“The Messengers” (Sony Pictures)
Average Movie With Above Average Cast
You have to wonder why respected actors such as Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, Kristen Stewart and John Corbett would lend their names and talents to an average horror flick like “The Messengers.” They all do their parts well in the film but there is little they can do to raise it above mediocre entertainment. It is a horror flick pure and simple with nothing to make it a classic or even one that stands out from the pack.
The movie starts with the Solomon family moving to North Dakota to set up a sunflower farm. Roy and Denise (McDermott and Miller) have moved to North Dakota to try to help their daughter Jess (Stewart) straighten out her life. She had gotten in with the wrong crowd and had some problems back home. They are also concerned about their two-year-old son Ben (Evan and Theodore Turner) who doesn’t speak.
They have bought a creepy old farmhouse and are doing a little bit of renovation, but most of their funds are tied up in sunflower seed. After a few weeks a stranger shows up asking for work. His name is Burwell (Corbett) and he is hired to help out with the crops.
Jess is the first one in the family to notice strange occurrences. She hears noises, sees strange shapes, and generally gets the feeling the house is haunted. She notices that Ben is aware of things too, but since he doesn’t speak he can’t tell anyone what he sees. Roy and Denise don’t see anything and think Jess is imagining it all or lying about it for some reason.
Of course more and more things happen and soon the entire family is in jeopardy. All of this is handled with a good deal of suspense but it is basically run of the mill horror entertainment. If it weren’t for the cast it would not make a blip on the entertainment radar.
Stewart is good as Jess. This young actress started her career as Jodie Foster’s daughter in “The Panic Room” and has sharpened her talent as she has aged. Now sixteen she is ready for bigger and better roles. Her role as Jess is not a challenge for her.
John Corbett has some good scenes as Burwell. This actor has been around a while and is looking from something to make him stand out. This role and this kind of movie are not what he needs. McDermott and Miller could play their roles with their eyes closed. They are slumming as the mama and papa in a haunted house.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
“The Messengers” is an okay way to spend two hours of your time. If you like horror movies this one is okay and the acting is above average. Still a horror movie is a horror movie is a horror movie, and unless you have something exceptional to say along the lines of “The Exorcist” you are stuck in the horror flick rut.
I scored “The Messengers” a telegrammed 5 out of 10.
