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The Messengers


The Messengers is a horror movie that stars Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, and John Corbett. The movie tells the story of Jess and her family who have moved from the big city to basically the middle of nowhere so that her father can try to make a go of a sunflower farm (yes, you read that right--a sunflower farm!). It is the new start that the family apparently so desperately needs. Before long Jess and her younger brother discover that the farmhouse is haunted with scary ghosts who may or may not wish the family harm.

I'm not really sure where to start with this movie. The film makes it obvious that Jess and her family share a troubled history that has created thick tension among its members. The nature of this history and the subsequent tension is alluded to and eventually explained towards the end of the film. However, the vibe that the family gives off on screen is that it's a blended family. For example, the tension between Jess and her mother seems more like the tension that would exist between a daughter and her stepmother, and this is reinforced by the more comfortable, less tension filled interactions between Jess and her father. There is also the large age difference between Jess who is 15 or 16 and her brother who is only about three years old. Obviously, the whole family dynamic distracted me throughout the film while I tried to figure them out.

The movie itself provides several thrills, chills, and scares. Ultimately, the movie was unoriginal plotwise, and there were plotholes that were never fully explained to my liking. The haunting itself and its cause and timing and the people involved aren't satisfactorily explained. If you are a die hard horror fan, you might want to check this movie out the next time you're in the library. It's located in the DVD section at the Matthews Public Library. Otherwise, you might want to try another scary movie.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie
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