Messengers 2: The Scarecrow

The family man farmer John Rollins (Norman Reedus) is stressed with his financial situation: the crows and the lack of irrigation are destroying his crop of corn; the bank is near closure of his mortgage; he does not have credit to fix the water pump or to buy seeds; and his marriage is in crisis and his wife Mary (Heather Stephens) is giving too much attention to her friend Tommy (Atanas Srebrev). When John accidentally discovers a hidden compartment in the barn, he finds a creepy scarecrow but his son Michael (Laurence Belcher) makes him promise to destroy it. However, his neighbor Jude Weatherby (Richard Riehle) visits him, gives a six-pack of beer to the abstemious John and convinces him to put the scarecrow in the cornfield. Out of the blue, the life of John changes: the crows die; the pump works again irrigating the land; and the banker responsible for the closure has an accident and dies. However, he feels that his land is possessed by something evil that is threatening his beloved family.

"Messengers 2: The Scarecrow" is a good direct-to-video supernatural movie. The story may be not original but is well constructed, with a good screenplay and effective performances of veteran and novice actors and actresses. The conclusion is the weakest part of this decent horror movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Mensageiros 2" ("The Messengers 2")

Tired, predictable, and dull for stretches. It's never scary or suspenseful. The acting is weak, with Norman Reedus trying his best as the lead character but he's just woefully miscast here. He's about as believable as a farmer as he would be as the King of England. His son in the movie is played by an annoying child actor. Claire Holt plays his daughter in her movie debut. The role isn't great but she's fine in it. The wife character is terrible and there just to service a few clichés. So much of this feels I have seen it before in better movies. On the (very shallow) plus side, Darcy Fowers has a couple of very nice nude scenes. Hey, that's something, right?

Another direct to DVD film to fill the shelves of Blockbuster, this film wasn't THAT bad. It also wasn't that good.

The plot is that a down on his luck farmer is getting it from all sides. The bank wants to foreclose on his farm, the old friend from high school is making moves on the wife, and even the damned crows are eating your corn and pooping on it... The poor guy can't get a break, until he finds the scarecrow. Well, it's the best scarecrow ever, because not only does it kill the crows, but the banker and the interloper die in amusingly ironic ways as well...

Well, you know how these things always go. Some diabolical force (never really specified) is behind the scarecrow, and he'll want your loved ones, too. (Don't they always?)

Still, the movie has some genuine thrills, as well as being fairly interesting as a character study. (The farmer does this Faustian bargain, but he doesn't recoil away from it right away.)

Certainly a lot better than most of the usual "bottle of ketchup" horror films who just think gore and cheap thrills make these movies work.

The Messengers 2 is a very prototypical low grade horror sequel. These types of movie never feature the stars that made the first and try to capture the mood of the first without stepping on it's toes too much. The idea would be to elaborate on the parts that worked and avoid the parts that didn't. Unfortunately most of them do the opposite and this entry is no different.

As a full movie this isn't as terrible as some horror movies you'll see out there. There are a few interesting ideas and twists but not many. The movie is also acted well if not lacklusterly under toned.

The concept of being scared of the scarecrow just didn't work for me. It never really seemed like anything other than an inanimate object. The movie kind of crawled along and was predictable as well. There was too much emphasis on the farm (which albeit is a key theme) and not enough focus on the horror. The first movie was good because it mixed the farm setting with an inherited horror and human interaction. This movie left the interaction out and elaborated on the farm.

I would really only recommend this movie to farm lovers. If you loved the first movie then it's worth a watch but you'll likely be disappointed.

Believe it or not, this movie used the script that was originally intended for THE MESSENGERS. Obviously, something went wrong, and it ended up becoming the basis for this sequel. A corn farmer down on his luck finds a creepy old scarecrow hidden away in his barn and puts it up in his dying cornfield, which is plagued by crows and lack of water. The nasty crows soon disappear, and the farm's faulty irrigation system begins working again. Unfortunately, people start dying as well, and the farmer begins to believe the change in fortune is tied to the creepy scarecrow. He attempts to burns it, but ... well, you get the idea. Highly reminiscent of ":Children of the Corn" and any number of previous killer scarecrow-oriented horror flicks, M2 is still eerie enough on its own terms to hold one's attention. Award-winning character actor Norman Reedus plays the haunted farmer, otherwise the cast is nondescript. There are a couple of surprising twists and turns near the end that add to the overall enjoyment of this STV. Moody and atmospheric throughout, M2 is for connoisseurs of intelligent horror, as it can be slow-moving and is definitely not into JASON territory -- at least, not until the grand finale. Enjoy.