The Messengers 2: The Scarecrow
The Messengers may not have been the best in the glut of J-Horror wannabes that followed in the wake of The Ring, but it had a decent storyline, some creepy moments, and good acting, effects, and overall production values. It was only let down by a lackluster final act. The idea of a prequel exploring how the killer from the first movie originally snapped might have potential, if it was handled as a sort of psychological thriller.
Despite the claims in the cover blurb, The Messengers 2: The Scarecrow is not that movie. In fact, it has absolutely no resemblance nor relation to the first film in any way, aside from one character sharing the same name and both taking place on farms. Even the J-Horror jerky ghosts are nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's a B movie about a farmer struggling against the failure of both his farm and his marriage, while a creepy scarecrow picks off his acquaintances one by one. Unfortunately the acting, though not terrible, never approaches the levels necessary to make either the drama or the horror threads really sing. I rented it from a Redbox machine at Hy-Vee for $1, and it's actually not bad for a dollar rental to fill an uneventful evening. But I would never spend more than that on it.
