Spring Break
"Messengers" Fails to Scare
A Movie Review
Brandon Van Meter
Issue date: 2/2/07 Section: Features
Every so often a film is released that defines a genre. "The Messengers" not only defines the horror genre, it drives it into the ground. If you have seen "Amityville Horror," "Poltergeist", "The Grudge" or "The Ring," then you have seen "The Messengers."
The story takes place at an isolated farm in South Dakota. The Solomon family moved to the farm to escape the big city of Chicago and start fresh by planting a sunflower crop. No one seems to notice when three-year-old Ben (played by twins Evan and Theodore Turner) begins seeing things that no one else can. When 16 year old sister Jess (Kristen Stewart), starts to see the same ghosts, she warns her parents, but they soon question her sanity. Although the father, Roy (Dylan McDermott) is preoccupied with finances and starting his crop, he is also trying desperately to keep his family together. The mother, Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) seems to be going along with the program to cause as little tension as possible. There is also a stranger named John Burwell (John Corbett) who shows up literally out of nowhere to help in the sunflower crops.
Danny and Oxide Pang make their American film directing debut and unfortunately what worked for them when they directed "The Eye" does not work in "The Messengers." The back-story takes too long to develop, which in turn causes the first hour of the movie to drag on. There were more laughs in the audience than genuine scares. Suspense was built well; however, by the gradual increase in ghost sightings, until the final climax when actual physical harm is imminent. Even then, without giving away too much, explanation about why the ghosts are there in the first place is vague at best.
Where "The Messengers" fails is not in the acting or directing, it fails in scaring you. The entire movie a three-year-old boy is seeing ghosts and is not afraid. If a three-year-old is not afraid of these paranormal beings that supposedly want to do the family harm, why should the audience be afraid? They shouldn't.
"The Messengers" is a generic horror movie that gets a few cheap thrills by doing lots of tricks that have all been done before.
So, do yourself a favor. If you want to be scared, save yourself a few bucks and rent the original "Amityville Horror." It's not the best horror movie ever, but it's much better than "The Messengers."
Brandon VanMeter can be reached at features@statehornet.com.
The story takes place at an isolated farm in South Dakota. The Solomon family moved to the farm to escape the big city of Chicago and start fresh by planting a sunflower crop. No one seems to notice when three-year-old Ben (played by twins Evan and Theodore Turner) begins seeing things that no one else can. When 16 year old sister Jess (Kristen Stewart), starts to see the same ghosts, she warns her parents, but they soon question her sanity. Although the father, Roy (Dylan McDermott) is preoccupied with finances and starting his crop, he is also trying desperately to keep his family together. The mother, Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) seems to be going along with the program to cause as little tension as possible. There is also a stranger named John Burwell (John Corbett) who shows up literally out of nowhere to help in the sunflower crops.
Danny and Oxide Pang make their American film directing debut and unfortunately what worked for them when they directed "The Eye" does not work in "The Messengers." The back-story takes too long to develop, which in turn causes the first hour of the movie to drag on. There were more laughs in the audience than genuine scares. Suspense was built well; however, by the gradual increase in ghost sightings, until the final climax when actual physical harm is imminent. Even then, without giving away too much, explanation about why the ghosts are there in the first place is vague at best.
Where "The Messengers" fails is not in the acting or directing, it fails in scaring you. The entire movie a three-year-old boy is seeing ghosts and is not afraid. If a three-year-old is not afraid of these paranormal beings that supposedly want to do the family harm, why should the audience be afraid? They shouldn't.
"The Messengers" is a generic horror movie that gets a few cheap thrills by doing lots of tricks that have all been done before.
So, do yourself a favor. If you want to be scared, save yourself a few bucks and rent the original "Amityville Horror." It's not the best horror movie ever, but it's much better than "The Messengers."
Brandon VanMeter can be reached at features@statehornet.com.
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