2/5 Stone the crows!
  by sft (UK)
Sadly, this is about as derivative as it gets. Every haunted house cliché is dragged out along with a bit of The Birds and The Shining thrown in just for good measure. There are some genuinely creepy moments along the way but the formula is so tired and predictable that these moments are not enough to save the movie. Kirsten Stewart does a reasonable job of carrying the story along but the entire cast clearly lack conviction, and this lack of belief diminishes the film even more.

3/5 Crazy Crows!
  by Jim Gateley (Sunnyvale, CA)
3 of 5 stars for the suspense movie The Messengers. A family moves from civilization to the middle-of-no-where into an obviously haunted house about two steps better than the Addams Family house. We have an unbalanced daughter and a baby brother who "sees things". The house is part of a Sunflower farm. We hire a farm hand to help our family. Strange things start to happen specially with the local crow population. I won't spoil the suspense elements of the movie. Of course, had it been me, I'd never have moved into the house in the first place. This is a well made suspense movie with really odd things happening. Good suspense music. Good plot and well acted. I do recommend this movie.

5/5 Kristen Stewart
  by Kody (New York,NY)
I love Kristen. Every movie of hers in enjoy! This movie is a nice thriller!

3/5 RAIMI & TAPERT TEAM WITH THE PANG BROS
  by fmwaalex (Austin, TX USA)
THE MESSENGERS

I have been a fan of Sam Raimi and all of them since the first "Evil Dead" film and every thing afterward, so you know I own any thing the man is connected to. When he and Rob Tapert created Ghost House Pictures you know I was excited and thus far I have not have hated anything they have put out. I do how ever like some more so than others but for the most part they are entertaining. The Messengers while not a classic or even completely original still manages to be good and I credit the performances mostly for that.

The Rollins family seems nice enough but that does not stop someone or something from picking them apart and hunting them down inside their own home. Years later the Solomon family move in and try to forget about the drunken driving accident that forced them to move. Once there things seem good at first until their daughter Jessica and their son Ben begin to notice something not of this world also live there. As time goes on the occurrences get more and more apparent as Jessica tries to protect her brother. At the same time their dad seems to be losing it Shining or Amityville style and their mother does not believe them. Their father has a hard time with the crops or basically sunflowers until he hires Burwell to help him, still the crows do not like what is taking place and start to get violent. As the family falls apart and the ghosts get restless it seems it is all up to Jessica to learn about what is really happening.

Sam and Rob's Ghost House Pictures did an excellent job casting this film because the strongest attribute this film has is the cast. Kristen Stewart is excellent in this as Jessica and does a marvelous job in the film, she also has a nice look to her like a very real down to earth feel and not a stuck up diva feel. Dylan McDermott does a great job as Roy the father of the family and play the part kinda like an Amityville film. Penelope Ann Miller as well is great in the mother role as Denise and does a great job as well. Still other than Kirsten the MVP of this film just may be John Corbett who plays Burwell. He does an excellent job and his turn in the end is great.

The story over all is fine I guess but it is just your typical ghost/revenge story so there really is nothing new here. Writers Todd Farmer [Jason X, My Bloody Valentine, Messengers 2, and the upcoming Halloween 3] and Mark Wheaton [Friday the 13th remake] made the characters a little interesting but the story was unoriginal for the most part. Directors the Pang Brothers [Bangkok Dangerous, The Eye, The Eye 2, Bangkok Dangerous remake] seemed to want to transition into more of an American style somewhat and that may be why the film suffers a bit. They did not completely switch up their style but they do feel a little more tame in this one.

I would not say that this is a bad movie and in fact I would say it is worthy of viewing from anybody, I bought it but a rental maybe the way to go for the average viewer. I am a huge fan of Sam and Rob so not only did I see this in theaters but I do own it. Do I recommend this film, yes, is it the best film ever, no. If you are a fan of Raimi or any one involved in this film it is highly recommended, I do think the casual fan would enjoy this as well.


3/5 a delightful horror romp through the sunflower fields.....
  by bittersweet (witch city salem ma)
i first saw "the messengers" several years ago...but my interest was renewed with the discovery of kristen steward's involvement....

this is a unpredictable horror tale...full of gorgeous cinematography and beautiful people...it still possesses the "there's something fishy happening here vibe and the jump out at ya dark scary spooky element"....while supporting an interesting family dynamic sub-plot as well..

i, especially, appreciated seeing KS displaying her most individual, clean, refreshing, believable and rudimentary style of acting in another genre other than her portrayal of bells in my beloved twilight.....

it was a delightful horror romp through the sunflower fields.....