Gaping plot holes, a tacked-on ending and a twist that belongs in a different movie.
The Messengers (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:9
Rotten:72
Average Rating:3.6/10
Consensus: The Messengers is an atmospheric but derivative rip-off of countless other horror movies.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for mature thematic material, disturbing violence and terror.
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:06-04-2007
Synopsis: Twin filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang's creepy 2003 feature THE EYE earned them enough kudos to make the leap to Hollywood, and their first effort is the creepy chiller THE MESSENGERS. A... Twin filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang's creepy 2003 feature THE EYE earned them enough kudos to make the leap to Hollywood, and their first effort is the creepy chiller THE MESSENGERS. A Chicago-based family comprised of Roy (Dylan McDermott), his wife, Denise (Penelope Ann Miller), their teenage daughter, Jess (Kristen Stewart), and young son, Ben (played by twins Evan and Theodore Turner) try to put the hard times behind them with a move to a picturesque farmhouse in North Dakota. Jess quickly becomes convinced that the house is haunted after some peculiar occurrences while she's alone there with young Ben. But Ben can't articulate what he's seen, and Jess's story is met with skepticism by her parents. It soon becomes apparent that past family tensions are slowly boiling to the surface. Meanwhile, the ghosts keep coming, and the Pang brothers never keep their audience waiting for long before another nerve-jangling scene shudders into view. But as the ghosts torment their new residents, Jess does a little research on the old farmhouse and discovers a few secrets that may just hold the key to why this is all happening. Packed full of CGI effects and a few moments that may cause a jump or two, THE MESSENGERS is a horror movie aimed at a young audience and not horror aficionados, as indicated by its PG-13 rating. [More]
Starring: Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Kristen Stewart
Starring: Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Kristen Stewart
Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Screenwriter: Todd Farmer
Producer: Sam Raimi, William Sherak, Jason Shuman, Rob Tapert
Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for The Messengers
Derivative but enjoyable horror flick with stylish direction, an intriguing mystery and strong performances from its cast.
Many of the images feel over-familiar, and the shocks a mite too forced.
Even though The Messengers turns out to be deeply and irrevocably flawed, it's still the best movie Ghost House has released to date
The message of this creepy-ghost thriller is that no matter how talented the Hong Kong filmmakers may be, they'll invariably be forced to make their first American movie an unimpressive, generic creepy-ghost thriller.
the running motif of crows run amok has too much of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS about it to stand on its own, even in the Pang's capable hands. Then again, any script that dared use that motif was setting itself up for a fall, and that's exactly what it got
While [the Pangs] display some of the visual style that has distinguished their Asian films, nothing could compensate for the derivative, ill-plotted script.
Yet not even the Pang brothers' sense of panache can redeem what is a lame script by Mark Wheaton.
Patchwork filmmaking designed by a corporate mentality devoted only to the defense of the lowest common denominator. The viewer is assumed to be stupid and easily duped.
For every one moment of genuinely built suspense, the Pang Brothers chase it with at least three follow-up scenes of either out-loud stupidity or baffling tedium.
The real message to be learned from The Messengers is that audiences need something new to scare them, not the same old ghosts.
A film so filled with clichés of the genre and plot points so dumb that even a novice would end up laughing.
Relies way too much on cheap, nerve-jangling sound effects and musical stings to juice up the film's tepid, PG-13 proceedings.
It isn't until the end that things spin out of control. No one says 'Gimme the bat, Wendy' or 'Here's Johnny!' But they come close.
No one says, "Gimme the bat, Wendy," or, "Here's Johnny!" But they come close.
The most frightening aspect of the film is that it will soon be haunting the bargain bins of shoddy video stores.
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