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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US 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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Reviews for The Messengers

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
01/15/08
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Justine Elias
Justine Elias
Boston Phoenix

There are flashes of good imagery in The Messengers, but [they] work better in the trailer, unencumbered by the dreary plot.

Full Review Source: ESplatter | comment Comment
07/15/08
Steve Biodrowski
Steve Biodrowski
ESplatter

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

The only message worth relaying about The Messengers is: Avoid.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
02/26/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Um filme falho (especialmente com relação ao seu roteiro), mas que oferece belos exemplos do dom que os cineastas têm para criar planos e cenas perturbadores.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
01/16/08
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

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)

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

The problem with The Messengers is that it simply doesn't offer up much of anything new.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/25/07
Stax
Stax
IGN Movies

The scares have been booby-trapped brilliantly throughout it.

Full Review Source: Moviehole | comment Comment
06/18/07
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

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

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

The MessengersI/i> is textbook, and the course it's teaching is HSL: Horror as a Second Language.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
05/28/07
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Dallas Morning News

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

It's pretty ordinary genre stuff.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/07/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's like a movie premonition — you've seen it all before.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/06/07
Simon Crook
Simon Crook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Derivative but enjoyable horror flick with stylish direction, an intriguing mystery and strong performances from its cast.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/05/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Many of the images feel over-familiar, and the shocks a mite too forced.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/05/07
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out

Gaping plot holes, a tacked-on ending and a twist that belongs in a different movie.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/03/07
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

Though The Messengers stands above its ilk, the filmmakers work with too limited a tone, and restrained a sense of exploration, to bring it to life.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
03/15/07
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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