The Messengers
by Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang
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DVD details
Actor: Dylan McDermott, Evan Turner (III), John Corbett, Kristen Stewart, Penelope Ann MillerDirector: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Published: 2007-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-05
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of The Messengers
DVD Review: Michael's Messengers
Summary: 4 Stars
Five years have passed since mayhem struck a small North Dakota Sunflower farm, wreaking havoc and death on its residents. The local townsfolk and authorities suspect nothing of the morbid circumstances that befell the "abandoned" site, despite some inconsequential speculation over the Rollins' failed harvests and financial hardships. Gone are Mary (Shirley McQueen), her adolescent daughter, Lindsay (Tatiana Maslany), and young son, Michael (Jodelle Ferland). The opening sequence of the film conceals the identity of their assailant but denies nothing of the family's brutal murders. The events of that iniquitous night still cast an evil pall that prowls a once tranquil homestead.
The sudden, catastrophic end to life can surface in strange and mysterious ways, taking us by surprise. Psyches stunned by trauma, or distressed in dysfunctional families, can be sensitized to register the subtle frequencies of the paranormal or supernatural, opening portals into dimensions of the mind that we experience as lifelike dreams, nightmares, hallucinations, delusions, clairvoyance, and paranoia, sometimes leading us to question our sanity. Children, unlike adults, can be superior receptors of the signs and wonders of these "messengers" since they haven't been socialized to question, misinterpret, deny, or dismiss their experiences, or reject them, outright, as "scientifically unexplainable."
For sixteen year old Jessica ("Jess") Solomon (Kristen Stewart, in an uncannily realistic performance), her "messengers" appear as crows that take abrupt flight in mind and matter as she broods over a onetime drinking binge with friends in Chicago that left her three year old brother, Ben, unable to speak, following an automobile accident on their way home from his babysitter. The incident, considered a "mistake" by a sympathetic buddy, Bobby (Dustin Milligan), whom Jess befriends later in the film, on an asphalt schoolyard basketball court in North Dakota, has distanced her from her mother, Denise (stoically played by Penelope Ann Miller), who no longer trusts her daughter. Although sympathetic, Jess's father, Roy (likeably played by Dylan McDermott), is battling his own demons, having made the difficult decision to relocate his family from Chicago to North Dakota, where his farming roots lie, knowing everyone will suffer the consequences of a difficult transition to an outlandish life. There is little choice in the matter, however, as young Ben's unsuccessful medical treatments have drained the family of its financial resources, accumulated over two decades, in just two years of Roy's dehumanizing unemployment, which has robbed the Solomon family of its stability and Roy of his dignity.
Scraping together enough funds for a down payment, only a small, neglected patch of land and dilapidated farmhouse in North Dakota, situated not far from her distraught father's childhood home, await Jess and her family--much to her angst.
Crows, by nature, are lifelong residents of their territories. In folklore and mythology, they symbolize the psyche, spirit, and rising consciousness. They also are harbingers of change--particularly, transition into the afterlife. All too often, however, they are simply misunderstood as portents of evil, doom, and death.
Upon the Solomon's arrival in North Dakota, crows are periodically seen gathering on, or near, the homestead, shocking Jess psychically and her family physically in frenzied encounters, in a style strongly reminiscent of Alfred Hitcock's "The Birds. Jess's young brother, Ben, however, "sees" most of his "messengers" as gruesome ghosts that scramble about the walls and ceilings of the premises, reminiscent of the specters in The Grudge films. He doesn't know enough, yet, to "fear" them. The Pang brothers (or "The Brothers Grimm," as we should, perhaps, label them) obviously take perverse pleasure in knowing their audience will cringe at the sight of a giggling, mute boy innocently pointing at, and playing with, a cadre of ghastly ghouls on the big screen. Paradoxically, Ben's mother, Denise is experiencing her own visions of the afterlife. Throughout much of the film, however, she is misinterpreting them as a dark, irremovable watermark on her bedroom wall--reminiscent of the appalling, watery ceiling stains and puddles in films such as Dark Water and The Ring.
Forever known as "Cancer-man" from the X-files television series of the 90's, William B. Davis plays an enigmatic bank officer, Colby Price, who appears sporadically, and always unsettlingly, on the Solomon's farm from nowhere--sans cigarettes--to make an offer on their property, at a tidy profit, on behalf of an unknown client. By all rights, Roy should accept the offer--but he doesn't! John Corbett plays a wanderer, John Burwell, who "happens" upon the Solomon's farm from the brush, reminiscent of the film, Field of Dreams, endearing himself to the family after scattering several "murders of crows" (yes, that is the term used to denote their flocks!) that have attacked Roy and plundered his seeds. The Solomon's welcome John into their family as a valuable, hired hand.
Jodelle Ferland (who starred as the possessed, Sharon DaSilva, in Silent Hill) is convincing, even if featured in an abbreviated role, as Michael Rollins, a young, murdered boy turned poltergeist, which touchingly reaches-out to Jess. Michael's affinity with the crows is evidenced in recovered drawings and prescient bird images "fingered" on foggy farmhouse windows, which hint of chilling things to come. Little Ben, in his unique way, also recognizes Michael's birdies. What fun!
In the end, The Messengers proves to be an enjoyable romp into the twin worlds of departed spirits and living souls. Caught-up together, the protagonists and poltergeists solve a compelling murder mystery to restore balance across the dimensions. It also is a surprisingly heartwarming story of an urban family's struggle to begin an unexpected, new rural life, experienced mostly through the bruised psyche of a conflicted, adolescent girl. Kudos to the pang brothers for their artistic direction, Todd Farmer for his intelligent story, and Mark Wheaton for his enticing screenplay. Perhaps a little too much cliché and hyperbole have been borrowed from recent films in the genre, but only "Hitch" and writer Evan Hunter (aka Ed McBain) could have foreseen--and, indeed would have loved--the end!
Description of The Messengers
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 winLithe and tomboyish Kristen Stewart (Panic Room, The Safety of Objects) anchors the derivative but potently atmospheric horror movie The Messengers. The story--a troubled family moves into one of those creepy farmhouses that scream "serial murder site" and find their lives disturbed by unearthly occurrences--is a puree of plot elements from The Sixth Sense, The Birds, The Amityville Horror, The Shining, the recent spate of Japanese horror remakes, and more. Despite this, the movie may get under your skin; between the bleached sunlight, the effective ambient sound, and scenes that linger unexpectedly on quiet suspense, The Messengers creates a vivid and unsettling mood. There are still plenty of the abrupt jolts that make teenager girls clutch their dates, but this artful creepiness--combined with Stewart's engaging presence--will have a longer effect. Also featuring Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Penelope Ann Miller (Carlito's Way), and John Corbett (Northern Exposure, Sex and the City). Directed by the Pang Brothers, the duo responsible for Hong Kong hits like The Eye and Infernal Affairs. --Bret Fetzer
Beyond The Messengers at Amazon.com
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