Cinema review
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Peter O’Brien, Sam Shepard, Kate Beahan

Joanna Mills (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was involved in an accident 15 years ago. When her job as a travelling salesperson brings her back to the same part of Texas, she starts having nightmares and premonitions…

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s most recent attempt to be taken seriously as an actress feels like an American remake of a Japanese horror film, but without the level of playful intelligence and inventiveness that normally comes with that. Horror films can often get by without a great deal of originality, but when the conclusion to most scenes can be predicted as soon as those scenes have started, then something is definitely wrong.

Director Asif Kapadia’s strength is in his shot composition and visual language – far more is conveyed that way than through the characters’ dialogue. When this works, it’s compelling and haunting. When it doesn’t, it makes the 80 minute movie feel 40 minutes too long. It does manage to pick up pace as it moves towards its unsurprising conclusion, but the extremely awkward script means that the ending isn’t a satisfactory experience.

The Return is not a total mess, but neither is it a movie that needs to be remembered, paid attention to or even watched. John Forrest

VERDICT: 3/10
An interesting visual style utterly let down by an uninspired script.