Product Description: JOANNA MILLS, A TRAVELLING BUSINESSWOMAN, BEGINS HAVING NIGHTMARES OF A MURDER THAT OCCURRED 15 YEARS AGO. SOON SHE ISDRAWN TO AN OLD FARMHOUSE, WHERE THE MURDER TOOK PLACE.
Amazon.com: The Return is a drowsy, mildly creepy and unexpectedly well-crafted supernatural thriller that lays off the cheap thrill and gore factor in favor of the slow build up to fright and a twist ending that, while effective, may hit viewers as mostly out of left field. The Sixth Sense it ain't, but there's enough texture, style and ladled-on art direction to keep the eeriness palpable even through some of the more labored dialogue and plot contrivances. A chocolate-haired Sarah Michelle Gellar (what was wrong with her natural goldilocks?) plays Joanna Mills, some sort of traveling sales rep in a big pickup truck who journeys from her nightmare-disturbed life in St. Louis back to a small town in Texas that she sort-of remembers. Demons from the girlhood she once knew there come fiendishly together in a mishmash of flashbacks and present-day creep-outs involving murder, self-mutilation and spirits that have haunted her more than she knows. Gellar has become a go-to for glossy Hollywood horrorshows like this, thanks to her work in the Grudge franchise and the remnants of our memories from her Buffy glory days. In spite of the handful of slipshod faults in story and directorial force, she holds her own against the vibrantly dilapidated set decorations along with a variety of other equally important characters. There's a creepy ex-boyfriend, a disgusting being stalking a phantom woman she recognizes from her psychosis-induced visions, and a hunky guy who's facing down mysteries from his own past. (Do they all intersect? Hmmm...) She even stands her ground against Sam Shepard, who is all but slumming it in his few scenes as her dad. He talks about an incident that forever changed her when she was 11 years old, but his weird allusions are as enigmatic as the film itself, which desperately wants to be better than it is. But The Return still carries its share of respectable fears that are made scarier by the effectively edited string of spooky noises and images. Together they add up to make a worthy entrant in the genre of understated ghost story. --Ted Fry
The Return DVD Review ^ I watched this film for a while and got quite bored with it, so I turned it off. Perhaps one day I'll force myself to watch it again.
very intelligent,well written suspense thriller (4.6/5) ^ i really liked this movie.that's saying a lot because i generally don't like Sarah Michelle Gellar.however,i didn't mind her in this movie.it kept me at unease throughout,not knowing what might happen next.the movie is filled with an air of dread.i also liked the look of the movie.very dark and atmospheric with muted colours.i found that very effective.the story itself is unique and is not predictable.i thought i had it figured out a few times,only to find out i was wrong.near the end,i came close to figuring it out,but it turned out i wasn't quite right.any movie that can keep you guessing to the end is doing something right,in my mind.there is lots of suspense in this movie,but no gore,which is very refreshing.this is one of the better suspense/thriller movies i have seen in a long time.i had low expectation going into,and those expectation were shattered.if you're looking for a suspense movie with clever writing and good characters,check this movie out.for me,The Return is a 4.6/5
Thriller--Maybe ^ A thriller but Questions about Plot---Was she the little girl at the beginning of the Movie?? Was she attacked or was the vison she keeps getting about someone else?? I watched it 3--times and still dont know. How does she know theres a knife in the Gas tank?? A vision about whom?? I will watch it a fourth time and see what happens
confusing psychological thriller ^ Although an excellent cast and mostly well done, most the male characters were either rude or crude. For example the father of Joanna was not warmly greeted by Joanna on her return and when he brought up the fact she was mutilating herself she accused him of not being aware she was calling for help as if he was supposed to had a degree in psychology while when everyone else asked her why she mutilated herself she claimed she didn't know. The ending falls apart. She swerves to miss the truck of the murderer and ends up in the creek, comes to and runs into the woods chased by the murderer. How she ended up in the Terry's truck after he kicked her out of his house is not explained and the murderer gets away.
Not Scary But Not A Bad Flick ^ Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JXG2NID0YP3Z The Return (Widescreen Edition)
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