The Messengers (2007)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Directors:

Oxide Pang Chun
Danny Pang

Writers (WGA):

Mark Wheaton (screenplay)
Todd Farmer (story)

Release Date:

2 February 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

There is evidence to suggest that children are highly susceptible to paranormal phenomena. They see what adults cannot. They believe what adults deny. And they are trying to warn us.

Plot:

An ominous darkness invades a seemingly serene sunflower farm in North Dakota, and the Solomon family is torn apart by suspicion, mayhem and murder.

Plot Keywords:

Sunflower | Farm | North Dakota | Supernatural | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kristen Stewart	...	Jess
Dylan McDermott	...	Roy
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Denise
John Corbett	...	Burwell
Evan Turner	...	Ben
Theodore Turner	...	Ben
William B. Davis	...	Colby Price
Brent Briscoe	...	Plume
Dustin Milligan	...	Bobby
Jodelle Ferland	...	Michael Rollins
Michael Daingerfield	...	Police Officer
Tatiana Maslany	...	Lindsay Rollins
Shirley McQueen	...	Mary Rollins
Anna Hagan	...	Doctor
Blaine Hart	...	Charlie
Graham Bell	...	Jim
Kaitlyn McMillan	...	Nurse
Peter Scoular	...	Deputy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Benz	...	Town Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Oxide Pang Chun
Danny Pang

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Wheaton		(screenplay)
Todd Farmer		(story)

Produced by
Lou Arkoff	....	co-producer
Rhonda Baker	....	line producer: Canada
Joseph Drake	....	executive producer (as Joe Drake)
Nathan Kahane	....	executive producer
Kelli Konop	....	co-producer
Jim Miller	....	co-producer
Andrew Pfeffer	....	line producer
Sam Raimi	....	producer
William Sherak	....	producer
Jason Shuman	....	producer
Robert G. Tapert	....	producer (as Rob Tapert)
J.R. Young	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Joseph LoDuca

Cinematography by
David Geddes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Axelrad
Armen Minasian
Tim Mirkovich

Casting by
Betia Hovedskov
Nancy Nayor
Kelly Wagner

Production Design by
Alicia Keywan

Art Direction by
Ken Watkins

Set Decoration by
Sara McCudden

Costume Design by
Mary Hyde-Kerr
Cathy McComb

Makeup Department
Steven E. Anderson	....	special makeup effects artist: Tatopoulos Studios
Russell Cate	....	special makeup effects artist
Jennifer Forberg	....	special makeup effects trainee
Tracy George	....	key makeup artist
Tamara Harrod	....	key hair stylist
Natasha Ladek	....	wig maker: Kristen Stewart
Julian Ledger	....	special makeup effects artist: Tatopoulos Studios
Lisa Love	....	makeup artist: Ms. Stewart
Louise Mackintosh	....	key special makeup effects artist
Nina McArthur	....	hair stylist
David Scott	....	special makeup effects artist
Patrick Tatopoulos	....	special effects designer and fabricator: "Daughter"

Production Management
Rhonda Baker	....	unit production manager
Jack Schuster	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kenny Chaplin	....	third assistant director
Cub Chin	....	assistant director
Trevor Cunningham	....	first assistant director: second unit
Elizabeth Farrer	....	third assistant director
Holly Gilliam	....	trainee assistant director
Grant Lucibello	....	second assistant director
Nathan Mosewich	....	trainee assistant director
Shayne Putzlocher	....	second assistant director: second unit
Eduardo Rodriguez	....	director: reshoots
Jon Tewksbury	....	third assistant director: second unit
Craig Wallace	....	second assistant director
Mark Wallace	....	first assistant director
Pamela Wintringham	....	second assistant director
Bruce Jones	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Alfred A. Arndt	....	construction coordinator
Katie Bowes	....	props
Shelly Bowes	....	art department coordinator
Chris Buchinsky	....	storyboard artist
Dean Campbell	....	carpenter (reshoot)
Tim C Campbell	....	key scenic artist
Lucas T. Chadwick	....	on-set dresser
Barbara Chandler	....	on-set scenic
Adrienne Conley	....	graphic designer
Adrienne Conley	....	trainee set designer
Norm Daschle	....	assistant property master
Henry Thomas Earle	....	set dresser
Jonathan Gesinski	....	storyboard artist
Alain Giguère	....	key painter
Simon Haywood-Anderson	....	set dresser
Philip Keller	....	storyboard artist
Lee Kolenick	....	set dresser
Jean-Pierre Lavoie	....	set designer
Mark Montague	....	storyboard coordinator
Russell Moore	....	set designer
Bob Nett	....	construction buyer
Skye Rolick	....	props buyer
Brent Russell	....	assistant set decorator
Jon Tewksbury	....	set dresser
Adrian Traquair	....	set dresser
Bev Ulmer	....	scenic painter
Ric Walkington	....	property master
Johann Wessels	....	scenic artist
Jean-François Merlot	....	scenic painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ulrika Akander	....	supervising adr editor
Garrell Clark	....	sound mixer
Matthew P. Hanson	....	sound assistant
Jamie Hardt	....	assistant sound editor
Ryan Maguire	....	foley mixer
Paul N.J. Ottosson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul N.J. Ottosson	....	supervising sound editor
Daniel Pagan	....	sound effects editor
Sean Rowe	....	foley artist
Mark A. Rozett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kelly Vandever	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bernard Weiser	....	supervising foley editor
Kelly Zombor	....	boom operator
Jeff Hamon	....	utility sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Julia Bogdan-Rollo	....	production accountant: Tatopoulos Studios
Dean Campbell	....	special effects assistant
Kelly Coe	....	fabricator
John Halfmann	....	moldmaker: Tatopoulos Studios
Guy Himber	....	shop supervisor: Tatopoulos Studios
Allison Klein	....	assistant to designer: Tatopoulos Studios
Lee Kolenick	....	special effects buyer
Casey Love	....	key sculptor: Tatopoulos Studios
Amanda Paller	....	special effects assistant
James Paradis	....	special effects coordinator
James Paradis	....	special effects director
Marcine Peter	....	contact lens technician
Anshuman Prasad	....	purchasing agent: Tatopoulos Studios
Maurice Routly	....	special effects co-coordinator
Hayden Scott	....	special effects assistant
Mark Viniello	....	foam supervisor: Tatopoulos Studios

Visual Effects by
Dave Isaac Santos Abuel	....	visual effects (as Dan Abuel)
Hoon Bae	....	visual effects
Brian Beard	....	digital intermediate editor
Jeff Bruneel	....	digital compositor: Technicolor
Anthony De Chellis	....	animator
Paul DeOliveira	....	digital compositor: Technicolor
Gene Dreitser	....	senior technical director
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging supervisor: iO FILM
Dana Marin Fisher	....	visual effects coordinator
Rob Gennings	....	animator: Technicolor
Brent Paul George	....	visual effects supervisor
Jon Greenhalgh	....	digital compositor: Michael Kaelin & Associates, Inc.
Chris Hopkins	....	Compositor: Michael Kaelin & Assoc. Inc.
Jason Howey	....	visual effects
Bruce Jones	....	visual effects supervisor
Phil Jones	....	visual effects supervisor: Technicolor
Michael Kaelin	....	compositing supervisor: Michael Kaelin & Assoc. Inc.
Aaron Kaminar	....	visual effects
Michael Kennen	....	digital compositor: Michael Kaelin & Associates, Inc.
Martin Krol	....	lead modeller: Technicolor Vfx
Ryan Kuba	....	visual effects coordinator: Technicolor Creative Services
Benjamin Liu	....	visual effects
Ryan McDonald	....	visual effects developer
Michael Morreale	....	executive producer: Amalgamated Pixels
Jordan Nieuwland	....	matte painter: Technicolor
Sean O'Hara	....	compositor
Phillip Palousek	....	visual effects coordinator
Persis Reynolds	....	visual effects producer: Technicolor
Ruben Salazar	....	digital compositor
Amir Shachar	....	lighting
Amir Shachar	....	shader development: TCS Toronto
Vivian Wei	....	visual effects
Stephen Wilson	....	digital compositor
Sunny Wong	....	visual effects
Sarah Wormsbecher	....	visual effects production manager: Technicolor
Vincent Lavares	....	data manager (uncredited)
Klaus Steden	....	senior systems administrator (uncredited)

Stunts
Mario De Negri	....	stunt performer
Terrance Leigh	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Terrance Leigh	....	stunt double
Lori MacKay	....	stunt performer
Tracy McMahon	....	stunt double
Aleks Paunovic	....	stunt double
Kristen Sawatzky	....	stunt performer
Rick Skene	....	stunt coordinator
Sean Skene	....	stunt performer
Jodi Terhoch	....	stunt double
Ron Webber	....	assistant stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
John Adshead	....	key grip
Dustin Allen	....	lamp operator
Richard Buckmaster	....	gaffer
Al Campbell	....	key grip
Peter G. Capadouca	....	gaffer
Latif Cavanaugh	....	grip
Mark Dobrescu	....	camera operator
Mark Dobrescu	....	director of photography: second unit
Chad Ferguson	....	grip
Shawn Fulton	....	lighting technician
Shane Geddes	....	second assistant camera: additional photography
David Giesbrecht	....	still photographer: re-shoot
Matt Greenhough	....	dolly grip
Daryl Hartwell	....	daily dolly grip
Rob Hillstead	....	lighting technician
Junichi Hosoi	....	Steadicam operator
Junichi Hosoi	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Ken Krawczyk	....	director of photography: second unit: re-shoots
Nick Lamb	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Kevin Lheritier	....	best boy grip
David Fred Masselink	....	digital imaging technician
Karen Obertowich	....	video assistant: re-shoots
Chooch Paglaro	....	video playback: re-shoot
Rob Rowan	....	rigging best boy electric
Takashi Seida	....	still photographer
Timothy Robin Spencer	....	key first assistant camera
Alison J. Stewart	....	grip (as Alison Rigby)
Scott Storm	....	rigging grip
Scott Tremblay	....	best boy electric
Nicole Wiwchar	....	second assistant camera
Phil Wright	....	key rigging grip

Casting Department
Stuart Aikins	....	casting: Canada
Sean Cossey	....	casting: Canada
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Brenda McCormick	....	casting
Janine Sugawara	....	casting associate
Kathleen Widdows	....	additional casting
Kevin Mockrin	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sonja Clifton-Remple	....	costume breakdown artist
Sonja Clifton-Remple	....	costumer
Brook Hesseln	....	assistant costume designer (as Brook Hesselen)
Lynnette Kuchera	....	costume buyer
Kerri La Londe	....	truck costumer
Robin Merrifield	....	costumer
Tiffany Palmer	....	extras costumer
Joanna Vollhoffer	....	costume set supervisor
Danika Wright	....	costume buyer
Danika Wright	....	costume set supervisor

Editorial Department
Adam Hawkey	....	digital intermediate colorist
Michael Kaz	....	apprentice editor
Reed Whorton	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Scott Davidson	....	score mixer
Thomas Milano	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Sylvain Buteau	....	picture car coordinator
Sylvain Buteau	....	transportation captain
Sheila Richards	....	key transportation coordinator

Other crew
Ota Bares	....	trainer: raven
Brent Braaten	....	assistant to producers
Brenda Campbell	....	acting coach
Raz Cunningham	....	production assistant
Gavin Dargin	....	production assistant
Ken Dhaliwal	....	finance legal
Robert Disano	....	sous chef
Rob Doak	....	video coordinator
James Ferrera	....	unit publicist
Kathryn Floro	....	assistant to producers
Janice Fowlie	....	production accountant
Wendy Gaboury	....	production accountant
Ian Gardner	....	assistant to producers
Kelli Gillam	....	production accountant
Kim Goddard-Rains	....	production coordinator
Michelle Gougeon	....	assistant production coordinator
Rebecca Gray	....	first assistant accountant
Steve Hearn	....	location manager: second unit
Marc Jacobs	....	production resources
Tim Kleisinger	....	production assistant
Kerri La Londe	....	truck supervisor
Aaron Lam	....	assistant: Mr. Raimi
Steven Lewis	....	production attorney
Brianna Lund	....	kitchen assistant
Grace MacLeod	....	bug wrangler
Charity Martin	....	truck supervisor (reshoot)
Mark Montague	....	intern
Nathan Mosewich	....	continuity: second unit
Nathan Mosewich	....	key location production assistant
Nathan Mosewich	....	location production assistant
Nathan Mosewich	....	location production assistant: reshoots
Nathan Mosewich	....	trainee script supervisor
Jennifer Omoth	....	first assistant accountant
Serenity Xiao Xiao Pang-Bellman	....	assistant to directors
David Pollison	....	assistant: Robert Tapert
Marvin V. Scansen	....	chef
Kristen Schneider	....	payroll accountant
Pam Simons	....	production coordinator
Tyson Toebs	....	trainee sous chef
Joanna Vollhoffer	....	set supervisor
Jeff Warden	....	production assistant
Davis Yik	....	assistant to directors
Rowena Yik	....	assistant to directors

Production Companies

• Screen Gems (presents)
• Ghost House Pictures (presents)
• Columbia Pictures (presents)
• Blue Star Pictures
• Scarecrow Productions
• Mandate Pictures

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2007-) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Gems (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Applause Entertainment (2007) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Cinergia (2007) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Falcom Media (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Viva Films (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Medyavizyon (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)

Special Effects

• Caligari (prosthetics)
• Tatopoulos Studios (prosthetics)
• Technicolor Creative Services (visual effects)
• Reality Check Studios (visual effects)
• Michael Kaelin & Associates (visual effects)
• Amalgamated Pixels (visual effects)
• New Media Campus / Visual Illusions (visual effects)
• Patrick Tatopoulos Design

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Gamma & Density  on-set color correction (as Gamma and Density's 3CP system)
• Imaginary Forces  main titles
• Monkeyland Audio  pre-dub re-recording facility
• audiomachine  advertising
• iO Films  digital intermediate

Also Known As:

Scarecrow (International: English title) (working title)
The Untitled Pang Brothers Horror Project (USA) (working title)
Totem (International: English title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing violence and terror.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White (flashback scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42010) | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Ireland:15A | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | France:-12 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 | Chile:14 | Brazil:12 | Malaysia:18PL | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Company:

Screen Gems

Trivia:

At the film premiere in Minot, North Dakota, when Bobby said "Welcome to North Dakota," the audience broke out in laughter.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Denise is scrubbing the stain on the wall, the amount she has scrubbed, and the soapy water on the wall, is inconsistent between shots.

Quotes:

Jess: [to her brother] Where are they? What do you see?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HypaSpace: (#4.170)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

All My Dreams Are Coming True

Decent But Heavily Derivative.

"The Messengers" revolves around a young teenager, Jess (Kristen Stewart), who moves out into rural North Dakota with her dad (Dylan McDermott), her mother (Penelope Ann Miller), and her little brother, to a sunflower farm. The house they move into is run-down and very spooky, and Jess isn't happy about the entire situation. From the moment they arrive to the house, Jess begins to have strange experiences and see very bizarre things. Her younger brother also sees things that nobody else can, and Jess is concerned. A man who shows up out of nowhere (John Corbett) to work at the farm, and the family becomes pretty close with him as well. But the increasingly frightening supernatural experiences that only Jess seems to see get more and more violent, and seem to have a relation to something that happened in the house years ago.

With some obvious similarities to "The Grudge" (and just about every ghost story you can think of), "The Messengers" is an extremely derivative ghost tale that manages to hold itself up without becoming unbearably watchable. The story itself is your typical haunted-house yarn - family moves into house, strange experiences begin that can only be seen by the children or our main character, seems to have a relation to a horrible incident that happened in the house years before. Full of dark and shadowy rooms, ghost-like figures with ridiculously orchestrated jerky movements (reminiscent of "The Grudge"), mostly useless "jump" scares, and a small child character who can see things others can't, "The Messengers" is clichéd, no doubting that. I wasn't afraid once during this film, because I knew when to expect all of the scary moments. Maybe it's because I've seen films like this one too many times, but all I can say for sure is that I didn't find this film scary.

While this film is heavily clichéd (which is probably it's strongest negative point), I still managed to enjoy the majority of it. While the story is typical, it managed to keep my attention and I was at least interested. The cinematography really soared in this film. Everything was very nice looking and the atmosphere was great. The backdrop of the house and the surrounding land really made it feel like it was in the complete middle of nowhere, and the old house itself, while it was your typical haunted house, was admittedly spooky looking. The acting was really good for the most part. Kristen Stewart is the lead and is very talented and convincing. I'd previously seen her in "Panic Room" at a younger age, and even then she was good. I can see her going places. Dylan McDermott and John Corbett are both very good as well, and Penelope Ann Miller, while not giving the best performance of the cast, was decent enough. I can't say anything too horrible about the acting though.

Overall, "The Messengers" is your typical, cliché-ridden modern ghost story, and it borrows so much from other recent films of it's type (which a lot of these films seem to do), that it becomes another one of those "we've seen it all before" horror movies. It doesn't offer much of anything new for the genre, but it was at least watchable. If you want some cheap scares and a very few number of eerie moments, you'll probably enjoy this. But mostly, this film is one big cliché. Enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously though, but just average. 5/10.