Renzie Reviews: The Messengers

I've had the chance to watch The Messengers on Star Movies the other day.

I have to admit: I had high expectations for the movie- after all, it's a project from The Pang Brothers. These are the same guys who gave us the Asian Horror favorite The Eye (and its sequels) and action-packed Bangkok Dangerous. Plus one of the brothers (Danny) had also worked on Infernal Affairs (and its sequel and prequel)- a great movie from which Martin Scorsese drew inspiration from for The Departed.

The Messengers is a thriller directed by The Pang Brothers, and produced by Sam Raimi. I initially thought there was an original Asian version of the film, but later found out that it was Hollywood-backed from the very beginning.

Weird things start happening in the Solomon household after the entire family makes the move from the city to start a sunflower farm. But only the kids- teenager Jess and younger brother Ben- get to see the worst of it all. Naturally, all this tension threatens to tear the family apart- until they find out what's really going on- which is what the whole film is all about.

Like I mentioned, I had high hopes for the film. But it didn't really settle well with me. I'd say it would probably be because the movie didn't offer anything new to me in terms of scares and horror. Even the ghosts in the movie- with all the writhing and scuttling about on the ceiling and everything- almost seems so common now.

I had at least hoped for a brilliant twist in the end, but unfortunately it was rather predictable through-and-through.

My gauge for a good thriller, or a good horror movie, is that it screws you up after you've watched it- it makes you avoid all the usual everyday things. The Ring (Ringu- the original Japanese version) fucked me up so bad that I'd hate to put in a VHS tape into a player, answer an unknown number on my phone or even look at a static TV screen. Nightmare on Elm Street made me afraid of sleeping when I was a kid. Stir of Echoes would make me think twice about going under hypnosis or whatever harmless party prank.

With The Messengers? Don't move into a run-down farm in the middle of nowhere. You know shit's gonna happen when you find yourself in the middle of a crow infestation. And for Bob's sake, listen to the kids sometimes.

Final Word: probably worth watching once, but I wouldn't get me a copy on DVD.

Cheers, everyone!