SerpApi.Org
A forgotten Sam Raimihorror franchise is back and dominating streaming.
Following his runaway success with the original Evil Dead trilogy and cult favorite superhero hit Darkman, Raimi gradually started branching out into a wide range of genres, from the neo-noir thriller A Simple Plan to the Kevin Costner-led sports drama For Love of the Game. He'd later re-establish himself as a box office powerhouse with his and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy, which is credited with helping re-launch the superhero genre alongside Wesley Snipes' Blade movies.
The turn of the millennium also saw Raimi start to build a producing empire with the launch of his and frequent collaborator Robert Tapert's Ghost House Pictures banner. In addition to keeping the Evil Dead franchise alive with Fede Álvarez, Lee Cronin and Sébastien Vaniček's films, he also brought The Grudge franchise to American audiences with the remake trilogy, launched the hit Don't Breathe thriller movie series and cult favorite adaptation of 30 Days of Night.
Now, one of Ghost House's horror franchises has risen from the dead as The Messengersis taking over streaming. Originally created by future My Bloody Valentine scribe Todd Farmer, the first film revolved around a Chicago family who venture to North Dakota amid financial and family troubles, only to realize the house they've moved into has a very dark history. The second Messengers film, meanwhile, acted as a retcon prequel to the original, exploring the origin of a key character.
Nearly 20 years after it first launched, The Messengers franchise is swiftly taking over international streaming, with the first film sitting in the No. 5 and the second in the No. 7 spots on Lionsgate+ in the United Kingdom. Both films in the franchise are available to stream in the United States for free on Hoopla and free with ads on Vix, while the first film also streams for free on Kanopy, and the second on Fawesome.
While the first Messengers movie was produced by both Tapert and Raimi through their Ghost House Pictures banner, the 2009 prequel was notably only executive produced by the former. The first film fared far better financially than it did critically, as reviews were largely dismissive of its "derivative" story, only awarding it an 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though it still grossed over $55 million against its $16 million production budget.
With its direct-to-video release, financials were never made clear on the second Messengers movie, though it quickly became apparent it was an even bigger misfire than the first. Only a handful of reviews were conjured up for the horror film, all of which were thoroughly negative, leaving it without a critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences were even more critical of it than its predecessor, awarding it a paltry 17%.
Interestingly, both Messengers movies found ways to attract some big names to their casts. The first was primarily led by Kristen Stewart, who was just on the verge of netting her big break in Twilight, while also featuring rising child star Jodelle Ferland and a young Tatiana Maslany in one of her earliest movie roles. The second, meanwhile, was led by Norman Reedus, who was similarly on the verge of one of his biggest roles to date in The Walking Dead.
The franchise also has an infamous history thanks to the various changes it underwent along the way. Farmer previously opened up about his disappointment at the changes that were made to his original script for the first Messengers movie, in which he wanted to do the "horror version of A Beautiful Mind," while one executive wanted to make the movie more like "The Shining on a farm." Farmer went on to make closer to his original vision with the 2009 prequel, which effectively served as the end of the franchise.
Though its forgotten nature would seemingly make the sudden streaming resurgence odd, The Messengers' newfound success does ultimately make sense in look at the rest of Lionsgate+'s charts. Both The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Breaking Dawn — Part 2 have been dominating the streamer for weeks, pointing to viewers taking an interest in revisiting Kristen Stewart's works, and could see the Raimi-produced franchise climb even further in the coming weeks.
