The Return

In THE RETURN, a businesswoman is drawn to a small town where a woman was murdered 15 years before. The murderer was never caught although suspicion fell on the slain woman's beau. The businesswoman, played by a dark-haired and rather subdued Sarah Gellar, sees the face of this woman in dreams and even in mirrors. She tracks down the woman's boyfriend, whom she seems to know, and eventually they sort out the mystery and uncover the real killer. The ending contains a twist that most murder mystery fans will have guessed much earlier, but it came as a shock to me, as I am not particularly good at this kind of thing (although I knew what happened in THE SIXTH SENSE as soon as Don Wahlberg shot Bruce Willis, the result of my years working as an ER orderly). Gellar is low-key and acts just unnerved enough by all the odd doings to be believable. The film is shot mostly in monotone, and this adds to the brooding atmosphere. Sam Shepherd has a small role as Gellar's dad.

The restless sales representative of a transport company Joanna Mills (Sarah Michelle Gellar) travels from Saint Louis to Texas in a business trip. She is haunted by violent visions and after meeting her client, she visits her lonely father. On the next morning, she decides to visit La Salle, a small town where she has never been before, but she had recollections of many locations. She lodges in a hotel and later she meets and is befriended by the local widower Terry Stahl (Peter O'Brien), who helps her from an aggression. Her daydreams and nightmares increase and she becomes obsessed for disclosing the truth about her visions of a brutal murder of a woman in a barn. Along her investigation, Joanna gets close to the killer and feels that her life is in danger.

I bought this DVD first because I am a huge fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar, the eternal Buffy, and also because I like supernatural stories. Fortunately I have disregarded the low IMDb User Rating since this film is an underrated supernatural thriller. The plot explores the concept of reincarnation in an adequate pace, unraveling the mystery in the last scenes. The direction is sharp and Sarah gives credibility to her character. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Retorno" ("The Return")

This is an intelligent, intense and dark spiritual movie which I certainly enjoyed. A superior production and direction and in my opinion appears to be well under rated by the voters of IMDb.

A young woman is tormented by her past and "returns" to her home to discover, if she can, the reasons for her haunting recollections and the questions raised include: is she mad? Or is her past or another's' being relived through her memories? The film is appropriately made in sombre autumnal colors in keeping with the ambiance of the story,and is an adult drama.

I was impressed with all the actors especially the attractive lead female who is charismatic, convincing and highly watchable.

Well done the film-makers, a sound, 7/10.

This film is NOT a horror film The reason it probably flopped and why a lot of teens hate it is because it was marketed as a horror film. IT IS NOT It is very slow-paced, but some scenes are so beautiful. The atmosphere is dark. THIS IS THE WAY THRILLERS SHOULD BE. The film is either love it or hate it. If you were expecting a top- notch action horror film, you'll hate it. But as for me, the main storyline was well-delivered. Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting is also very good. IT ALSO TEACHES A LESSON. There are some also very beautiful outdoors scenes that make the film even better.This is better than the average thrillers. Unlike other supernatural films(The Grudge and The Ring) i found this to be better. Who said thrillers had to be scary? This is more realistic than others, and for that, it is.

OK. Well...The Return. Sarah Michelle Gellar's latest genre addition finds her running from a cowboy with a killer past. Asif Kapadia's sophomore effort, after 2001's The Warrior, will likely disappoint more than entertain. The story is convoluted and under developed, and aside from Gellar's Joanna, we really don't have any idea why any of the other characters are there. However, in stark comparison to the other filler thrillers we have seen for years, The Return boasts excellent camera work and even better art direction and cinematography. It is told in heavy visual style, which is a refreshing take on an old tale. Twitchy camera movement heightens the suspense and paranoia of the film while the bleak colors and atmosphere add themes of isolation and desolation. Gellar is exceptional as Joanna Mills, a successful midwesterner constantly on the road to elude some painful past, not to mention the hallucinations and creepy visions she keeps enduring. It is a solid transition from horror to... something else. And while we as an audience may not have any idea what Gellar is pulling, it's certain that she does, and is making some very interesting and risky role choices which adds to her versatility. (Keep your eyes peeled for her work in Southland Tales as a porn-star come reality-television conoisseur) I am not going to bore you with the details of the story, since every other review basically regurgitates the little material there is to work with. The plot isn't bad, it's just very minimalistic and sparse on character detail, which, for an atmosphere and mood-driven film like this one, is a fatal mistake. The suspense is good, it holds enough tension to keep you entertained enough to keep watching. The supporting cast are all pretty good, no Oscar contenders here but take it for what it is. The score is effective, using violins and chimes to purvey a sense of dread and malice. The visual style is very compelling, we feel like we're in Texas, seeing this happen through a series of well thought out, well lit shots that subtley take us deeper into Joanna's psychological state. The scene where she awakes in the field is one of the best, and proves that Kapadia's second feature may not be the greatest, but started out to be a very different, innovative project that got a little muddled in post-production. A good film, I'd wait for DVD, but the creepy soundbytes and ghostly whispers won't have the same effect as in the theatre. The Return is definitely misunderstood, but for those keen enough to see it through, you will get a glimpse of isolated, lonely people just looking to connect and get over the issues that have brought them together.