The Messengers Information

The Messengers is a 2007 American supernatural horror film directed by the Pang Brothers, and produced by Sam Raimi. It stars Kristen Stewart, John Corbett, William B. Davis, Dylan McDermott, and Penelope Ann Miller. The film is about an ominous darkness that invades a seemingly serene sunflower farm in North Dakota, and the Solomon family"?the owners of the farm"?who are torn apart by suspicion, mayhem, and murder.

The film was released on February 2, with the DVD released on June 5. Although the setting of the film is in North Dakota, filming actually took place in the Qu'Appelle Valley near the small community of Abernethy, Saskatchewan, Canada. The graphic novel adaptation was published in January 2007 by Dark Horse Comics, written by Jason Hall, and illustrated by Kelley Jones. The prequel, Messengers 2: The Scarecrow, was released on June 21, 2009.

Plot

The film starts with a terrified mother and her young son. As she packs a suitcase, she hears something coming towards the door and makes her son hide under the bed. The door bursts open and something throws the mother against the wall, killing her. The son flees and runs into his terrified sister. The boy hides under a table, but his sister is caught and pushed over the banister of the stairs, then dragged down to the cellar. The boy hides but is eventually found by the attacker.

Five years later, the Solomon family arrive from Chicago and move into the house, hoping to start a sunflower farm. The teenage daughter, Jess (Kristen Stewart), is upset about moving away from her friends. Some time ago, Jess had driven drunk with her younger brother, Ben, a toddler at the time, in the car. She got into an accident, seriously injuring Ben. He recovered, but does not speak. Jess's mistake has torn her from the family as her father, Roy, and mother, Denise, have a hard time trusting their daughter. Roy believes moving to the farm will help heal the family.

However, ominous events start occurring. The house always has crows flying around it. Some even attack Roy, but are driven off by a kind drifter named John Burwell, whom Roy hires to work on the farm. Ben sees ghosts of the mother and children in the house, though they do not seem to frighten him. Jess is also aware of their presence but is unable to see them until they attempt to drag her down to the cellar. She calls 9-1-1 after the sister's ghost attacks her, but the police consider it a false alarm, having found nothing. Jess's parents do not believe her either, and tensions arise between them and Jess. While Ben witnessed what happened, still being very young and mute, he is unable to confirm her story. Only Bobby, a boy from town whom Jess befriends, supports her.

Jess and Ben have more encounters with the ghosts haunting the house. Because her parents misunderstand her, Jess becomes determined to prove her claim. She discovers more about the Rollins family, the house's previous owners. According to the locals, the Rollins lived in the house, but left suddenly five years ago. However, at a local store, Jess sees a newspaper clipping of the family, with the father revealed to be none other than John Burwell, who has always been kind to her. As it turns out, John is actually John Rollins, the man who, in a fit of madness, murdered his entire family, shown in the beginning of the film. Shocked, Jess rushes back to the house with Bobby to warn her family before it is too late.

Back at home, Denise sees the mother's ghost. Realizing Jess had been right, she becomes determined to leave. John is viciously attacked by the crows, and his mental state becomes unbalanced. He believes Denise is his wife Mary, trying to leave him the same way the actual Mary had 5 years before. He attacks Denise, but she grabs Ben and hides in the cellar. Bobby and Jess arrive, but John knocks Bobby out with a pitchfork. Jess runs into the cellar and finds Denise and Ben. Denise apologizes to Jess for not believing her. John looks for them, believing that Jess is his daughter Lindsay, and Ben is his son Michael. Roy arrives but is stabbed by John. The ghosts of John's slain family arise from endless bubbling mud and vengefully pull him down to join them. When Jess feels safe she goes to check on her family who are still in the cellar and John's hand grabs Jess's foot pulling her down with him. However, Jess's parents work together to save their daughter and John is sucked in forever.

Thanks to Bobby, police and paramedics arrive shortly after the attack. As Roy is loaded into the ambulance, he too apologizes to Jess. At the end, things have returned to normal. The crows no longer attack, the ghosts stop appearing, and Ben starts talking again. The family is happy once more.

Cast

• Kristen Stewart as Jess Solomon
• Dylan McDermott as Roy Solomon
• Penelope Ann Miller as Denise Solomon
• John Corbett as John Burwell/John Rollins
• Evan Turner as Ben Solomon
• Theodore Turner as Ben Solomon
• William B. Davis as Colby Price
• Brent Briscoe as Plume
• Dustin Milligan as Bobby
• Jodelle Ferland as Michael Rollins
• Michael Daingerfield as Police Officer
• Tatiana Maslany as Lindsay Rollins
• Shirley McQueen as Mary Rollins
• Kieria Robinson as Katy Turner

Production

The film began life as an original script called The Scarecrow by Todd Farmer. It was originally written as a psychological thriller as opposed to a more supernatural horror film. It was about a family on a farm suffering from financial problems and bad seasoning. When the patriarch puts up a strange scarecrow out in the field, things start to change. But then people start to get killed, and the main character suspects the scarecrow. By the end, the main character is revealed to have caused the killings.

The script was sold to Revolution Studios. Director Patrick Lussier signed on to the film, and put a supernatural flair into the story. Revolution then brought in Stuart Beattie to rewrite the script. "What I pitched was "the horror version of A Beautiful Mind," said Farmer, "and what they wanted was "The Shining on a farm." Revolution then sold it to Ghost House Pictures, who then took it and hired Mark Wheaton to rewrite it. None of the original script survived through the rewrites, besides the farm setting, and character names.

The original Scarecrow script is now used as the basis for the prequel, Messengers 2: The Scarecrow.

Reception

Box office

The Messengers placed first in box office receipts for the weekend of February 2"4, 2007. In its first weekend of release, the film grossed $14,713,321. As of February 23, 2008, the film had grossed $54,957,265.

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. It holds a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being "The Messengers is an atmospheric but derivative rip-off of countless other horror movies." On imdb.com, it holds a 5.2 out of 10.

Prequel

A prequel titled Messengers 2: The Scarecrow was released on July 21, 2009. The Rollins Family are the film's main characters. It stars Norman Reedus and Australian actress Claire Holt.

Book

A comic version of the film was published by Dark Horse Comics in January 2007.