The Frighteners
Great High Concept Destroyed by poor Plot
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$14 – 18MM V $16MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
1.24 – 1.49%
Script Score
0.04
The Frighteners is a 1996 supernatural comedy film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The story follows a conman who uses his psychic abilities to overcome a demonic spirit. The story explores basic human desires of honour, power, accumulation & vengeance. Mythosis uses 5 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of The Frighteners
1A. The script of The Frighteners borrows 90% of its events from 5 mythological tales
Frank’s quest is driven by the desire to own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Frank give up their selfish endeavours to help others.
Lucy’s quest is driven by the desire to serve one’s clan or order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Lucy loyally serve a person fighting a social evil. The latter half of Hanuman’s quest is mirrored by Frank.
Johnny’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology. Both Ravan & Johnny are left to die by their envious brothers.
Every human desire has two quests - a fulfilled one and also an unfulfilled one. The Frighteners uses both quests for the desire to dominate others. Patricia mirrors part of the fulfilled quest whereas Johnny mirrors the unfulfilled quest.
Patricia’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe & Patricia create a façade to dupe others.
Dammers’ quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Dammers pursue wrongdoers to avenge themselves.
Ray has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire to protect loved ones.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 3,613,192
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, Circe, Ravan, Duryodhan & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of The Frighteners' plot structure: $14 – 18MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of The Frighteners
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Frighteners uses 5 universal quests. One each of Accumulation, Honour, Vengeance and both quests of Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Frank mirrors the quest of Accumulation & Honour. Lucy mirrors the quest of Honour. Johnny & Patricia each mirror the two universal quests of Power. Dammers mirror the universal quest of Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Frank borrows 33% from the universal quest of Accumulation & 12% from the quest of Honour. Lucy mirrors 10% from the universal quest of Honour. Johnny borrows 9% of events from the unfulfilled quest for Power whereas Patricia borrows 12% of events from the fulfilled quest for Power. Dammers borrows 9% from the universal quest of Vengeance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The Frighteners has a quest interweaving score of 0.33 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Lucy & Dammers:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Frighteners
The Frighteners’ plot structure reveals inconsistency in quests, shallow quests and lack of interweaving that creates serious gaps in the script.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.04
Audience appeal
1.24 – 1.49%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of The Frighteners
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Frank mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Frank’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
Quest 2: Lucy mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Lucy’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve ones’ clan/ order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Johnny mirrors the universal quest for Power
Johnny’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal unfulfilled quest for Power.
Quest 4: Patricia partially mirrors the universal quest for Power
Johnny’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal fulfilled quest for Power.
Quest 5: Dammers mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Dammers’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The Frighteners’ plot structure is disjointed due to shallow quests that adversely affects the cohesiveness of the story.
The inconsistency of the lead character further mars the script.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The Frighteners’ plot is a subset of blockbuster plot structure # 3,613,192. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Valmiki, Circe, Ravan, Duryodhan & Hanuman.
Contact us for The Frighteners’ plot structure # 3,613,192
Tags: Duryodhan, Ravan, Valmiki, Circe, Hanuman, Vengeance, Power, Accumulation, Honour, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Universal Pictures, 1996