Messengers, The (2007)

It's okay. Mommy's here, okay?
I need you to be a big boy, okay?
Get under the bed. Get under the bed.
Right now. Quick. Quick.
Please, leave us alone!
Where's Mom? Where's...
Go, Michael, go!
No!
Michael.
Michael, run!
You're going to run down the battery.
Like you could get
a signal around here anyway.
Luckily, people out here remember you can
have conversations without those things.
It's okay, buddy.
Be careful not to unbuckle his seatbelt.
I'm not.
We're here. How about that?
No going back now.
We couldn't afford it even if we wanted to.
I know it's a bit run-down,
but wait till you see the inside.
- Hey, buddy.
- Hey, Denise, check out the water pump.
You want to come see your new back yard?
Yeah? It's big.
- Still works.
- Yeah, I'm impressed.
I know you're worried.
But a couple of days and I'll have everything
here running like new. I promise.
Even that?
All right. Maybe a week.
Still think we can do this?
Climate's right. The soil reports are great.
Listen, I know I couldn't make this work
in the city.
But this is something I know.
Jess.
Jess, come help with these bags.
What do you think of the house?
Neat.
Help us unload.
If we want anything to sleep on tonight,
we got to get moving.
Okay.
Neat.
I think she's going to be okay.
Well, at least she's talking to us.
I guess that's a start.
Yeah.
I love it out here, you know.
- Hey.
- Hey.
How's it going?
It's so quiet out here.
Yeah. It takes some getting used to, huh?
You know, bringing you out here
wasn't a punishment, Jessica.
It's an adjustment for everybody.
And the only way
we're going to make this work
is if we give it a chance.
"I'll take that as a good point, Dad.
"You're right. You're always right. "
Good night.
Get some sleep.
Don't give up, honey!
Don't worry. I'll get it.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on. That's right. Come on.
He did it! High-five. High-five.
He did it!
Roy Solomon?
Colby Price. Belton Savings.
Oh, hey. Good to meet you.
So you said
your father grew sunflowers, too.
Yeah, over in Turek County.
I grew up not too far from here.
Right.
Look, I know you're all moved in,
but an opportunity came up at the bank
that I thought you might be interested in.
This place sat gathering dust for years
until you came along and bought it,
and now, as it happens,
another party's expressed interest
in the farm.
The good news is,
they're willing to pay what you paid
and put another 15% on top of that.
We just got here.
And frankly,
my family's looking for a little stability
right now.
Well, this will give you the details.
Give me a call if you want to discuss it.
Thanks, I will.
Hey, Benny.
I'm coming.
You ready?
Oh, great.
Ben?
Ben?
Hey, sport.
I thought you were asleep.
How'd you get out of bed, sport?
I thought you were...
Come on. Let's get you to bed.
Okay.
All right, Ben.
Now you try to get some sleep now, okay?
Lay down. Go to sleep. Good boy.
Daddy loves you.
What?
What are you doing?
- Going to town.
- I don't think so, Jess.
Give me the keys.
I just had them, like, two seconds ago.
Thanks, Jess. You ready to go?
Jess?
What's up with that?
It was me, not her.
I thought she was taking the car.
Don't beat yourself up over it.
By the way, your son managed to climb
out of his crib last night.
That's new.
Yeah.
So are the things I'm gonna do to you
when I come in from the fields tonight.
- New things, huh?
- Oh, yeah.
I've been reading the farmer-sutra.
See you.
- There you go. You have a good day now.
- Thanks, Ed.
Well, you're the new folks in town, right?
Yeah, Roy Solomon.
- So what do you plant?
- Sunflowers.
All right. Let me help you get started.
Hey, mind if I go look around?
Okay.
Hey, don't go too far.
Hey, buddy.
Hey, what're you looking at?
You didn't get to finish your cereal.
And Daddy said you got out of the crib
last night all by yourself.
Did you do that all by yourself?
Nice!
Pass it up.
Got it.
You're all over him.
- Get up! Get up!
- Take it!
- Come on, Bobby. What was that?
- Come on.
Little help?
Thanks.
- It's all in the wrists.
- Right.
I'm Bobby.
Jess.
Welcome to North Dakota, Jess.
You're from Chicago, right?
Yeah. How'd you know that?
Small town. Everybody knows everything.
You might want to remember that.
So what do you guys do for fun out here?
You're looking at it.
Sweet.
Half now and half at harvest.
That's the best I can do.
I appreciate it.
And if you're looking for labor,
it's gotten cheap with all the unemployment.
I can't afford much now,
but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks, Ed.
You're kicking my ass.
Yeah, it's all in the wrists.
Come on, you played in Chicago, right?
Well, I used to. I played in junior high.
Yeah? What happened?
I don't know.
I guess I just got into other things.
Well, the girls' team here is for shit.
Yeah, boys' is too, if you're on it.
Nice one, bro.
Hey, you know, if you ever get bored
of doing nothing out at the farm,
I could always swing by and pick you up,
and we could go do nothing
someplace else.
Yeah, maybe.
Hey, I got to go.
- I'll see you around.
- Yeah.
Nice to meet you.
Hey, who was that kid?
Just some guy.
From around here?
No. He commutes to shoot hoops.
You get his number?
Dad.
If you want to go back,
if you're too embarrassed,
- I'll get his number for you.
- Dad.
You know, I think you and your mom would
have a lot to talk about if you give it a try.
We're all in this together, Jess.
So I'll go see if Mom needs anything.
Okay. Sure.
How was town?
Small.
Hey, Jess, I'm really sorry about earlier.
It's okay.
Need me to help you with anything?
I'd love it if you could carry down
some of those boxes in the hallway.
Sure. Where do you want them?
Just put them in the cellar.
Thanks.
Oh, God. You got to stop that.
Sorry if I surprised you.
What do you want?
I wondered if you'd had a chance to look
at that purchase offer yet.
We're gonna make a go of it.
We're staying.
Now, if you don't mind, I've got work to do.
Of course.
Always lots of work to do around a farm.
Bye now.
Damn it!
Get out of here!
Shit.
Oh, my God.
About the only thing that keeps them away.
They always like that?
No. Hell, they just want your seeds.
- Roy Solomon.
- John Burwell.
Good to meet you.
Lucky you came by when you did.
- You live around here?
- No, I was just heading into town.
Got to go where the work is.
What do you do?
A little bit of everything. Why, you...
You need some help around here?
What was that noise? What's going on?
Everything's all right.
This is John Burwell,
part-time crow exterminator.
The crows were going nuts out here.
If John hadn't come along when he did,
I might have gotten pecked to death.
Well, it's a good thing he did then.
I could sure use somebody to help me in the
fields, but I really can't pay you till harvest.
We could provide meals and put you up
in the workers' quarters till then.
Sunflowers, huh?
All you can eat.
That sounds good to me.
Well, I was making some lunch.
Would you like to join us?
- Sure. Sounds good.
- Okay.
Do you mind keeping that outside?
Sorry.
Got any family out here, John?
No, ma'am. Just me.
Think it's going to be a good harvest?
Well, it's been a while since
that lans been planted, so, yeah.
That's what I like to hear.
Cheers.
Hey, Jess.
Do you mind helping me with these?
Yeah.
Thanks.
You want this?
He won't stop.
But it must mean he likes you.
Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben.
What are you looking for?
Nothing.
Roy?
What's wrong?
Oh, my God!
Are you okay?
- What happened?
- It's no big deal.
I cut my hand on the tractor.
Oh, honey, you're gonna need stitches.
No, I just need a bandage.
No, we got to get you to the hospital.
Well, I can take him.
Not with a suspended license, you can't.
All right. I'm going to get Ben's bag.
Jess, you get in the car.
Ben can stay here with Jess.
Roy, I don't think it's a good idea.
Just grab the keys and let's go.
Jess and Ben will be fine.
John's right outside if they need anything.
Holy shit.
Your dad gonna be all right?
Yeah. He probably just needs some stitches.
Hey, what you got there? Farmer?
You gonna be a farmer when you grow up,
like your daddy, huh?
- Let me know if you need anything, okay?
- Yeah, thanks.
What's up with the crows?
All right, Ben. Tonight we have
filet mignon, veal parmesan,
baked Alaska, chicken cacciatore,
and mac and cheese.
Stay here, Ben, okay?
Hey.
John.
Is that you?
Hey, who is...
911. What's your emergency?
I think there's something in my house!
I need you to get everybody
out of the house as quickly as possible.
We'll send a car immediately.
Ma'am, are you alone?
No, I'm with... I'm with...
Ben!
Ben!
Ben?
Ben, what are you...
Ben!
Let me go!
What's wrong?
Help us! Take him. Take him.
What's the matter?
What is it? Jess. What's the matter?
Oh, Roy, I hope they're okay.
- What happened?
- Everything's all right, ma'am.
Oh, God.
I already checked all the rooms.
There's nobody here.
But she described a lot of damage.
As of now, we're going to classify this
as a false alarm, not a deliberate hoax.
Thank you.
What did John say?
Well, he said it was easy to understand
someone getting scared
their first night alone out here.
But that he didn't see anything unusual
in the house.
Mom, please believe me.
I'm not making this up. I'm telling the truth.
Jess, please.
Just stop.
Dad...
Dad, I'm really scared.
Can we just go home?
Jessica, this is home.
You need to get used to that.
But I thought we agreed that
you were going to try.
What happened to that?
Hi. Shut the door.
Maybe we shouldn't have
left Ben alone with her.
Did you see her face?
She seemed so scared.
I'm really worried about her.
She's just having a hard time adjusting,
that's all.
Being out here will be great for her.
I don't know.
- Maybe we're in over our heads here, Roy.
- We'll get through this.
Just give her some time. She'll be fine.
You saw it too, didn't you?
Come on. I know you did. You had to have.
Just tell me.
I wish you could just tell them
what you saw.
Come on, Ben.
When are you going to start talking?
I promise I'll never let anything
happen to you.
I promise.
You heard that, too, didn't you?
Can you see them?
Where are they, Ben?
Son of a bitch!
Hey, you didn't hear that.
- Dad said you needed this.
- Yeah, thanks.
Why did you tell my parents
you didn't see anything last night?
Well, because I didn't.
I mean, look, I know you were scared.
And I know that people,
even your parents, sometimes,
- they don't know how to listen.
- Especially my parents.
They got pressures
that you can't even begin to understand.
You sure you saw something up there?
I saw it. It was real.
Maybe you've just got a lot on your mind.
Hey, Jess.
- Hey. Thanks for coming.
- Yeah.
You don't look so good. What's up?
Did you know the family
that used to live in my house?
Not really. It was the Rollins that lived there.
What happened to them?
They just up and left
about five, six years ago.
There were some bad harvests.
Lot of people didn't make it.
Hey...
Did you ever hear of anything
about my house being, like, haunted?
Seriously.
Just, like, stupid stories.
It's been abandoned for a long time. So...
- What kind of stories?
- Nothing really.
When we were kids, we used to dare
each other to go down into the cellar.
Why? Did you ever see anything?
No. Not me.
I never went down there.
What's happening to me?
Are you okay?
I saw something again today.
It's a girl. She was in the cellar.
Something...
Something happened to her.
She was trying to get away from something.
- Get away from what?
- I don't know.
But she was...
She looked just scared to death.
Have you told your folks about this?
You know my parents already think I'm nuts.
Do you think it's crazy?
People's spirits
hanging around after they're dead?
No.
There's something about the land out here.
It gets ahold of people.
It doesn't want to let them go.
What about you?
Don't you get lonely out here?
Don't you miss having a family of your own?
Nah, you guys keep me plenty busy.
Thank you. For listening.
Anytime.
- Almost ready.
- Yes! That's what I'm talking about.
I really like being here, Roy.
You guys make me feel like family.
I'm grateful.
Lucky to have you, John.
Let's see how good the harvest is,
and maybe I can afford to keep you on.
Don't worry about me.
You just take care of your family.
Help me.
Hello?
What do you want from me?
Hey.
You okay?
Can you hear me?
What's wrong?
Is she okay?
The lacerations are superficial.
So she'll be just fine.
Oh, thank God.
Is there any reason...
Has there been any trouble
in the family recently
that would make her want to hurt
or draw attention to herself?
We just moved here from Chicago.
And back there,
Jess got into some trouble.
She's kind of struggled a bit.
We've been dealing with
a lot of emotional issues.
Jessica? Your mom's here.
Hey.
Dad, we need to leave the house now,
before anything else happens.
Dad.
Dad, I'm really scared.
Have you forgotten how hard it was
the last couple of years?
Me out of work, Ben's hospital bills.
We went through every dime
your mother and I managed to save.
Twenty years.
Twenty years of savings gone in two years.
We have everything
riding on this harvest, Jess. Everything.
We're only a couple of days away. Please.
- Mom, these things attacked me.
- Enough!
God. The doctor said
your cuts look self-inflicted.
That's what he said. That you did this!
You actually think that I would do this
to myself?
Why won't you believe me?
How can we, Jess?
Tell me!
I mean,
we thought you put this all behind you.
Why do you keep
blaming everything on me?
You never listen to me.
And what? We're supposed to pretend like
we're some big happy family again?
I can't do that.
Jess!
Let her go.
Maybe coming here was a mistake.
Don't second-guess yourself, Roy.
Why not? Everybody else around here does.
Don't attack me over this.
I should have sold.
- Damn it.
- What?
Right after we got here,
there was another offer on the place.
We would have made our money back,
plus another 15%.
And you didn't even mention this to me?
How could I?
You would have taken the offer on the spot.
So you make this decision
without even telling me?
I held this family together for two years
while you were looking for a job.
And then I come all the way out here
when you decided this was the answer.
And now we had another option
and you didn't even tell me about it?
You held this family together?
Is that why you and Jess can't even be in
the same room for more than five minutes?
No wonder the girl's a mess.
Damn, Denise. Denise, I'm sorry.
Damn it.
Damn.
Everything okay, Roy?
No matter what I do,
I can't keep this family together.
Hey. You all right?
Do you want a ride?
So where are we going?
Feed store.
Why?
Bobby, I'm gonna tell you something.
And I need you to believe me,
because nobody else does.
Okay.
I don't think the Rollins just up and left.
What are you talking about, Jess?
I think something really terrible
happened to them.
I think they're dead. I've seen them.
You've seen ghosts?
- Have you talked to your parents?
- I've tried but they won't listen to me.
Why?
Back in Chicago, I messed up.
Like, six months ago, my mom was picking
up my dad from the airport.
And his flight was late,
so she called to see if I could
pick up my little brother
from the babysitter's house.
And I should have told her
that I'd been drinking with my friends but...
I mean, it wasn't like
I was wasted or anything,
and I thought I was okay to drive.
But we got in a wreck,
and Ben had to go to the hospital.
And he hasn't talked since then.
I mean, they just haven't let it go yet.
Everybody makes mistakes, Jess.
Yeah.
Your sister's going to be okay.
Right, Benny?
Say, "Right, Mama. "
What are you pointing at, Ben?
What do you see?
What does it look like?
What the hell?
Okay, honey.
Lie down for your nap, sweetie.
You okay? All right.
The woman in this watch,
I remember seeing her here.
There!
That's her.
Oh, my God.
- What is it?
- I got to get home.
Ben, honey. We got to get out of here.
Honey, come on.
Mama will be right there.
Mama will be right there.
All right. Stay right there. All right, okay.
Mama will be right there.
You stay right there.
Oh, my God, John.
Where are you going?
Where are you going, Mary?
What?
What is this?
Are you leaving me?
- I don't...
- Shut up!
No, don't...
I've been working my ass off every day.
- It's never good enough for you, is it?
- Oh, God.
Did you really think
that I could ever let you leave me?
Michael.
Open this door! Open this door, Mary!
Mom?
Dad?
Mom?
Mom?
Ben?
Go!
Bobby, wait!
- What?
- My brother.
- He's not here. Let's go.
- Bobby, watch out!
Open the door!
Mom?
Mom.
Oh, Jess.
I know what you were seeing.
I've seen it, too.
I'm so sorry I didn't trust you.
Mom, I've got to find a way out of here.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Mary. Do you think
I would let you walk out on this family?
Open the door, Lindsay.
Open the door!
You're not leaving me.
Be quiet, sweetheart. Be quiet.
Bobby? Bobby!
Where are they, Bobby? Where are they?
Denise?
- Dad?
- Jess.
Dad!
You've been a bad girl, Lindsay.
No! Leave her alone!
Come here!
Why are you always trying to run away
from me, Lindsay?
What's the matter with you?
Don't you like your family?
My family is going to stick together!
We're not your family!
Mom?
Dad!
I got you.
Hold on!
Hey, honey, it's me.
It's gonna be all right.
Mrs. Solomon,
I have just a few more questions.
You're gonna be okay.
Excuse us, please.
Let's get him in.
Maybe now they can rest, Ben.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- You thirsty?
- Oh, yeah. Thanks.
So, how's it going?
Getting there.
What's up there, dude? What's in the sky?
- That. Birdie.
- What's that?
- Is that a cloud?
- Crow. That's a crow.
How about that?