10 Craziest Ways Horror Movie Characters Have Returned From The Dead

9. The Frighteners - By "Being Happy"

The Lazarus Effect
Universal

While he had already directed offerings such as Bad Taste, Braindead, and Heavenly Creatures, it was 1996's The Frighteners that put Peter Jackson on the radar of many casual moviegoers. A horror-comedy headlined by Michael J. Fox, The Frighteners ticked so many of the right boxes on its way to becoming a true cult classic.

Jackson would become synonymous with The Lord of the Rings and his epic six movies set in that world, yet a certain section of people still hold The Frighteners on a pedestal as the New Zealand filmmaker's finest achievement.

After Jake Busey and Dee Wallace's twisted twosome are finally sent packing to Hell during the film's final acts, The Frighteners finds Michael J. Fox's Frank Bannister in the afterlife, talking to his deceased wife. It's a poignant, heartfelt moment, and it's the instructions of his dead partner which see Frank being able to return to the land of the living.

Angela Bloomfield's Debra instructs her husband to simply be happy. And with that, Frank is resurrected and able to move on with a life alongside his new partner, Lucy Lynskey.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.