Review of The Messengers (2007) by Jason J — 14 Apr 2011

The Pang Brothers are mostly known in the West for The Eye, about a girl who gets a cornea transplant and, as a result, sees more than she bargained for. It had a decent storyline and, above all, an excellent sense of timing that gets you jumping out of your seat. A similar dynamic runs through The Messengers. It's about an American family who make a new start out in the countryside. At first, only the teenage daughter and her young brother can 'see' any of the nasty goings on, but eventually everyone gets dragged in. This movie's use of lighting, sound, camera angles and clever pacing ensure shocks are there, even if the story does not have the originality of the Pang Brothers' earlier work. Kristen Stewart is a fairly strong lead and is easy to empathize with and does a great job looking terrified. Considering that I dislike her acting in the Twilight movies, she does very well in this one.

There is no doubting that The Messengers can make you jump, shriek, or hide behind your hands and peek out through the cracks of your fingers. But it does have the predictability of a fairground ghost-ride. Someone creeping up behind you and going "Boo!" can be scary, but it's a bit unoriginal.