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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 11286
Released: February 27, 2007 |
| Our Price: $0.98 |
| Used Price: $0.05 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Grudge) stars in this shocking, non-stop supernatural thriller unlike anything you've ever experienced before. Joanna Mills (Gellar) is haunted by increasingly terrifying visions where she can see and feel the brutal murder of a woman she's never met. With her life spiraling out-of-control, she follows the relentless nightmares to an eerie small town in Texas - a place where secrets can't be buried, a spirit seeks vengeance, and the horrific murder from Joanna's visions may just be her own.
Description of The Return (Widescreen Edition):
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 (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
confusing psychological thriller 
2009-09-16 - 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 
2009-09-08 - Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JXG2NID0YP3Z The Return (Widescreen Edition)
Not Exactly A New Concept, But It Works! 
2009-07-10 - It's an old, tried and true formula. I won't give it away, but suffice it to say that the formula still works. The recommendation that if you're looking for a slasher, this isn't for you. If you are in the mood for what I'll dub as a "supernatural thriller," then this is a good one. It's a good mix of suspense and operational irony.
I was not at all confused once the movie was over; a previous claim in a review that everything is explained is very accurate. As a matter of fact, I had figured it out probably right around the time I was supposed to and still had a little bit of a "twist" (the operational irony) at the end that tied up the last loose end.
Not an epic, but a very good way to spend my evening. =)
A Thoughtful Horror Story 
2008-09-06 - Having seen this movie twice on HBO, I think I can make a fair assessment on it.
This is not a typical horror movie. It is a drama with supernatural elements. And as such, it succeeds admirably.
Think of it as going out on a dark night alone then hearing, in the distance, a long mournful wail. It frightens but at the same time, one detects great sadness in the sound.
I'll leave it to others to describe the plot. I will add that Sarah Michelle Gellar delivers a powerful performance. It is miles far away from the perkiness of Buffy.
Supernatural Thriller
2008-05-21 - Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Joanna Mills who is a traveling sales rep, a job she choose because it keeps her always on the move. We are introduced to her troubled childhood where she was involved in traffic accident. We do not know if the trauma to her head has given her visions of a man who is constantly stalking her that no one else sees. And when he appears, she actually hurts herself. But then, except for the damage she has done to herself, all is back to normal.
We flash forward to her adult life and getting reading to head home on business. But her true motive is to try and get some answers to her disturbing visions or memories. And as she enters her home area she starts to experience these episodes in increase frequency. The more visions or memories we see the closer we start to understand what is transpiring. And make no mistake; this is a mystery that you can try to solve before the answer is shown to you at the climax of the film.
I was pleased to see a true suspense movie that has an eerie feeling that makes you feel uneasy with no blood and gore that is so popular today. The use of shadows to enhance the suspense is reminiscent from the Alfred Hitchcock's methods. As another reviewer mentioned, Sarah Michelle Gellar carries the movie well. Her blind stare and almost zombie like presence captures the characters feelings and emotions beautifully." This is what we use to call a horror film. This is worth watching.
