There's nothing outstanding about directors' Danny Pang and Oxide Pang's "The Messengers," but it succeeds as an inoffensive horror film heavy on the scares while being light on the blood and gore.
Jess (Kristen Stewart) is an angst-ridden teenager being forced to move with her family into a dilapidated old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The family comes from Chicago, where Jess seems to have been in some kind of trouble. Her mother, Denise (Penelope Ann Miller), seems much more concerned for little brother, Ben (Evan and Theodore Turner), than the family's overall maladjustment. And her father, Roy (Dylan McDermott), just wants to grow a crop of sunflowers, which he seems to believe will solve their financial problems.
From the start, Jess seems to realize something is amiss. Conveniently, no one listens to her. Since the haunts of this house only appear to her and her brother - who, also conveniently, does not speak - Jess seems crazy as she tries to prove they are not alone in the house. Unfortunately, Roy's first priority, despite his desperate daughter's need for understanding, is to learn something about farming. To solve this problem, he hires a transient farmer named Burwell (John Corbett) whose first impression on the family is repeatedly discharging his gun to scare away a number of crows reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds."
Many films have been made about haunted houses, and "The Messengers" manages to combine a little of everything to provide something fairly predictable. Producer Sam Raimi brings ghosts reminiscent of his involvement in "The Grudge" to this film, but since the ghosts are used significantly less in "The Messengers" the effect remains eerie.
"The Messengers" is best at being creepy. Music by Joseph LoDuca aids in providing suspense, and there are several effective (startle-based) scares. Rated PG-13 for supernatural shocks and violence, "The Messengers" is a good date movie - and one mild enough to suggest to your high school age friends or relatives.
Originally published in The Chronicle in February 2007 as JadeLee Culberson
My writing -- poetry, short stories, excerpts, vignettes -- is here because I'd like to share it with those who are interested. I always appreciate constructive criticism, but don't feel obligated to comment at all. If you don't like snarky reviews, blood, guts, description, sadness, intense imagery, journalism in a style fully inspired by The Good Doctor himself (Hunter S. Thompson), and frankness, you may want to pass this one by.
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