Bad Movie Logo
"A website to the detriment of good film"
Custom Search
HOMEB-MOVIE REVIEWSREADER REVIEWSFORUMINTERVIEWSUPDATESABOUT
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 28, 2024, 02:37:45 PM
713356 Posts in 53058 Topics by 7725 Members
Latest Member: wibwao
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Good Movies  |  Messenger of Death (1988) « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Author Topic: Messenger of Death (1988)  (Read 2713 times)
Trevor
Uncle Zombie and Eminent Shitologist
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 2121
Posts: 22713



« on: February 12, 2014, 12:54:56 AM »

This film has one of the creepiest openings ever from a credits shot of a seemingly hideous vengeful angel to a dark figure gunning down innocent people in a Mormon community to a truly WTF ending - the film just ends, no actual wrap up - and the viewer is left gobsmacked, the bad guy dies and Charles Bronson is left puzzled.

A good film which I revisited a few days ago and it deserves to be better known.  Smile

Logged

I know I can make it on my own if I try, but I'm searching for the Great Heart
To stand me by, underneath the African sky
A Great Heart to stand me by.
The Burgomaster
Aggravating People Worldwide Since 1964
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 773
Posts: 9036



« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2014, 10:16:32 PM »

I never saw this movie until I went on a Charles Bronson spree a few years ago and bought a bunch of his movies on DVD.  I had heard a lot of bad things about it, but I didn't think it was so terrible.  Not a movie that I'm apt to watch very frequently, but I could be convinced to watch it from time to time.

Logged

"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."
Neville
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 142
Posts: 3050



« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2014, 02:09:41 PM »

This was the last of the Charles Bronson / J. Lee Thompson's thrillers, right? I watched it - foe the first time, I think - a few years back. Certainly it's not the worst of the lot -those would be "Caboblanco" and / or "Kinjite"- but it does seem a little formulaic. At least Bronson here plays a journalist, so he doesn't just shoot people all around, but rather tries to figure things out.
Logged

Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.
Trevor
Uncle Zombie and Eminent Shitologist
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 2121
Posts: 22713



« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2014, 02:59:42 AM »

At least Bronson here plays a journalist, so he doesn't just shoot people all around, but rather tries to figure things out.

At one point, he shoots a coffin (of all things) and then beats up the person who kills the Mormon family.

Bronson: "You're going to give us the name, yes?"
Bad Guy: "No!" [gets kicked in the pie hole]  Buggedout TeddyR
Logged

I know I can make it on my own if I try, but I'm searching for the Great Heart
To stand me by, underneath the African sky
A Great Heart to stand me by.
The Burgomaster
Aggravating People Worldwide Since 1964
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 773
Posts: 9036



« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2014, 09:45:42 AM »

I still can't figure out how J. Lee Thompson went from movies like CAPE FEAR and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE to the cliched action movies he made at the end of his career.  His career reminds me of Richard Fleischer, who made movies like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, and THE BOSTON STRANGLER and then ended up making crap like MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY, RED SONJA, and AMITYVILLE 3-D.

Logged

"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."
Neville
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 142
Posts: 3050



« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2014, 09:59:11 AM »

Many of those old school directors' careers suffered a lot after the traditional studio system fell apart. They were more craftmen than artists, and thus needed a good structure to back them up in order to give the best of themselves. That's also the case of John Sturges and many others, they did their best work in the 1960s and in the final stages of their careers their films are either hit or miss.

In the case of Thompson, watching "McKenna's Gold" also gives you a better perspective on the guy's real talent. It's a very entertaining movie, but some of its worst scenes show why Thompson never became an A-list director.
Logged

Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.
Pages: [1]
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Good Movies  |  Messenger of Death (1988) « previous next »
    Jump to:  


    RSS Feed Subscribe Subscribe by RSS
    Email Subscribe Subscribe by Email


    Popular Articles
    How To Find A Bad Movie

    The Champions of Justice

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    Manos, The Hands of Fate

    Podcast: Todd the Convenience Store Clerk

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    Dragonball: The Magic Begins

    Cool As Ice

    The Educational Archives: Driver's Ed

    Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

    Do you have a zombie plan?

    FROM THE BADMOVIES.ORG ARCHIVES
    ImageThe Giant Claw - Slime drop

    Earth is visited by a GIANT ANTIMATTER SPACE BUZZARD! Gawk at the amazingly bad bird puppet, or chuckle over the silly dialog. This is one of the greatest b-movies ever made.

    Lesson Learned:
    • Osmosis: os·mo·sis (oz-mo'sis, os-) n., 1. When a bird eats something.

    Subscribe to Badmovies.org and get updates by email:

    HOME B-Movie Reviews Reader Reviews Forum Interviews TV Shows Advertising Information Sideshows Links Contact

    Badmovies.org is owned and operated by Andrew Borntreger. All original content is © 1998 - 2014 by its respective author(s). Image, video, and audio files are used in accordance with the Fair Use Law, and are property of the film copyright holders. You may freely link to any page (.html or .php) on this website, but reproduction in any other form must be authorized by the copyright holder.