The Messengers
| release date | February 2 2007 |
| studio | Columbia/Ghost House |
| director | Oxide and Danny Pang |
| writer | Mark Wheaton (Todd Farmer, Stuart Beattie) |
| starring | Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett |
| rating | PG13 |
| site | sonypictures.com/movies/themessengers |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
0 Comments
I didn’t think it was as bad as the official review made it out to be. Mind you it was not great but it did not suck. It is another film from Ghosthouse that seems to put out middle of the road horror films. Watchable.
This movie scared the crap out of me!
This film was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Going into the film I wasn’t expecting much, mostly because of the PG-13 rating. It used a lot of the same ideas as many films before it. People move into haunted house, ghosts make noises and scare family, etc. Even with all of the cliche ghost movie plots the movie still played out well. The ghosts were genuinely creepy looking, crawling on ceilings and such. I was impressed. I would recommend this to any horror lover looking for something mediocre to watch while having a few brews, you won’t be disappointed.
didnt like it it wasnt scary and the thing that got on my nerves the most was the fact that the baby was the best actor in this movie
this movie is Watchable. it was not scary but I enjoyed watching it. the acting was good.
I really wanted to see this movie at 1st but when i did it just wasnt as good as i though it would be. I enjoyed it but it could have been better.
No where as good as it looks.
this movie was ok
Ok but loses your interest fast.
“Just saw this movie on opening night. I read some other user comments which convinced me to go see it… I must say, I was not impressed. I’m so unimpressed that I feel the need to write this comment to spare some of you people some money.
First of all “The Messengers” is very predictable, and just not much of a thriller. It might be scary for someone under 13, but it really did nothing for me. The climax was laughable and most of the audience left before the movie’s resolution.
Furthermore the acting seemed a little superficial. Some of the emotional arguments between the family were less convincing than the sub-par suspense scenes.
If you’ve seen previews for this movie, then you’ve seen most of the best parts and have a strong understanding of the plot. This movie is not worth seeing in the theaters.” –banchi, imdb.com
The best parts are in the trailer. Below average, but not the worst ever
Wow. the preview made this movie look so good. it was a worse version of An American Haunting. Lame.
this movie was brill good scary bits
I just watch this movie and I have to say it was pretty boring for me there are a few (like maybe 2) good parts but other then that nothing really. Also Kristen Stewart seemed kinda dumb to me in it I don’t know.
Yaaaaaawwwn. Suffers from being a part of a tired predictable genre
The sequel looks a lot better, and that’s really saying something.
This movie had some good moments, I’m not going to lie, but altogether it was a great disappointment. From the trailer, I hoped this would be the next Grudge for me. It looked positively frightening, the acting looked above average, and I thought it might have a good story. The fact that it wasn’t a remake (at least I haven’t heard of it being a remake) was also an added bonus.
The fact of the mater was, there was too much done wrong with the production of this film. It didn’t seem scary at all really. There were some moments taht had potental, but in the end I was only tense for one scene. Like I said before, it wasn’t a remake, but something about the style made it seem like a movie that I had already seen previously. The special effects weren’t all that great, and the biggest flaw? While trying to be completel unpredictable, it was utterly and terrifyingly predicatble!
This movie could have been really good, but it just ended up coming off as a J-horror wannabe. I actually found myself checking the time during my FIRST viewing of the film, which is never a good sign.
I liked it.
The trailer looked good and it got my attention, however, the same could not be said for this movie. The plot was somewhat incoherent and even at the end it was confusing and think the Pangs were trying to go for an Americanized Japanese movie but like all others, it just does not work. They tried opening doors that were already opened and introduced us to a brand of horror that was already exposed to us, example: the crawling monsters on the ceiling. It worked last time because it was new, now its old.
The acting was somewhat horrible. There was emotion but not enough to drive the story and the plot line. The actors were a good choice but they needed to put more into what they were portraying. There were some points where the acting was unnecessary and overdone and some points were the actors and actresses were trying to act, but couldn’t.
The “Scare Factor” was not there. It was interesting to see some of the attempts and yet you couldn’t help but to get a little creeped out by some of the cheap scares. The earlier Pang Bros movies were scary because they had this special sound and it was new and nobody ever saw anything like it. This story, unlike the other Japanese horror stories, tried to have a sad story to it but never succeeded.
The few good things about this movie are the oddly surrealistic setting of a secluded sunflower farm and William B. Davis, who hasn’t done anything in a while. I’m very glad to see him start in a movie, aside from some guest starts on other shows. It’s a good movie but sort of cliché and not very scary.
The Messengers- 2007
Good Parts- somewhat scary premise that’s completely unoriginal
Bad Parts- almost everything: weak plot, not very scary at all,craptastic acting, slow paced and boring, not very original
Overall this seems like just another crappy PG-13 “horror” movie. skip this one
2/10
Its Sucks!!!
I was rather excited to watch the Messengers, because I love Kristin Sterwart. However, I wasn’t impressed with this film. Some parts did make me jump, and I did like how the Little boy could see the “evil” but the plot was very weak and boring. I wouldn’t recomend this movie to others.
2/10
Tis pritty good. Not like i thought but still ok.
All I can remember about this movie is that I hated it.
i liked it and i didnt see a problem with it, didnt think it was amazing and i know i wont remember it in 6 months time but i tought it was perfectly awright deffinetely worse haunted house movies out there
KIRSTEN STEWART MAKES THE WORST MOVIES EVER!!!!
Jumper, Twilight, Zathura, THIS, and upcoming suckfest New Moon.
Btw, the movie’s crap. But you already know that. Well, except for the guy below me.
Aside from Kristen Stewart’s rigid performance and the cliche’d moments, it had some pretty ok ones too.
when i first saw the cover of the DVD and saw Kristen Stewart, in thought the movie was gonna suck due to the quality of ‘Zathura’ and ‘Twilight’, also starring Kristen Stewart, but i gave it a shot because there’s a chance that it would be good, and i was wrong.
the movie was bad, but not the worst. it wasn’t scary, but it wasn’t boring.
it was kinda entertaining, but too cliched. then again, that’s what new scary movies are like these days.
Stewart’s acting wasn’t good, but she doesn’t deserve a Razzie Award, at least she’s trying. it’s still entertaining, apart from the fact that it has a similar plot to ‘The Shining’ and ‘The Amityville Horror’.
I liked what the Pang Bros did with this. It is creepy with a nice twist on a ghost story.
I really don’t understand all the hate. Sure, it’s no masterpiece, but there are some great scares in it that made me jump out of my seat. Creepy atmosphere, brillant score – I had a great time watching it!
I really enjoyed this movie. I think the main review on here is not fair. It seemed like the guy wasn’t paying attention while watching it. This film doesn’t have gore and crazy death scenes, it just has a story filled with creepy ghosts, odd happenings, some decent acting, some jumping scares, and a twist. oh what a twist! It’s also a good movie to show to your wussy friend.
…………..
The worst grudge ripoff Ive ever seen… Dont waste your time…
all i gotta say is very creepy movie:p
This old fashioned scare flic offers nothing new. There were a few enjoyable moments, and it does feature a rather adorable kid, but the whole thing is “plain jane.” It wouldn’t hurt to skip this one.
so bad it was painful to watch
6 out out 10 jsut other average horror film
Decent. Kristen Stewart is awesome, as always.
Kristen Stewart is so bad is causes me physical pain…
I really didn’t like this movie. It offers nothing new and I found myself pretty bored for the most past.
Pass on it unless you’ve ran out of new movies to watch (not likely).
It an alright film not much scares, just jumps and thrills which are good. The special effects and make – up artist are decent, while the acting and story are just plain and enough new to add to the thriller/horror genre.
You know what Hollywood needs to make more of? More horror movies about ghosts avenging their wrongful deaths. How did this movie have anything to do with little kids seeing ghosts that others couldn’t, when that Twilight bitch could see them too? YOU DON’T MAKE SENSE. More information here:
http://thewolfmancometh.com/2011/08/22/the-messengers-2007/
meh. Nothing interesting here.
When I first saw this when it came out, I was kind of pissed. It felt like the tone was riding the coattails of The Ring/The Grudge–that specific style of ghost was an idea beaten to death. The second time around, it was easier to ignore that and take the film for its merits. It’s not bad. It was paced alright, made me jumpy, and holy hell, Kristen Stewart has more than one expression in this movie! The ending made…no sense…but I’ll probably watch this movie again at some point.
“The Messengers” is a derivative and boring horror film so utterly desperate to find a style that it feels the need to have a dull black-and-white opening sequence. In the context of the story, this is a flashback; but why did it have to be black-and-white? I believe there is a purpose for the stylistic selection of those two colors – to convey stylistic themes, to convey emotions, to make drama more affective and possibly even moving – but in the case of the film, I don’t know what the hell its makers were thinking when they chose to open the movie in this way. It doesn’t give the film a style; it doesn’t even make it the slightest bit entertaining. And if you present the audience with a black-and-white opening sequence – something we don’t exactly get often – and yet you’re still unable to intrigue them, you’ve got a problem in need of some serious analysis.
The said scene depicts an old, wooden farmhouse. It also depicts the death of a mother and a child; attacked by some unseen force, perhaps a spirit of some sorts. No matter, it’s like I said, this is a flashback; so that was then, and this is now. In the present time, a new family has moved into the same house; the Solomons. Members of the family are mom (Penelope Ann Miller) and dad (Dylan McDermott), teen daughter Jess (Kristin Stewart), and young child Ben. They have rather enthusiastically made the move; not knowing of what they now covet.
Jess is adventurous; or at least, she wants to be. She spends most of her days going to town with dad (and meeting a handsome young man about her age in the process), exploring her new home, and babysitting her kid brother while the parents are out and about. Ben is a lively kid; but he seems to be seeing things that nobody else can, or does. Take for instance the little boy who scampers across the ceiling. If one could see or hear this being; they would certainly take notice, but only Ben does so in the scene that involves such a thing.
So if you haven’t got the gist already; the house has a particularly spooky ghost infestation. Soon, Jess is seeing what her little brother has been within the past few days that they’ve been in the house; ghost, ghouls, and spirits speaking from beyond the grave. And these spirits are restless. Sometimes, they just cause basic mischief; such as an un-cleanable stain on the wall. Other times, they are violent and hell-bent on destruction and deteriorating the family’s relationship. This is when “The Messengers” clearly intends to be a horror film with alternative, deeper themes of family, relationships, and of course, the adolescent troubles of Jess.
Because I’m such a nice guy, and I’d rather get what little “good” there is about this film; I’ll just say up front that I liked some of the cinematography. Indeed, a few shots are sensational and creepy; while others are boring and rather bland. There’s a cool dutch angle in which a friendly neighbor (and crow-hunter) with a shotgun is shown for the first time in the frame. Yeah, I liked that.
Now, let’s return to the rest of the film, which is, if I might add, absolutely unbearable. As I said before, the film wants to be more than a mere horror flick; but where it ends up failing the most is in both the dramatic and horrific aspects. It isn’t scary because it relies too much on special effects and cheap, ineffective jump scares instead of the stuff that matters: suspense and scares that are fun and enjoyable. It also isn’t dramatically engaging; because the acting is forgettable, the reactions silly, and the situation not very well thought out. The source(s) of this fine mess are the Pang Brothers, who also directed the original film version of “The Eye”, which now has a Hollywood remake starring Jessica Alba. It should also be known that the screenplay was penned by Todd Farmer (“My Bloody Valentine 3D”, “Drive Angry”). You’ve got some promising names, and a premise that had at least some potential, but then you’ve also got dirt-cheap, lazy execution. And a whole lot of crows.
This movie wasn’t terribly bad, but it was okay. I would watch it again.