The Messengers (2007)

messengers

The movie Messengers was predictable, which made it not very scarey.You figure out the ending long before it ends and that ruins the movie. BP August 25, 2008

Nothing Original, but well executed

This is a haunted house story, plain and simple - but it's refreshing to see one with a decent cast and so well executed. The story is nothing new - family from the city move to country to escape their family problems... house they get turns out to have a past, and may be haunted.
There are no big gore moments, but plenty of atmosphere created by carefully NOT showing you everything for much of the movie, so that when something is seen, the effect is maximized. The ending is not much of a surprise, but the tension mounts thanks in particular to a good turn from Kristen Stewart as Jess, the teenager.
All in all, quite routine, but efficient enough to be worth a watch if you like the haunted house genre.
August 22, 2008

Barely 3 stars, sat through it with a teen

When I see a horror movie, it has to have something that grabs me- great special effects, strong story line, great characters...SOMETHING. This movie told a story but it wasn't compelling.

Basically, a family moves to the country to "start over" and their daughter is clearly in trouble but you don't know exactly why or what she has done. There is tension between the parent and the teen daughter. Pretty typical for some movies in this genre - harsh parents, misunderstood teen. Nothing original there.

Then there are the usual creepy happenings, ghosts that can be seen only by the youngest member of the family, who (conveniently) doesn't speak due to past trauma. I kept wondering why the kid didn't speak but only found out later the reasons why he was mute. That was confusing.

Finally, when everything finally comes together and all the mysteries are solved, it isn't enough to make for a compelling movie. There is the usual blood and gore and violence but none of it added up to a scare fest worth sitting through. You can do much better.

Having noted that, all the actors were competent in their roles. I just don't think they had much to work with here. Too bad, because Penelope Ann Miller is a favorite of mine and I generally root for Dylan McDermott too. Next time around, I hope they have better scripts. August 7, 2008

Let me be a Messenger: DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE!

You'll need two cans of air freshener to neutralize the stench of this stinkeroo, which has to be one of the dumbest horror flicks I have ever seen.

(P.S. Dude, the stuff with the marauding birds has already been done. His name was Hitchcock.)

Find another way to spend 90 minutes of your life. The biggest horror to this movie would be in wasting any more time watching it.
July 4, 2008

Predictable But Well Acted

I liked this movie alot because of the actors and the suspense elements but the storyline was way to predictable and obvious, but every movie has been like that for me but if you like suspense and scares this is a great film! June 15, 2008

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