themessenger

The Messengers

Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki

Roundtable interview with actor Dylan Mcdermott

After the phenomenal success of their 2002 cult film "The Eye", the Pang brothers, Hong Kong's twin filmmakers, have now made their splash onto an American shore, heavily borrowing from J-Horror humidity. Their latest stab, "The Messenger," begins with the obvious flashback of a victim being dragged to the basement, with fingernail scratches all over the floor.

The Solomon family of Chicago has relocated themselves to a secluded farm with a spooky rundown house in North Dakota, looking to leave their troubles behind, but they are totally clueless about the murder that had taken place a few years earlier. Roy (Dylan McDermott), who has been unemployed for two years, intends to raise sunflowers in his new location. The family's mom Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) tries to snazz up the place to make it home.

Then one night, their 3 year-old-son, Ben (Evan and Theodore Turner) perceives a creepy skittering creature lurking about. Then all hell breaks loose. A flock of crows park on a roof, all of a sudden, swarming and pecking at Roy. The incident causes the family to hire a drifter named Burwell (John Corbett) to help them with the harvest. He wanders onto the farm with a shotgun in his hand. But this apparition only frightens their troubled daughter Jess (Kristen Stewart), who starts to complain the house is haunted. The others dismiss her out of hand due to her drinking escapades in the past, which sent her baby brother to the hospital. This led to her being unable to speak, so constantly her parents have to be on top of her.

In addition to the ever-encroaching presence of the paranormal that's exacerbated here, Roy faces a financial as well as an emotional crisis. With all the investment in this farm, Roy can't leave this house or his life will be ruined. Soon the family learns that the spirits are actually seeking the help of the living to find peace, so they can battle the real killer. Throughout the film, Kristen Stewart generates a strong sense of isolation--she is definitely one to watch.

Even though some of the set-up rather seems rather derivative, the Pang brothers have created an atmospheric thriller by expository sequences that are shortened just as in any horror films, fully leaving things up to the stunning visuals, and creating a revealing character study of a dysfunctional family. All this makes for extremely tense moments, with camera movements that intentionally ratchet up the suspense. After all, it's the horror film that transcends the world.

Directed by Danny Pang and Oxide Pang
Written by Mark Wheaton
Based on a story by Todd Farmer
Director of photography:David Geddes
Edited by John Axelrad and Armen Minasian
Music by Joseph LoDuca
Production designer: Alicia Keywan
Produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, William Sherak and Jason Shuman
Released by Screen Gems, Ghost House Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
Running time: 90 minutes.

Cast: Kristen Stewart (Jess)
Dylan McDermott (Roy)
Penelope Ann Miller (Denise)
John Corbett (Burwell)
Evan Turner (Ben), Theodore Turner (Ben),
and William B. Davis (Colby Price) .