Customer Reviews

The Messengers [UMD for PSP]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Most people have probably heard of the idea that babies and young children can see and hear things that older people can't, or have lost the ability to. That a baby in a crib gurgling and laughing at the ceiling, for example, is actually talking to a spirit there. It's a fascinating premise, whose application to a horror movie is a stroke of genius.

In "The Messengers" a family moves into an old farmhouse where something very bad once happened. Only Ben, the little toddler of the family, can see the supernatural prescences in the house, and he appears more delighted with them than afraid. When his teenage sister Jess also starts encountering unusual occurences - this time of an apparantly non-benevolent nature - she also begins noticing Ben's unusual behavior as well and realizes that he too is experiencing something out of the ordinary; the hard part after that is getting anybody else to take her seriously. The movie utilizes much more atmosphere than action, and the cast has to carry off a lot the show by reacting to very subtle (Most of the time), slow-paced, occurences, in a way that makes it feel real and frightening. The actors and actresses were well picked for their parts, and Kristen Stewart as Jess and twins Evan and Theodore Turner as Ben, playing the characters who experience most of the strangeness in the movie's early, slower-going, parts, are especially impressive. All the production values necessary to make this kind of atmosphere work - the light and shadows, the subtle use of sounds, the camerawork, etc. - are all handled very well too.

In the last one third or so of the movie, as things start to speed up and secrets come to light, I guess you could say that there were too broad directions it could have gone in, that it had to choose from. Myself, I would have chosen the route the movie didn't take, but it handles the path it chooses so well that it avoids slumping into a letdown. (I am still curious, though, what it would have been like if they had gone that other way) It's worth noting that when it ended I was rather taken aback that it was over so quick. Its running time is something like 85 minutes, but it felt like it came it at under an hour - and that's even in light of the slowly building pace it maintained. It must have been doing something pretty right to make time fly like that (on the other hand, I've seen other movies of about the same length that seem to drag on for hours). "Messengers" could have actually been quite a bit longer without hurting itself one bit; and as good as the ending turned out to be it may have been even better if it had gone on that different turn, but there's no point in complaining with something this good. Highly, highly recommended for fans of "Dark Water", "The Eye", "Haunted", "The Sixth Sense", "Pan's Labyrinth" and other atmospheric horror movies. "Red Rover" is another, far less known, movie that also fits great in this vein that you might want to check out.

How many times can you tell the same dang gone story: There are ghosts, but only the kids can see them; nobody believes you when you try to warn them; you handle the situation very well; you even go back into the haunted house like nothing occurred there; in fact you enter creepy room after creepy room when the direction any normal kid would go in is *the other way...fast!*

It's like that old Eddie Murphy joke about The Amityville Horror: he said something like, "If the house says, 'GETTT OUTTT'...then get out! A normal family wouldn't be sticking around." (Eddie's joke was a bit more 'colorful' on several fronts, but this is a family web site.)

And the ghost effects are so yesterday in The Messengers. With a name like Sam Raimi attached (Producer) to The Messengers, one might expect better, more original effects. But Directors Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang took a page from The Ring as so many movies since (like The Grudge) have done, and delivered a more than familiar, predictable movie.

I saw this movie yesterday at the movies. I thought it was going to be really scary, but it wasn't too bad. There are just some parts that sort of sneek up on you, and may scare you a little, or a lot. It made me jump at those parts at least 10 times,I would guess. This movie did not leave me scared after and I did not have nightmares or anything like that. It just scared me while I was watching it. When the camera gets upi close with the "messengers", That is one part that always made me jump, and it gave me a case of the chills!!!! I know that it is rated pg-13, but I am 13 and I think that if a kid was mature, they could probably watch it at 11 years, unless they get scared easily. I would reccomend this to anyone 12 and over who does not scare easily. I loved this movie, and I'm getting it on DVD when it comes out!!!!!

Chances are you've seen a movie like "The Messengers" before; it's a ghost story that makes use of a cinematic setting I call The House that Something Bad Happened In. A few years after this Something Bad happens, spirits make their presence known to the new family that has moved in. If I hadn't already mentioned the title, you might have thought I was just describing the plot of about a dozen other Haunted House films. Unfortunately, you'd be right; "The Messengers" is a completely unoriginal film, recycling every ghost story cliche imaginable. We have the dilapidated, deserted house that has just been sold. We have the long, drawn out shots of characters walking down dark hallways. We have the pop out scares (boy, do we ever). We have ghosts that are sending a warning. And yes, we have the back-story of a murdered family.

But despite the fact that I'm not recommending it, I can't call it a bad movie. This is because, stylistically speaking, it gets everything right. The moments encased in darkness are effectively tense, first by building on and then confirming what we think is going to happen (after a false alarm, of course). The scenes featuring the ghosts only have quick shots, showing enough to be frightening while at the same time keeping their appearances low key. And of course there's the musical score, appropriately combining an eerie children's choir, screeching violin solos, and deep brass undertones. Joseph LoDuca's music for "The Messengers" is a cross between Danny Elfman's scores for "The Frighteners" and "Sleepy Hollow," something that initially bothered me until I realized that such films always use the same musical motifs.

That being said, the plot is nothing more than a rehash, borrowing little bits from films like "The Haunting," "House on Haunted Hill," "Poltergeist," "Dark Water," "The Grudge," "The Ammityville Horror," "Ghost Story," etc., etc. It can't be a good sign when you can predict the ending only ten minutes into the film: by then, you begin to wonder what the point was in creating the story at all. To say that I wanted an original story would be unfair, considering the very nature of ghost stories is formulaic. But I will say that I wanted an old story presented in a new way, which I don't think was too much to ask for. I also would have liked it if the ad campaign had veered away from statements regarding children witnessing paranormal activity; yes, this idea is utilized for the film, but it's not the sole focus of the plot.

And what of the plot? Let's see if I can sum it up in one paragraph: a family from urban Chicago moves to rural North Dakota after some emotional and financial strain. The teenage daughter, Jess (Kristen Stewart) is having a hard time dealing with her parents--Roy (Dylan McDermott) and Denise (Penelope Ann Miller)--because of her past bad behavior. Her infant brother, Ben (Evan and Theodore Turner) is no longer speaking. Their moving to a farm will hopefully reunite the family and get Roy back on his feet (by planting and harvesting sunflowers). But as soon as they arrive, Ben wanders around aimlessly, pointing at nothing, giggling at things unseen. Jess thinks nothing of it until the house exhibits poltergeist activity; furniture and appliances fly around the rooms, and she's almost dragged into the cellar by pale, rotted hands. This sets into motion Jess' futile attempts at getting her parents to believe her. It also sets into motion her mission to discover what happened to the house's former occupants.

Doesn't sound too enticing a film, does it? What makes the film even worse is the slew of other cliched ghost story elements. For one, ominous flocks of crows are prominently featured, with shots taken directly from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." Furthermore, there's one room in the house--the cellar--that initially remains locked, only to later be revealed as the source of the paranormal activity. There's also a mysterious item--a toy tractor--that appears out of nowhere and becomes Ben's favorite possession. The farm assistant, Burwell (John Corbett), is enigmatic and somehow ... well, he's a little off. And then there's Ben himself, who's nothing more than a reinterpretation of the Special Child caricature. More than a couple of horror stories make use of this caricature, pretty much to the point of mandatory inclusion. (Can we say "The Shining"? "Rose Red"? "The Sixth Sense"?) Why is it always the creepy child that's special? Why not the creepy mailman? Or the creepy brother-in-law?

To be fair, part of me did enjoy "The Messengers." I definitely liked the film's look, and the ghastly makeup effects were effective. But the way a film looks isn't enough for it to be satisfying; this might have been achieved had the filmmakers opted for an original idea. True, the story would be incredibly different, but at least I'd be able to leave the theater knowing that some effort had gone into crafting a unique film. I can't give that kind of credit to "The Messengers," and I'm sure no one who sees it will be able to, either.

This PG-13 mess is what happens when you try to make a horror film for a general audience. Basically what its about, is a small family who moves to North Dakota to start over. They move into a very creepy farmhouse (seriously a coat of paint would do wonders for the place), and the father sets about growing sunflowers. The father is attacked by crows and befriends a drifter who becomes a hired hand. Soon, the teen daughter begins to see ghosts, and the house's original occupants make their displeasure known.

It started off okay, but I'm a bit bored with 'the grudge-style' ghosties. The creepy little kid ghost crawls around the house got a bit boring.The teen girl is an unsympathetic young thing who we are supposed to feel sorry for, but quite simply don't. the handyman was the only interesting character.

One thing I dislike in modern horror films is how murderous the ghosts are. There was no reason for the ghosts to try to attack and kill anyone. They hadn't done anything. I just don't buy homicidal child ghosts when the children weren't homicidal in life. Meh. 3 stars. Average pg-13 fair. Nothing to see here, folks.

this movie had it all, the creepy ghosts, the wicked house,the isolation, the evil guy, and the innocent family. it was almost perfect. just enough to spook you, and know that things like this really happen. you know a traumatic experience, bad guy forgets, family not knowing what they're walking into, the ghost calling out for help, and the little boy who sees everything. it's a good mix and these guys did their thing. the house and the ghosts would just keep on reliving the horror that went on there for all time, or until somebody came around to help. he did the deed and he got his too. you can't get away with these kinds of things because they always come back to haunt you literally. killer movie, great effects, nice ghosts.

Nothing adds up in this movie. It's easy to get excited if you watch the extras feature first and hear all the talk about the unique vision the Pang Brothers bring to 'The Messengers.' But, in fact, this movie looks like all the other recent PG-13 horror offerings, designed to bring in maximum money in the first 3 days of release. There are the dutiful copies of scenes from earlier, better Japanese horror movies (you know, the crawly thing on the ceiling that is filmed in black and white while the rest of the scene is in color ... maybe a jerkily crawling little boy or girl, on the ceiling or on the floor or coming down the stairs. You've seen them in The Ring and The Grudge). There are crows that attack the main characters like something out of Hitchcock ... impressive, but it means nothing. In the end, 'The Messengers' is about a guy who killed his family and is about to kill another one. The little crawly Ring/Grudge monsters add nothing to what is basically a stranger-in-the-house scenario. The ghosts don't even communicate with the world of the living ala The Others or The Changeling. They are there simply to provide a kind of cheap scare in an otherwise very ordinary thriller. There really is nothing unique in this movie that you haven't seen in countless other movies that actually make sense. A great haunted house movie is 'The Others' (or its ancestor 'The Changeling'). A great nature run amok movie is 'The Birds.' A great stranger-in-the-house movie is 'Halloween.' A great family drama is 'Kramer vs Kramer.' Each one provides a truly unique vision, and each ones add up to more than the sum of their parts. Sadly, 'The Messengers' does none of these things.

I don't expect a lot from ghost stories, but I do expect a story to make a bit of sense! Is that asking too much from the screenwriters and filmmakers? When the bad guy, all the sudden, becomes a homicidal maniac solely because a bunch of crows, out of the blue, start pecking him, then I have a problem spending $9.00 for a ticket! Alfred Hitchcock would be spinning in his grave. Didn't anyone learn anything in their college Film 101 class? A good movie has at its roots an INTERESTING story!

Here are some of the ridiculous messages in this movie: If you have desperate financial problems move from Chicago to the middle of no-where in North Dakota to grow Sunflowers (I kid you not!). If your toddler has serious neurological problems from a car accident move away from some of the best hospitals and speech therapists in the country to an isolated small town, which, at best, has a community hospital. Hire a drifter to live & work with you, out of the blue, without checking any references, when you have a teenage vixen daughter, a wife and toddler. ( I'm glad they're not my parents!)

A town where everyone knows everything would have no problem missing a triple homicide, just outside of town. And, of course, blame the man's lunacy on a bad crop of Sunflowers! (Doesn't anything else grow in North Dakota?) A couple of days after you buy your rundown house - with huge vines growing everywhere - that it reminds you of Jack and the Beanstalk, a guy from the X-Files, ala Smoking Man, (I'm glad to see the cigarettes didn't get him, I guess he doesn't inhale!) will just suddenly sneak up on you while you're working to offer you the sale price of your home, plus 15% more, for absolutely no reason!

I think you get the picture. I have seen so many godforsaken awful movies in the past month, it just blows my mind! Is it that difficult to make a movie that doesn't treat the audience like an idiot? I'm glad at least the crows in this sorry film turned out to have the some brains! I wish I could say the same for whomever thinks they are going to make money off this celuloid piece of trash!

This movie is very blah. Okay, maybe it's not quite blah in the beginning, you may actually be somewhat thrilled, you may clutch your seat a little bit in the theater, your heart might pound, but once it comes down to it, you'll be disappointed. Most horror movies are like this today. Nothing's original in the horror genre anymore. What's good about this movie are the performances. I'll give it that. Plus that little boy is adorable. What's not to like when the mom asks, "What do they look like?" and he pulls his eyelids down? That's cute. Come on.

Here we have a family that moves into a super creepy house so they can live happily and plant sunflowers. The teenage daughter is a bit of a troublemaker, and it's revealed halfway in that she seriously screwed up at one point and is part of the reason they moved in the first place. The movie begins, however, with a different family being murdered by what appears to be shadowy, ghosty figures in the house the new family moves into. The girl keeps seeing things, and so does her little brother. No one else, apparently, notices these things, these scary creatures that crawl on the ceiling or lurk under the sheets. Then John Corbett comes and is all like Grizzly Adams and Mr. Handyman. He's important. Keep him in mind. So whatever happened to that family that used to live there? Why are the haunting her? Why can no one else see them? Is she nuts?

You'll see. That's all I say. No matter what I say, if you want to see this movie, you'll see it. And I say, go for it. It's not bad, but it's not great either. It's decent for a thrill, but short on character and relly short on the scare-factor at the end.

THE MESSENGERS

I have been a fan of Sam Raimi and all of them since the first "Evil Dead" film and every thing afterward, so you know I own any thing the man is connected to. When he and Rob Tapert created Ghost House Pictures you know I was excited and thus far I have not have hated anything they have put out. I do how ever like some more so than others but for the most part they are entertaining. The Messengers while not a classic or even completely original still manages to be good and I credit the performances mostly for that.

The Rollins family seems nice enough but that does not stop someone or something from picking them apart and hunting them down inside their own home. Years later the Solomon family move in and try to forget about the drunken driving accident that forced them to move. Once there things seem good at first until their daughter Jessica and their son Ben begin to notice something not of this world also live there. As time goes on the occurrences get more and more apparent as Jessica tries to protect her brother. At the same time their dad seems to be losing it Shining or Amityville style and their mother does not believe them. Their father has a hard time with the crops or basically sunflowers until he hires Burwell to help him, still the crows do not like what is taking place and start to get violent. As the family falls apart and the ghosts get restless it seems it is all up to Jessica to learn about what is really happening.

Sam and Rob's Ghost House Pictures did an excellent job casting this film because the strongest attribute this film has is the cast. Kristen Stewart is excellent in this as Jessica and does a marvelous job in the film, she also has a nice look to her like a very real down to earth feel and not a stuck up diva feel. Dylan McDermott does a great job as Roy the father of the family and play the part kinda like an Amityville film. Penelope Ann Miller as well is great in the mother role as Denise and does a great job as well. Still other than Kirsten the MVP of this film just may be John Corbett who plays Burwell. He does an excellent job and his turn in the end is great.

The story over all is fine I guess but it is just your typical ghost/revenge story so there really is nothing new here. Writers Todd Farmer [Jason X, My Bloody Valentine, Messengers 2, and the upcoming Halloween 3] and Mark Wheaton [Friday the 13th remake] made the characters a little interesting but the story was unoriginal for the most part. Directors the Pang Brothers [Bangkok Dangerous, The Eye, The Eye 2, Bangkok Dangerous remake] seemed to want to transition into more of an American style somewhat and that may be why the film suffers a bit. They did not completely switch up their style but they do feel a little more tame in this one.

I would not say that this is a bad movie and in fact I would say it is worthy of viewing from anybody, I bought it but a rental maybe the way to go for the average viewer. I am a huge fan of Sam and Rob so not only did I see this in theaters but I do own it. Do I recommend this film, yes, is it the best film ever, no. If you are a fan of Raimi or any one involved in this film it is highly recommended, I do think the casual fan would enjoy this as well.