Volunteers vs. The Frighteners

Skottula

on 4/24/2012

Both of these movies are easily forgotten when looking back on the many roles in the careers of their stars, Michael J. Fox and Tom Hanks. I really appreciated Fox for doing something like this, while he had done light horror comedy before with Teen Wolf, this was something a little bit different and still played very well, a credit to the film making of Peter Jackson. However, Volunteers just stacked the box with things that made it amazing, pairing Hanks, in his comedy prime, with John Candy, a great script and a supporting cast that just made the whole thing click. For Hanks' early career, almost no movie is more enjoyable to me than Volunteers. I enjoyed the throwaway lines, the misdirections and just about everything else about the movie. The Frighteners, while solid, can't compete.