Movie Review: The Messengers (2007)

The movie stars Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett and Brent Briscoe.

I came across this movie a couple days ago while skimming through our movie channels. I knew I had seen it before. But, I couldn’t remember that much about it so I ended up recording it and my wife and I watched it before bed last night. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good film.

The thing I really liked about this particular movie was, in addition to being a halfway decent supernatural thriller; the film was also a pretty decent mystery. It’s obvious, from the start, something bad has happened at the farmhouse they purchased and it is haunted as a result of that. But, the writers do a pretty awesome job of keeping important details a secret until the very end. As a result of that, it was hard to tell if the spirits were evil or if they were trying to warn the daughter (Stewart) about something.

And, speaking of Stewart, I’m not normally a huge fan of hers. However, I thought she did an OK job in this role. She still seemed to struggle a bit, at times, during some of the more emotional scenes (one of my pet peeves about her). But, for the most part, she was convincing.

My biggest complaint about this movie is the same one I have with most films in this genre; the parents (McDermott and Miller) are just too clueless. Yes, they have a reason for not believing their daughter when she tells them about the weird activity in their new home. But, you can’t tell me they haven’t noticed some strange things too, especially since their son (Evan and Theodore Turner) likes to stare at shadows right in front of them and a mysterious stain keeps appearing on one of the walls.

Also, maybe it was just me, but they seemed to be way too trusting when they first met their farm hand, Burwell (Corbett). It’s one thing to offer the guy a job. It’s a completely different thing to invite a stranger (who happened to be passing by carrying a loaded gun) into your house with your family. In other words, they didn’t exactly win parents of the year in my book.

The movie does use some of the same cliches I’ve seen in countless other films, especially when it comes to the parents’ role. However, it did prove to be an entertaining film and I would recommend it if you haven’t seen it before.

My Grade: B