Contemporary Thailand, this book presents some of the most original, powerful current thought available on cultural, political, sexual, and gender issues for queer subcultures within Asian cultures.

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This manual covers the skills and techniques required to carry out effective market research. It provides advice and case studies, and is aimed at owners and managers of smaller businesses, public sector managers, and anyone undertaking market research for the first time. ... Read more

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Explores what silicon chips are, how they work, how they are designed and made, the different types of chips, and future development of chip technology. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on April 1, 1999. The length of the article is 876 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Court of the Il-khans, 1290-1340.(Review)
Author: Peter (New Zealander movie director) Jackson
Publication: The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1999
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: 119Issue: 2Page: 332

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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France and the Nazi Menace examines the French response to the challenge posed by National Socialist Germany in the years 1933-1939. Dr Jackson argues that the German threat was far from the only challenge facing French national leaders in an era of economic depression and profound ideological discord. Only after the national humiliation at the Munich Conference did the threat from Nazi Germany take precedence over France's internal problems in the making of policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A rare brilliant mind
I am prejudiced against French intelligence. When I lived in France, for about thirty years, we were more concerned about leaks of secrets outside than about the quality of the inputs. So I was not keen to read on the subject. It is important, however: if France had had a different attitude, WWII would not have been the horror that it was.
This is an excellent book, not just well documented: it is also very smart. I have not seen clear thinking like this since...George Bernard Shaw. And that was half a century ago. ... Read more

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This is an overview of the privatization process, drawing upon UK and international experience. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed throughout. It discusses regulation, deregulation, contracting out and internal markets and examines the theory, the promises and reality of privatization. The book is aimed at undergraduate business and economics students taking specialized options on privatization as well as public sector economics. ... Read more

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The Asian elephant is unique, being the only species of wild animal that, after a few months of teaching by man, behaves towards him with patience and understanding. This touching relationship between man and elephant in Asia from time immemorial sends strong conservation impulses through governments, decision-makers, and the general public. The Asian elephant is in grave danger. The surviving population in the wild is only a tenth of that of the African elephant, on which so much attention has been focused in recent years.

The greatest threat to the Asian elephant is habitat loss and the pressures of human population, which have already reduced the Asian elephant's range to a small fraction of its past area. Domesticated for several thousand years, the Asian elephant is still proving its value in forest industries. It has an important historical role in religion and culture throughout the region. Reconciling conservation of the Asian elephant with human interests has to be given the highest priority. This is the aim of this Action Plan. ... Read more