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Movies / On DVD / The Messengers
The Messengers

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The Messengers (2007)

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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

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Reviews for The Messengers

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Gaping plot holes, a tacked-on ending and a twist that belongs in a different movie.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/03/07
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Derivative but enjoyable horror flick with stylish direction, an intriguing mystery and strong performances from its cast.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/05/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Many of the images feel over-familiar, and the shocks a mite too forced.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/05/07
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's pretty ordinary genre stuff.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/07/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's like a movie premonition — you've seen it all before.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/06/07
Simon Crook
Simon Crook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even though The Messengers turns out to be deeply and irrevocably flawed, it's still the best movie Ghost House has released to date

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 1 Comment
02/05/07
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

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.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/02/07
Alex Markerson
Alex Markerson
E! Online

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

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/05/07
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Sadly, the movie just doesn't deliver chills.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/07/07
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader

While [the Pangs] display some of the visual style that has distinguished their Asian films, nothing could compensate for the derivative, ill-plotted script.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
02/11/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Yet not even the Pang brothers' sense of panache can redeem what is a lame script by Mark Wheaton.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
04/21/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

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.

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
05/05/08
Brian Holcomb
Brian Holcomb
CinemaBlend.com

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.

Full Review Source: OhmyNews.com | comment Comment
02/02/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
OhmyNews.com

The real message to be learned from The Messengers is that audiences need something new to scare them, not the same old ghosts.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
02/06/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO

A film so filled with clichés of the genre and plot points so dumb that even a novice would end up laughing.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
01/04/08
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Relies way too much on cheap, nerve-jangling sound effects and musical stings to juice up the film's tepid, PG-13 proceedings.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
02/22/07
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

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.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
02/02/07
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

No one says, "Gimme the bat, Wendy," or, "Here's Johnny!" But they come close.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/03/07
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Arizona Republic

The scares have been booby-trapped brilliantly throughout it.

Full Review Source: Moviehole | comment Comment
06/18/07
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

The most frightening aspect of the film is that it will soon be haunting the bargain bins of shoddy video stores.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
02/02/07
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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