Messengers 2 The Scarecrow   Starring: Norman Reedus, Claire Holt and Heather Stephens Icon Home Entertainment RRP: £15.99 ICON10178 Certificate: 15 Available 21 September 2009

John Rollins is a young North Dakota farmer suffering hard times. A field of blighted corn, constantly assaulted by crows, means that he is receiving unwanted approaches from greedy prospectors waiting for the inevitable foreclosure. Desperate to save his land and secure his family, John searches for something to protect his crop. Behind a concealed door in the barn he finds an emaciated corpse, looking for all the world like a scarecrow. The moment he erects it high in his field his luck begins to change for the better. All of the crows are found dead the next morning, he discovers money in the field which he can use to buy grain, and a human vulture with intentions of selling the farm on suffers a violent death at the edge of the field. However, the initial good luck comes at the expense of more important matters. Not only does he risk losing his family and alienating his neighbours, but he faces the wrath of a past evil...

I was obliged to read my own review of the first The Messengers film from 2007, because I couldn’t remember much about it. Although this is titled Messengers 2, it is actually intended as a prequel of sorts. Writer Todd Farmer (Jason X) and director Martin Barnewitz have done a fine job with the characters and surrounding adversity; and there is no real requirement to have seen the other film. However, most people coming to this cold will be confused by the periodic appearance of the little girl and her death which links to the past but is never really explained. Similarly, the sound of laughing children in the cornfield.

The identity of the corpse scarecrow is not explored either, and the only time we witness it move of its own accord actually removes its sinister aspect rather than heightening it. Having said that, before the scarecrow is placed in the field, there is a well-handled jolt when John thinks he sees the scarecrow move.

In conclusion, Messengers 2 is like a Swiss cheese; perfectly fine even though it has plenty of holes in it.

6

Ty Power