Critic Reviews
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Nigel Floyd, Time Out
Adam Sussman's script is so thin you can see right through it.
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Dave Calhoun, Time Out
It's gripping stuff and deeply enjoyable.
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Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly
Mellow -- nay, snoozy -- atmospherics trump actual scares, and it makes almost zero sense.
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Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
This murky psychological horror effort is not likely to inspire a return.
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Dennis Harvey, Variety
Time-killer chiller reps an undistinguished U.S. debut for U.K. helmer Asif Kapadia, though the undernourished script may be most at fault.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
As B-level suspensers go, though, The Return isn't actively awful -- just slow and cursed with a lead who acts with her T-shirt.
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Steve Newton, Georgia Straight
This low-key supernatural thriller, illogical as it is, offers a brief respite from the gruelling Saws and Hostels of the world.
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Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Buffy star is haunted by violent memories.
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Brian Holcomb, Beyond Hollywood
Built from spare parts left over by American remakes of Japanese copies of "Ringu", "The Return" is at least two steps removed from the first generation copy.
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Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
It's just a dull, mediocre, and forgettable supernatural drama with wooden performances from its entire cast...
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Anton Bitel, Film4
Too polished to be truly creepy, The Return has more than enough atmosphere to keep you watching - but nowhere near enough mystery.
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Brian Tallerico, UGO
The Return is a slow burn that's often way too slow, feeling stretched to meet a running time that's still under 90 minutes.
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Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com
a low point in the on-going battle to scare U.S. teens from their allowances
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Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
Austerely directed but shamelessly dry, uneventful and derivative.
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Aaron Lupton, Rue Morgue Magazine
Stick to vampires, Buffy.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
[The Return] isn't creepy enough to really work properly and there's an over-reliance on sudden soundtrack noises in place of actual scares.
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Jamie Russell, BBC
It proves what many people have been suspecting for a while now: SMG is a scream queen for audiences who don't like horror movies.
Read all 17 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Some scenes were <b>really</b> scary. Nice movie.
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Anyone who liked Silent Hill or The Mothman Prophecies should be right at their home with this mystery-thriller by Asif Kapadia. The plot is that same old stuff with all the strange visions, abandoned towns and eerie atmosphere, but Kapadia turns Adam Sussman's screenplay into a… More
Anyone who liked Silent Hill or The Mothman Prophecies should be right at their home with this mystery-thriller by Asif Kapadia. The plot is that same old stuff with all the strange visions, abandoned towns and eerie atmosphere, but Kapadia turns Adam Sussman's screenplay into a surprisingly effective ghost-story. This is actually a thriller that has chilling moments in it, even moments of pure horror. The way those moments are shot is something that is not so typical in this genre and they have genuine terror in them. Sarah Michelle gellar does ok work as a Joanna Mills, a girl with a fragmented memories and strange hallucinations. I kinda like these little thrillers that takes us into the idyllic places where evil lurks behind every corner and nothing is what it seems. This is film for a people who like thick atmosphere and good suspense.
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Utterly boring throughout, which is a shame because I feel a lot more could have been made from this storyline. I can?t really call this an anti-climax as that would suggest there a build up before hand.
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Most people put this in the category of supernatural thriller, well it didn't thrill me. To me the best part of the movie was the 2 car wrecks at the end. Funny thing is during the whole movie didn't see one cop, and hey do you know how to dial 911 Bozo, glad this one was a… More
Most people put this in the category of supernatural thriller, well it didn't thrill me. To me the best part of the movie was the 2 car wrecks at the end. Funny thing is during the whole movie didn't see one cop, and hey do you know how to dial 911 Bozo, glad this one was a rental, and more glad I didn't see it in the theater. Not even worth the $1.00 movie theater. And if you buy it you mort the likely will RETURN IT. 2 Stars Baby
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Very disappointing. A drab looking brunette Sarah Michelle Gellar running around a small town, having flashes about the death or some woman who may or may not have a link to her. It wasn't especially interesting, or scary, and I literally had to do research to understand the… More
Very disappointing. A drab looking brunette Sarah Michelle Gellar running around a small town, having flashes about the death or some woman who may or may not have a link to her. It wasn't especially interesting, or scary, and I literally had to do research to understand the ending. Now that I get it, I still don't get it. LOL. Not wanting to spell it out and ruin it for someone who might want to watch this, but to me, it just seemed ridiculous that this situation would happen to an 11 year old. The acting is fine, but it's just such a confusing, silly story. Try "The Skeleton Key" for a better version of this type of thing. SMG should have stayed on Buffy for a few more years!!!
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This wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. Not a fan of Ms. Gellar, so that's always a bad sign, but she didn't suck in this. It was nice to see Peter O'Brien in a big role. Overall, not great, but it kept us entertained.
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Gosh, what a boring and confusing movie! Sarah Michelle Gellar has visions of a murder she may have witnessed as a little girl. She goes back to her childhood town to unravel things. She meets some unfriendly folks who are trying to cover up the past. Somebody tries to kill her for… More
Gosh, what a boring and confusing movie! Sarah Michelle Gellar has visions of a murder she may have witnessed as a little girl. She goes back to her childhood town to unravel things. She meets some unfriendly folks who are trying to cover up the past. Somebody tries to kill her for opening up old wounds. The blue/grey tint of every scene made it hard to watch. The story was not very interesting. I wish Sarah had done more with The Grudge 2 instead of this forgettable mess.
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Fine non-stop supernatural thriller which is alike <i>What Lies Beneath</i> of Sarah Michelle Gellar has visions like the nightmares as a spirit inside her body who seeks vengeance.
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Wasn't sure what to expect with this, but it's not like the The Ring or Grudge. Very short at just 76mins and not a great deal happens until the last 20mins. However after a slow start the ending makes for a good film with a slight twist, but not scary at all.
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"The Return" is a slow-going ghost story that takes a long time to say "Boo!"
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A very good story...But the way they filmed it made this film a complete failure.
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nice movie, interesting story
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Tremendously dull and thoroughly deprived of suspense in any form.
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This was a great movie. I was expecting it to be more of a horror movie, but it was actually really well made suspense/thriller/mystery. It's just scary enough to keep you jumping and realistic enough to keep you interested. I can't say much more without giving away… More
This was a great movie. I was expecting it to be more of a horror movie, but it was actually really well made suspense/thriller/mystery. It's just scary enough to keep you jumping and realistic enough to keep you interested. I can't say much more without giving away spoilers.
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Even Sarah Michelle Gellar's good looks cant save this movie from being boring!! I mean WTF there was nothing in this film! About a young woman that has nightmares and drawn to a farmhouse. Does that soiund interesting,yeah it does kinda. Buuuut wait!! They dont even give you ANY… More
Even Sarah Michelle Gellar's good looks cant save this movie from being boring!! I mean WTF there was nothing in this film! About a young woman that has nightmares and drawn to a farmhouse. Does that soiund interesting,yeah it does kinda. Buuuut wait!! They dont even give you ANY good scares, noooo good speical effects,nothing! The characters were so fucking flat,that I think a seven year old school boy could have done a better job. And what the hell Sarah why must you continue to make these piece of shit movies?? Makes no sense,how bad of taste does she have in movies anyhow?? There is nothing good I can say about this movie,except for maybe the ending. That was ok at best. Skip this movie unless you wanna cry yourself to sleep because you wasted 1.5 hours of your life!!
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A simple ghost story that is, for all its faults, elegantly shot and beautifully scored.
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SMG+horror or thriller=bad movie
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I started to watch this, and I almost fell asleep. Luckily I was able to return it for another movie that was much better.
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As I was just told. this movie sucks a*$! It bored me so bad I'm not even going to finish it. Advertised as a horror thriller this really is a crappy mystery. Save your time and don't watch.
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This is a joke.
Save your life, don't see this!
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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