The Messengers (2007) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

USA 2007
Director: Pang Brothers
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Evan Turner, Jodelle Ferland
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: February 2nd 2007
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

The Movie Review

We here have the habit of seeing a movie as a stand alone movie despite it's comprises of many ideas borrowed from other movies. What we seek for is entertainment value, even though we give much credit to movies with genuine ideas and excellent filmmaking techniques. Take for example, Jaws (1975) and its definite rip-off-to-the-very-core-of-it Grizzly (1976). Both managed to impress their respective audiences. The Messengers is a horror movie undoubtedly built upon several ideas from other movies, but the fact is it could deliver the entertainment that people were looking for when entering the cinema. Enough good scares to make you jump out of your seat and a good movie for the first date. Tee hee :-) many girls were seen grabbing


The MESSENGERS
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

and holding to their boyfriend/hubby's arms.

The Solomon family is moving to a rather quite area to an old farm house to tackle some family problems. Mainly Roy (Dylan McDermott) and his wife Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) have financial problems due to Roy long unemployment, which is worsen by an accident caused by their daughter, Jess (Kristen Stewart) resulting in her little brother (Evan Turner/Theodore Turner) mute condition. This tragedy leaves Jess parents having a hard time trusting her. It's a sad thing because in their new house Jess starts to see some horrible things, but she's not alone, Ben also sees that creepy bloody figures, but he can't tell anyone directly. When Jess has bruises because of the supernatural activity in their house, her parents are getting more angrier, thinking of her doing something extreme to get their attention. Neither of them would be prepared for the real deal. What is happening in that house? Does it have a tragic past? What will happen to the Solomon?

The Messengers' storyline and premise is very basic of the basic. A family moving to a haunted house, havoc ensues, screams heard, drama played, the end. But you know what, Pang Brothers are adept filmmakers in this supernatural horror realm. Their resume including the top-notch excellent The Eye (2002). Their directing is very good and they know the moment where to scare its audiences. The Messengers seemingly strongly borrowed ideas from movies like The Birds (1963), although that Alfred Hitchcock's film has inspired a long line of movies, and also from Japanese Ringu (1998), Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) and arguably also from 'I see dead people' movie The Sixth Sense (1999). Those movies were excellent movies, so if the ideas executed correctly, the result is good. Especially if you haven't seen those movies. Unfortunately this horror film from the Pang Brothers has many plot holes and rather stupid if you care enough to nitpick the flaws which... although I think general moviegoers would Not. But what I really don't like is the forced ending, it's extremely cop-out and it's the cliché part that I really hate, it's like the writers say "okay let's end the movie" and bam! There you go, a rather crappy ending. But, at least the acting is decent and I always like to see Penelope Ann Miller, the sunflower field is also beautiful by the way.

The Messengers is not a thought-provoking one, in fact mostly the scares are cheap scares from the critics' standpoint, and it uses the moth-eaten formula of 'parents-don't-believe-their-kids-seeing-ghosts'. But heck did I enjoy that scares or what! From where I was standing, I got good scares, nice cheese-flavor popcorns, and clutching-to-my-arm girlfriend. What's so bad about that? Besides without any of that, The Messengers still could scare you, and if a horror movie could scare people, then that's a one good horror film.

Haunted house..., care to visit? The Others (2001), The Amityville Horror (2005) and The Messengers DTV sequel haunted farm Messengers 2: The Scarecrow (2009).

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
posted: Mar 24th 2010 03:48 pm