The Return (2006)

15% of critics liked it
(55 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(190,517 ratings)

A self-assured Midwestern girl finds her confidence gradually crumbling as a barrage of terrifying visions prompt her to investigate a brutal murder in a supernatural thriller directed by Asif Kapadia and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Joanna Mills (Gellar) is a successful sales representative for… More A self-assured Midwestern girl finds her confidence gradually crumbling as a barrage of terrifying visions prompt her to investigate a brutal murder in a supernatural thriller directed by Asif Kapadia and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Joanna Mills (Gellar) is a successful sales representative for a local trucking company, and though her professional life is at an all-time high, her personal life couldn't be any more troubling at the moment. Estranged from her father (Sam Shepard) and menacingly stalked by an obsessive ex-boyfriend (Adam Scott), Joanna feels all alone in the world as her downward spiral rapidly begins to accelerate. When Joanna has a psychic experience in which she literally sees and feels the brutal murder of a female stranger, she soon begins to suspect that she has been targeted as the killer's next victim. Joanna isn't the type to go down without a fight, however, and as her increasingly vivid visions guide her ever closer to the victim's hometown, the secrets that will be revealed leave her wondering if the murder she is investigating may be her own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Asif Kapadia
Written By: Adam Sussman
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Nov 10, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Feb 27, 2007
Studio: Focus Features

Critic Reviews

Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly
Mellow -- nay, snoozy -- atmospherics trump actual scares, and it makes almost zero sense.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
This murky psychological horror effort is not likely to inspire a return.
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.
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.
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
The Return universally fails to establish any sense of reality, which makes it hard to register when Joanna's world starts falling apart.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
The horror movie workhorse Sarah Michelle Gellar is back to chill us with The Return, a rote thriller with an intriguingly frenetic shooting style.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Buffy star is haunted by violent memories.
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.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
It's just a dull, mediocre, and forgettable supernatural drama with wooden performances from its entire cast...
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.
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.
Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com
a low point in the on-going battle to scare U.S. teens from their allowances
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
Austerely directed but shamelessly dry, uneventful and derivative.
Aaron Lupton, Rue Morgue Magazine
Stick to vampires, Buffy.
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.
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.
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
Adam Sussman's script is so thin you can see right through it.
Jamie Russell, Total Film
She gulps a hell of a lot, her cardigan sleeves are pulled down over her hands and her forehead's slightly furrowed (not too much, mind, it could make her look old). It can only mean one thing: Sarah Michelle Gellar is acting.

Read all 18 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

Some scenes were <b>really</b> scary. Nice movie.
Lady D

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.
Bruce B

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
Nicki M

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!!!
Steve B

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.
Lafe F

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.
Dean M

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.
Dean !

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.
Roy G

"The Return" is a slow-going ghost story that takes a long time to say "Boo!"
Jacob P

A very good story...But the way they filmed it made this film a complete failure.
Andreia C

nice movie, interesting story
William G

Tremendously dull and thoroughly deprived of suspense in any form.
Angela A

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.
Kevin L

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!!
Robert F

A simple ghost story that is, for all its faults, elegantly shot and beautifully scored.
Lovable M

SMG+horror or thriller=bad movie
Erin C

I started to watch this, and I almost fell asleep. Luckily I was able to return it for another movie that was much better.
Nicky M

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.
Janice :

This is a joke. Save your life, don't see this!
Adam M

An average psychological thriller about a young woman,played by Sarah Michelle Gellar,who starts having visions in which she's another woman and shes being stalked and eventually murdered.She goes to Texas,where the visions seemingly take place,to find out what's happening… More
An average psychological thriller about a young woman,played by Sarah Michelle Gellar,who starts having visions in which she's another woman and shes being stalked and eventually murdered.She goes to Texas,where the visions seemingly take place,to find out what's happening to her.This is an ok thriller but it's been done so many times before and it feels like a remake of a Japanese horror,although it's not!