'Messengers 2: The Scarecrow,' 'Skeleton Crew,' 'Bundy'

The sequel bar sinks lower and lower. Why would you make a sequel prequel to a movie our own Scott Weinberg called a "stunningly inert, painfully derivative, shamelessly cheap and aggressively dull ghost story"? I agree with all those points, yet The Messengers made $50 million worldwide, which is more than enough justification for Messengers 2: Scarecrow, out today on DVD.

The only glimmer of "maybe" lies in writer Todd Farmer, who may not be a poet but knows enough horror cliches to stand a few on their head, as evidenced in his scripts for Jason X and the My Bloody Valentine remake. He got credited for the original story on the first Messengers, and the new one is rated "R" -- for repetition? I hope not. And it is a prequel, rather than a sequel. Norman Reedus stars as a farmer with problems: too many crows, not enough money, and a restless wife. Then he finds a scarecrow in the barn, and things start to improve ... until they get worse. Martin Barnewitz (Room 205) directed.

Shot in an actual operating mental institution in Finland, Skeleton Crew follows an American film crew preparing to make a horror movie ("like Saw or Hostel," the director says), based on a legend that snuff films were made on the grounds by an evil doctor. When they discover the actual snuff footage, the director is inspired to make a much more authentic movie. The trailer looks good, so this could be worth a rental. Written and directed by Finnish filmmakers Tommi Lepola and Tero Molin, but shot in English.



Serial killer Ted Bundy keeps popping up -- most memorably played by Mark Harmon in the 1986 TV movie The Deliberate Stranger -- and Corin Nemec is the latest actor to give it a whack in Bundy (AKA Bundy: An American Icon and Bundy: Legacy of Evil), a 2008 effort written and directed by Michael Feifer.

Feifer has an affinity for serial killers; he's previously explored Ed Gein and Richard Speck, but that doesn't mean he's an expert. Dread Central described Bundy as "a pointless, unnecessary docudrama ... plays like a series of mostly mundane vignettes and musical montages that randomly drift from place-to-place and year-to-year throughout Bundy's serial killing career, never staying focused on any particular segment long enough for it to develop any true significance." With Kane Hodder. Proceed with caution.

Also out:

  • Ghost Month. A young woman becomes a housekeeper in the isolated hills of Nevada and then "starts having visions and hearing voices," writes M.J. Simpson. "Terrific film, as stylish as it is spooky." Directed by Danny Draven.
  • Skare. A country club chef harbors escaped prisoners from the nearby institution for the criminally insane. She likes the young ones, but she harbors her own dangerous secrets. (Due out on Friday, July 24.)
  • Hollywood Kills. "Insane, reclusive director/producer terrorizes people who come to Hollywood by twisting their dreams into fiendish torture in his own private 'studio.'" Directed by Sven Pape.