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The Messengers

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The Messengers (2007)

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Reviews Counted:81

Fresh:9

Rotten:72

Average Rating:3.6/10

Consensus: The Messengers is an atmospheric but derivative rip-off of countless other horror movies.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for mature thematic material, disturbing violence and terror.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Feb 2, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $35,374,833

Synopsis: Twin filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang's creepy 2003 feature THE EYE earned them enough kudos to make the leap to Hollywood, and their first effort is the creepy chiller THE MESSENGERS. A... Twin filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang's creepy 2003 feature THE EYE earned them enough kudos to make the leap to Hollywood, and their first effort is the creepy chiller THE MESSENGERS. A Chicago-based family comprised of Roy (Dylan McDermott), his wife, Denise (Penelope Ann Miller), their teenage daughter, Jess (Kristen Stewart), and young son, Ben (played by twins Evan and Theodore Turner) try to put the hard times behind them with a move to a picturesque farmhouse in North Dakota. Jess quickly becomes convinced that the house is haunted after some peculiar occurrences while she's alone there with young Ben. But Ben can't articulate what he's seen, and Jess's story is met with skepticism by her parents. It soon becomes apparent that past family tensions are slowly boiling to the surface. Meanwhile, the ghosts keep coming, and the Pang brothers never keep their audience waiting for long before another nerve-jangling scene shudders into view. But as the ghosts torment their new residents, Jess does a little research on the old farmhouse and discovers a few secrets that may just hold the key to why this is all happening. Packed full of CGI effects and a few moments that may cause a jump or two, THE MESSENGERS is a horror movie aimed at a young audience and not horror aficionados, as indicated by its PG-13 rating. [More]

Starring: Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Kristen Stewart

Starring: Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Kristen Stewart

Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang

Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Screenwriter: Todd Farmer
Producer: Sam Raimi, William Sherak, Jason Shuman, Rob Tapert
Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Release:

Jun 5, 2007

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Desperate for a fresh start after a tough two years in Chicago, the Solomon family retreats to a desolate sunflower farm in North Dakota. But the calm of farm life is shattered when 16-year-old Jess (Kristen Stewart) and her 3-year-old brother Ben begin to see nightmarish apparitions throughout their new home -- visions that nobody else can see. As the visions grow darker, they become fear-inspiring experiences and Jess' parents (Dylan McDermott and Penelope Ann Miller) start to question their daughter's sanity. Now, Jess must find a way to save her family and win..
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for The Messengers

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    1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
    Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
    04/29/09
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Cinema Crazed
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
    01/15/08
    Garth Franklin
    Garth Franklin
    Dark Horizons
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Justine Elias
    Justine Elias
    Boston Phoenix

    The message of this creepy-ghost thriller is that no matter how talented the Hong Kong filmmakers may be, they'll invariably be forced to make their first American movie an unimpressive, generic creepy-ghost thriller.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    02/02/07
    Alex Markerson
    Alex Markerson
    E! Online

    the running motif of crows run amok has too much of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS about it to stand on its own, even in the Pang's capable hands. Then again, any script that dared use that motif was setting itself up for a fall, and that's exactly what it got

    Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    02/05/07
    Andrea Chase
    Andrea Chase
    Killer Movie Reviews

    Sadly, the movie just doesn't deliver chills.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    02/07/07
    Andrea Gronvall
    Andrea Gronvall
    Chicago Reader

    While [the Pangs] display some of the visual style that has distinguished their Asian films, nothing could compensate for the derivative, ill-plotted script.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
    02/11/07
    Andy Klein
    Andy Klein
    Los Angeles CityBeat

    Yet not even the Pang brothers' sense of panache can redeem what is a lame script by Mark Wheaton.

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    04/21/07
    Beth Accomando
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org

    Patchwork filmmaking designed by a corporate mentality devoted only to the defense of the lowest common denominator. The viewer is assumed to be stupid and easily duped.

    Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
    05/05/08
    Brian Holcomb
    Brian Holcomb
    CinemaBlend.com

    For every one moment of genuinely built suspense, the Pang Brothers chase it with at least three follow-up scenes of either out-loud stupidity or baffling tedium.

    Full Review Source: OhmyNews.com | comment Comment
    02/02/07
    Brian Orndorf
    Brian Orndorf
    OhmyNews.com

    The real message to be learned from The Messengers is that audiences need something new to scare them, not the same old ghosts.

    Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
    02/06/07
    Brian Tallerico
    Brian Tallerico
    UGO

    A film so filled with clichés of the genre and plot points so dumb that even a novice would end up laughing.

    Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
    01/04/08
    Bruce Bennett
    Bruce Bennett
    Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

    Relies way too much on cheap, nerve-jangling sound effects and musical stings to juice up the film's tepid, PG-13 proceedings.

    Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
    02/22/07
    Bryant Frazer
    Bryant Frazer
    Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

    No one says, "Gimme the bat, Wendy," or, "Here's Johnny!" But they come close.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    03/03/07
    Christy Lemire
    Christy Lemire
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It isn't until the end that things spin out of control. No one says 'Gimme the bat, Wendy' or 'Here's Johnny!' But they come close.

    Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
    02/02/07
    Christy Lemire
    Christy Lemire
    Associated Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The most frightening aspect of the film is that it will soon be haunting the bargain bins of shoddy video stores.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    02/02/07
    Colin Covert
    Colin Covert
    Minneapolis Star Tribune

    If The Messengers means to say something about all this familial and social dysfunction, that point is lost among hackneyed, decidedly unscary gyrations.

    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    02/02/07
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Cynthia Fuchs
    PopMatters

    ...irredeemably uneventful and - ultimately - hopelessly derivative...

    Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
    06/13/07
    David Nusair
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews

    Yet another supernatural thriller about ghostly apparitions and corpsy children, The Messengers doesn't deliver.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    02/01/07
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com

    Una más de niños que ven fantasmas, totalmente insignificante y olvidable y plagada de lugares comunes que ya no asustan ni sorprenden a nadie.

    Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
    07/22/07
    Enrique Buchichio
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total
     
     
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