When the Digital 3-D revolution began at the turn of the century, it felt like it was going to be bigger. They were making special cameras and HDTV sets so you could have the 3D action coming at you. Avatar made a fortune with fans eager to wear the glasses and get caught up in the distant world. What made digital different from film 3-D was the cost. My pal Jim Ricker built his own rig that allowed him to run two video cameras so their tapes could be synched up to create a 3-D image. This rig was employed when Avatar has a tree planting ceremony for the home video release. James Cameron did not think it worked, but he was captured in 3-D. Producer Jon Landau felt that indie films could be made in 3-D. What struck me after we made the short was that there wasn’t a wave of indie films taking advantage of affordable 3-D. The industry on whole got cold on wanting entertainment to come at the audience. ESPN killed their 3D channel. But at least someone in New York City hasn’t give up on the technology. Dwayne Buckle took his 3-D camera onto the streets of the Big Apple for Messenger 666.
Things are getting tough for bike messengers in Manhattan. The cops are barely investigating a bus driver who might be extending his route to pinball bicyclists. It’s New York City where everybody complains about bike messengers zipping around the city streets and sidewalks making their speedy deliveries. So naturally bike messengers getting turned into speed bumps is viewed as a positive for quality of life. Angel Vitali (Black Box‘s Tim Palmer) is a messenger concerned about the lack of concern over the deaths of his fellow bike riders (this was before Zohran Mamdani became the Mayor of New York City). While he hasn’t spotted the bus drive, Angel thinks he’s found a person in a white pickup truck that’s also smashing up the two wheelers. Instead of busting the guy, Angel ends up his next victim. However, he doesn’t meet the final fate of his fellow messengers. There’s something special in his delivery pouch that makes him rise up and turn into a large monstrous creature. Will he get revenge against the driver in his new form as Messenger 666? And how is this all tied into a corrupt pharmaceutical company?
Messenger 666 is low budget fun that puts you on the mean streets of Manhattan. The 3D effect is not overused. At no point does the movie feel like “Dr. Tongue’s 3D House of Stewardesses” from SCTV‘s Monster Chiller Horror Theatre. Nothing keeps coming at our eyeballs. We’re mainly given a bit of depth while watching the action on the streets of New York City. There’s a rawness to the camera work instead of carefully orchestrated 3D imagery we got during the boom time a few decades ago. It’s almost a 3D Dogme 95 movie. I appreciate that Dwayne Buckle and his crew didn’t try to overwhelm us in this peddling horror film.
I must point out that the actor under the skull mask and leather as Messenger 666 is pro football player Kristjan Sokoli.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The picture will look weird if you’re not wearing the 3D glasses. There is a regular version of the film on DVD if you don’t want to get that close to the action. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Stereo. You can hear the creepy parts of Manhattan clearly.
Trailer (0:41) gives you a sense what the film looks like in 2D.
Two Pairs of red/blue 3D Glasses so you can watch the film with a friend or lover.
360 Sound And Vision presents Messenger 666 – 3D Version. Directed by Dwayne Buckle. Screenplay by Dwayne Buckle and Semyon White. Starring Ethan Weiss, Ricardo Garay, Curtis W. Harrison, Brendan Lin, Rushell Malcolm, Tim Palmer, Timothy Park, Ileana Rivera, Chaim Samuels, J. Singh & Kristjan Sokoli. Running Time: 76 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 7, 2026.
If you buy Messenger 666, you can use the 3D glasses to watch “James Cameron Plants His Tree.”
