Movie Review -- The Messengers

I accidentally picked up the wrong movie at the Blockbuster, thought i was getting the Hilary Swank plague movie, The Reaping, nope, got THE MESSENGERS. The girl on the cover, actress Kristen Stewart, who I might add I had never heard of, looks a lot like Swank, at least on the cover of the DVD.

I paid the $4.27, no choice but to watch it now.

THE MESSENGERS, not to be confused with THE MESSENGER, Story of Joan of Arc, stars actors Dylan McDermott and John Corbett, how bad could it be? If nothing a little eye candy, ey? Well, McDermott is alright throughout the movie, a bit of a dim character as the father of the family. His shining moments are working in the sunflower fields in his wifebeater, yummy. Corbett, however, plays a wandering jack of all trades who comes to stay with the family to help grow some sunflowers. He is nowhere near his hottieness last seen on Sex and the City, but nonetheless. The movie also stars Penelope Ann Miller, best known for her work as Winnie in Big Top Pee-Wee. Miller is the mother of Stewart and a small boy who doesn't talk, you know that's creepy! Anywho, the family moved to a farm in North Dakota from Chicago because of something this Stewart girl did, they talk around "what happened" but it is not until the end of the movie that we discover what she did and why it had caused such a strain on the family. As I was saying, the family moves to an abandoned house with a creepy barn and old tractor to try their hand at growing sunflowers. Spooky stuff starts happening that only Stewart and the non-verbal little boy can see, and no one believes her! Go figure. A lot of the movie is her walking around the haunted house trying to find out what's going on, hello? anyone there? run bitch! goodness. Throughout the movie, the scariest part to me were the damn crows, they were everywhere, a bit reminiscent of Hitchcock's classic The Birds. Ew, I hate 'em! There were some definite jumpy parts, the kind that make your fingernails sink into the person sitting next to you (sorry D.!) All in all, I give it a "mmm, why not?" rating, as in "why not, there was nothing better to rent." It will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy but not wanting to ever move to North Dakota, to an shanty house, with your crazy teenage daughter, non speaking toddler, growing sunflowers, and being around crows!