Movie #15 - The Messengers

There was a great deal of potential when this movie started, however, as the plot progressed, scene after scene became more predictable.

The Messengers seemed to unfold like a combination of scenes and plots similar to other films such as The Others, mixed in with a dabble of The Grudge, with a pinch of The Amityville Horror and even some insights stolen from The Ring. There was nothing new achieved in this film and it ranks up there as another quick scare movie - especially since it seemed quite short with little to no character development.

I was impressed by the young actress cast in this film. Kristen Stewart gives a strong performance despite her lack of exposure in the industry. She actually conveys to the audience that she is genuinely scared by the haunting of her new home, however, a better script probably would've taken advantage of her acting performance. I was not impressed by the achievements of Dylan McDermott or Penelope Ann Miller. I believe both actors were cast as potential headliners for this movie. Their roles could be easily interchanged with no name actors, who probably would have achieved the same level of performance.

As a fan of the X-Files television show of the late 90's, William B. Davis (otherwise known as the Cigarette Smoking Man or "Cancer Man") makes a brief cameo in this film. At first glance, you see him as his old menacing character from the show, however, I would have liked Davis to have a greater role as this movie progressed. He's a strong actor and would be a nice complement to the movie - he was grossly misused as a cast member.

With about 40 minutes left in the film, the progression of the script seemed quite telegraphed and predictable. This is consistent with many of Sam Raimi's recent films, even the blockbusters. Gone are the days of Evil Dead where every other scene was unique and you didn't expect what would come next. Gone are the days of the cult classics. Raimi's new production company, Ghost House, is still seeking its first big hit. The Messengers was a good try, but that wasn't it.

Reference: I originally published this article on www.helium.com