MOSTLY GHOSTLY

As Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire sends a friendly chill through cinemas this week, here’s where you can swiftly stream more unexplained spectres scaring up a storm …

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Paramount+, Amazon ★★★★j

A young couple who believe their small apartment is haunted use cameras to capture what is going on while they are asleep. Slowly, but surely, things that go bump in the night become things that go thump on your pulse in this very effective lowbudget thriller. Much more going on than mere cheap thrills here. A few of the sequels (particularly No. 3) go just as good as the original. Stars Katie Featherstone, Micah Sloat.

THE FRIGHTENERS Binge, Foxtel ★★★kj

People have largely forgotten what NZ filmmaker Peter Jackson was getting up to before his timeless Lord of the Rings work. The Frighteners is not entirely a typical example – Jackson could really pile on the gore in his horrific heyday – but it is still as effective a blend of eerie thrills and straight-out laughs as you’ll ever hope to find. Michael J. Fox stars as a psychic swindler working in cahoots with some kooky spooks from “the other side”.

THE GRUDGE Netflix ★★★jj

A quality US remake of a classic Japanese scare-fest. An interlinked collection of stories include a cursed piece of real estate, a detective (Andrea Riseborough) who believes it might be the missing link in a series of unexplained killings, and some of the gruesome deaths sitting inside her bulky file of cold cases. Moves a little slow, but with consistent intent and unease. Co-stars John Cho, Jacki Weaver, Demian Bichir.