The Messengers is The
Pang Brothers first English-language feature
In The Messenger The Pang
Brothers bring their unique perspective to the often-seen ghost story.
Written
by BHM Editor Don
Sumner February 14, 2007
Release:
2007 Directed by: The Pang Brothers Written by: Mark Wheaton (Screenplay), Todd Farmer
(Story)
Staring:
Kristen Stewart as Jess Dylan McDermott as Roy Penelope Ann Miller as Denise John Corbett as Burwell
The Pang Brothers have gained quite a bit of renown for their
horror movies. Born in Hong Kong, Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang,
rocketed to notoriety with the 2002 film The
Eye, notable for dark images and genuinely creepy
scares.
The first English-language horror entry by the Pang Brothers is The
Messengers. Produced by Sam Raimi (The
Evil Dead) The Messengers is a credible
addition to the ghost story horror genre.
The Messengers begins with a family driving to the
country from their prior home in Chicago. The move is a significant
one, taking city-folk to the landscape of South Dakota to try their
hand at sunflower farming.
Early on it is clear that there is something wrong with daughter Jess
(Stewart). Mother (Miller) snaps at her and generally treats her like
she can’t be trusted at all. This is unfortunate for Jess,
because once in the house she starts seeing furniture moving and things
crashing to the floor from shelves by themselves,
and nobody believes her but the youngest child Ben (played by identical
twins Evan and Theodore Turner). In The Messengers
Ben sees things…and is often caught following some unseen
specter around the house with wonder and amazement in his eyes.
The final player in the story is Burwell (John Corbett), a drifter that
happens upon the hapless farmers and agrees to work the land in
exchange for room and board…until the first harvest. Burwell
is a likeable chap, but strikes Jess as a bit strange when he
apparently witnesses some of the strange happenings in the house and
then later claims that he saw nothing.
The Messengers is a great ghost story
with lots of creepy scenes where unseen specters reach out at members
of the household while they look on oblivious. The images are intense
and dark – taking many elements so popular in creepy Asian
horror and toning them down a bit for American audiences. Aficionados
of Asian horror will recognize several of the techniques and complain
that they are not intense as those used in the Asian flicks they
love…while those accustomed to the American brand of ghost
story will likely be struck by the intensity and scariness
of the images and be squirming in their seats.
An interesting and innovative twist on the typical ghost-story formula
in The Messengers is the use of light –
stark bright daylight. We are accustomed to “things that go
bump in the night”, but The Pang Brothers throw all of that
out the window by turning daylight, both outdoors and indoors, into a
realm for violent and horrific ghostly rantings. It
is often taken for granted that the scariest things are those that we
do not see, that can sneak up on us in the darkness. The
Messengers shows us all that things we can see are just as
scary, if not more so. Daytime is no longer safe as the monsters in The
Messengers do not discriminate between nighttime and the open
light of day.
The
Messengers is a cautious entry into
American Horror by two men accustomed to a no-holds-barred approach to
intense and dark horror. Overall The Messengers is
a tremendous success. I do imagine, however, that The Pang Brothers
will venture ever darker in their English-language efforts, and I look
forward to that indeed. Questions
or comments about The Messengers? Contact
us!
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Early on it is clear that there is something wrong with daughter Jess
(Stewart). Mother (Miller) snaps at her and generally treats her like
she can’t be trusted at all. This is unfortunate for Jess,
because once in the house she starts seeing furniture moving and things
crashing to the floor from shelves by themselves,
and nobody believes her but the youngest child Ben (played by identical
twins Evan and Theodore Turner). In The Messengers
Ben sees things…and is often caught following some unseen
specter around the house with wonder and amazement in his eyes. 
The Messengers is a great ghost story
with lots of creepy scenes where unseen specters reach out at members
of the household while they look on oblivious. The images are intense
and dark – taking many elements so popular in creepy Asian
horror and toning them down a bit for American audiences. Aficionados
of Asian horror will recognize several of the techniques and complain
that they are not intense as those used in the Asian flicks they
love…while those accustomed to the American brand of ghost
story will likely be struck by the intensity and scariness
of the images and be squirming in their seats. 
