THE MESSENGERS is a watchable horror film, a cross between a conventional American haunted house movie like THE AMITYVILLE HORROR with Asian ghost flicks like THE GRUDGE and THE RING, where the ghosts are palpable creatures, almost like our American notion of graveyard ghouls. A family moves into an old farmhouse and the teenage daughter starts seeing scary apparitions, all eventually leading her to realize maybe the last family to occupy the house didn't exactly move away. The ghostly figures represent excellent CGI work and can be pretty dreadful to look at, so I'd advise keeping the little ones in the house away from this one. This is not an Oscar-type movie acting-wise, but I must point out John Corbett who plays a lanky-haired handyman. A costar on NORTHERN EXPOSURE and recurring character on SEX AND THE CITY, he chews up and spits out the scenery every chance he gets. Frankly, I didn't even recognize him right away, which can be a good thing when you're trying to get into a movie character. Worh a watch, even if there's nothing exactly new here. It also is a notch above higher-budgeted fare like THE REAPING and the remake of THE WICKER MAN.
Review of The Messengers
