The Returning

A couple lose their son in a freak road accident, and the boy's soul becomes imprisoned within some stones he'd collected from Native American sacred ground. Two adversary ancient warrior spirits had been prisoners of the stones, but escaped. They possess the boy's father and the man who caused his death, using their bodies for a final face-off to end their age-old conflict.

As stated in previous comments here, there is a great deal of befuddling intricacy to this film, possibly owing to a left-field directorial wag, or maybe just messy editing(I did get the feeling that it may have passed through too many hands in post-production). Still, I found THE RETURNING curiously haunting, and vaguely redolent of Peter Weir's vastly superior THE LAST WAVE. While that film is centered on an Aboriginal mythos, the supernatural elements of THE RETURNING draw from Native American lore. Both films, as dissimilar as they are in form, impart an analogous quality of abstruse, metaphysical mystery.

If you enjoy spectral, cross-cultural horror films, you might enjoy this one...it's casually paced, and the bloodshed is spare, but it's got a certain indefinable something that draws you in.

5/10...middling, but not exactly average.

Where did this one come from?! The ingredients are there for something special, but what only occurs is an interestingly baffling curio. Mainly the bugs come from its big intentions, for such an ultra-limited production the execution comes off being creaky. Despite building mystic atmospherics and getting an eerie vibe, the ambitiously original concept (Native American spirituality) is not as well told or developed as it could have been. To tell the truth it's messy, but so unusual that it had me compelled. For long stretches not much would happen with it focusing either on trippy visuals (oh look at the pretty glowing colours) and moody performances that were led by a largely worded script. It could wallow on at times, but the low-temperament styling lent well to the melancholy and scarred nature of the story. How to explain without spoiling. Quite tough. A family is struck with grief when their young son is killed in a car accident. It hits the father hard, and something about some rocks that he son had collected on a camping trip begins to have an influence over him mentally. His wife is worried, as his state of mind baffles everyone around him. That'll do. Although the ending was a bit of a let down. The structure of the story was rather second-rate with lazy stabs of fading cutaways and hacked-up editing. However location photography was fluidly formatted with the breathtaking Utah backdrop and there were some creative tilt angle framing and light filtering. So there was an adventurous side and also add Harry Manfredini's oddly, uncanny smörgåsbord of a music score too. The effects are the low-rent side, but resourcefully used. Susan Strasberg, Gabriel Walsh, and Victor Arnold give fine performances. Strasberg especially so, and Ruth Warrick gives able support. It might not eventuate to much, but it has some appeal.

Coming out in 1983, The Returning has the feel of a child lost in time. A creeping, ambient work, if I hadn't known beforehand I wouldn't have placed it any later than 1977. It takes its theme of American Indian mysticism seriously, even thoughtfully, forming a considerable contrast to the more gruesome and energetic slasher horror prevalent at the time. Polar opposite of something like Fred Olen Ray's classic Scalps, no passion of knifeplay nor life lost in red spray, the scares here are strange and quiet. The film focuses on the Ophir family, father John, his wife Sybil and son Jason. After a curious find on a rock hunting expedition on an Indian reservation John begins to feel a supernatural pinch, and after Jason is killed in an accident things really get a bit weird... It sounds like a standard "Indian curse teaches the white man some respect" narrative, but happily is rather more mature than such vaguely xenophobic alarmism. The supernatural forces at work are somewhat vague until the end, but rather than working from a purely malign position their intent seems to be more of a lesson. Father and son are largely blameless individuals and interested in other cultures, but in the father such interest seems to be ossified, he collects artifacts and works in the Department of Indian Affairs but seems lacking in passion. Son Jason seems more enthusiastic, but there is the general feel that he will follow in his fathers footsteps, becoming more mind than heart in his pursuits. Though harsh in its workings the fate that befalls serves to unite the the, the aim being one presumes to save both. And so the film serves to question means rather than totally condemn, inquiring on a deeper than expected level into the relationship of ancient mysticism and the present. Underlying issues unfortunately muddy the film and drive it into its slightly unsatisfying, more plotted final block, but even here the emphasis is refreshingly on the Indian's side of things. The film sadly is a little too light on excitement, with its handful of incidents generally not weird or shocking enough to make much impact. The mystical side of things isn't developed enough either, though the vagueness and lack of much exposition appeals to the imagination there isn't enough power over imagery to suggest greater depths. The editing is a bit glitchy too, scenes sometime cut short or lacking point. Still, its nice looking stuff and pretty watchable, tilted angles and various peering shots of artifacts put across a certain offbeat atmosphere and there are some great shots of grand Dakota desert-scapes. The acting is good too, Gabriel Walsh conveying a suitable blank weirdness as John, Susan Strasberg loving, striving and frustrated as his wife and Victor Arnold nicely harried as the trucker responsible for Jason's death. So for all that the film somewhat underwhelms, it has an underlying persuasiveness to it that makes it fairly worthwhile. Fans of obscurities could do worse than to check it out, though its still a bit of a borderline case

The acting might be good, but what good is that when the story is so twisted that you can not make heads or tails of it! It is like a dream unedited->(total confusion)! Man and women's son is killed by a truck driver and after that your guess is as good as mine. Visions of an indian and the rocks make no connection to the man and women themselves!

IN regards to viewers who may have seen THE RETURNING movie permit me to say that the version that has been peddled on the internet is not the real print or the final product that my company produced back in 1983. There has been a copy-right infringement of this film. Given the parasitic impulse and nature of some individuals- this perhaps is not surprising or unusual. Somehow, somewhere some character(s) or entity got hold of a tape of the film THE RETURNING and began to illegally peddle it. Also other characters out there- in order to hide and cover-up their illegal activity re-titled THE RETURNING:-- WITCH DOCTOR - being one of their cover-ups. We at Willow Productions will in the very near future submit the proper and legal version of the film THE RETURNING. Sincere apologies to all who may have- with good intentions- paid a fee to see such an illegal and inferior product. Gabriel Walsh : President : Willow Productions. Co. Ltd.