Films which have characters with the ability to communicate with the dead have always been kind of hit-or-miss with me. I’m not sure why that is, but I guess that I’m always expecting more from a film that totally relies on a character talking to dead people, with nothing else given much attention. Films like The Frighteners had more to them rather than relying solely on the protagonist’s ability to carry the film. With David Blair’s The Messenger, that thankfully isn’t the case. However, there are other issues that go beyond talking to dead people.

Jack (Robert Sheehan) is a troubled man. Ever since he was young, the dead have been talking to him, asking for help with their unfinished business in the land of the living. No matter what he does, he can’t escape them, so he begrudgingly helps them fulfill their last wishes. One such tortured soul is Mark (Jack Fox), a murdered reporter who never got the chance to say goodbye to his wife, Sarah (Tamzin Merchant). Jack reluctantly agrees to pass on Mark’s final message, but in doing so, Jack sets in motion for his own past, namely his sister Emma (Lily Cole) making a reappearance in his life, to come back and haunt him.

Prior to this film, I’d never heard of Robert Sheehan, other than him being a rising star in the UK. And after his performance in The Messenger, I can see why. Sheehan plays Jack as a tortured soul, constantly boozing it up or popping pills in order to find some relief from the dead that won’t leave him alone. Snarky and unpleasant, it can be difficult to warm up to a character such as this, but with the aid of flashbacks to Jack’s past, it makes the character more bearable and sympathetic. Still, with so much resentment tied into the character, it’s a difficult task to truly get behind him. As for the supporting cast, David O’Hara is adequate as the antagonistic policeman Keane who causes trouble for Jack, and Lily Cole is also good, mixing feelings of concern but also alienation when it comes to Jack.

Unfortunately, The Messenger hasn’t got much more going for it. The main issue is Andrew Kirk’s script, which really doesn’t offer much in terms of interest, even with all of these elements ripe for potential. Plot threads are laid out, such as Jack’s nephew possibly having the same gift as Jack, but by the midway point of the film, are dropped and are not followed through. Other than Jack, the rest of the characters aren’t given the attention and depth needed to make them interesting, and the acting shows it. This of course comes back to bite the film, since it’s hard to get behind a miserable character like Jack in the first place. The script also fails the movie in the horror department. Other than a few chase sequences, the rough flashbacks and some ghostly figures, there’s not much horrific going on. And in case you’re wondering, the film fails in the thriller department since everyone is just so damn uninteresting. Instead, we’re constantly bombarded with Jack’s sourpuss, and the dreariness of the environment just makes this a chore to sit through.

Really, The Messenger is another case of wasted potential. Sheehan shows some considerable chops with his performance, but it’s muddled by the fact that his character is such an unlikable jerk. The rest of the cast fare worse due to their flat characters, and the story just phones it in without putting effort into making the proceedings interesting, leaving the items that are interesting hanging or dropped entirely. The film might be worth it as background noise while you do your dusting, but anything more than that is asking too much.