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The Return

Play trailer Poster for The Return PG-13 2006 1h 25m Mystery & Thriller Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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15% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Joanna Mills (Sarah Michelle Gellar) has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father (Sam Shepard), and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.
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The Return

The Return

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Critics Consensus

Unoriginality may be an acceptable risk in the Horror genre, but boredom is never okay.

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Critics Reviews

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Brian Tallerico UGO 03/24/2007
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. Go to Full Review
Nigel Floyd Time Out 01/16/2007
Adam Sussman's script is so thin you can see right through it. Go to Full Review
Dave Calhoun Time Out 01/15/2007
It's gripping stuff and deeply enjoyable. Go to Full Review
Steve Newton Georgia Straight 07/06/2010
3/5
This low-key supernatural thriller, illogical as it is, offers a brief respite from the gruelling Saws and Hostels of the world. Go to Full Review
Kit Bowen Hollywood.com 11/20/2008
2/5
Brian Holcomb Beyond Hollywood 04/18/2008
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Darragh H May 26 Saw this when it was first released. Enjoyable well acted thriller. See more Justin T 06/10/2023 The first part of this movie is moody and sparse on dialogue. Very little seems to be happy but I didn't care too much as it looked fantastic. The colours look subdued and gorgeous. The camera moves and shot choices are all stunning. The problem is that there isn't any story and not a lot of atmosphere. One bit made me jump but for the rest of the time I was unmoved. If you are looking for a similar outing to The Grudge (2004), like I was, then you will be a bit disappointed. Beautiful cinematography and palate cannot totally excuse a lack of content. See more 04/20/2020 There's some interesting mood and visuals going on here, but what a mess! A confusing poopy mess. See more 10/03/2018 The Return touched me deeply and only a Russian can make such a poignant tale about relationships that everyone regardless of their background will relate to. Story here is about two brothers who are suddenly confronted by their father who had been absent in their lives since their birth. He takes them on an excursion into the wilderness and tries to teach them the ways of life the way he sees right. I was horrified to learn that the boy who played the elder son died in real life soon after the film was done with production. It makes this film more poignant. Please see this film if you get an opportunity.(Touching film from Russia). See more Francisco S 09/10/2015 With a dull script, but some scary jumpscares, The Return is a good example of a failed attempt of make a clever movie and instead that, it was made a cliched and unoriginal movie which brings out the worst of, once talented, Sarah gellar and a boring and over-exploited narrative in this genre. See more 09/10/2015 With a dull script, but some scary jumpscares, The Return is a good example of a failed attempt of make a clever movie and instead that, it was made a cliched and unoriginal movie which brings out the worst of, once talented, Sarah gellar and a boring and over-exploited narrative in this genre. See more Read all reviews
The Return

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Movie Info

Synopsis Joanna Mills (Sarah Michelle Gellar) has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father (Sam Shepard), and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.
Director
Asif Kapadia
Producer
Aaron Ryder, Jeffrey Silver
Screenwriter
Adam Sussman
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Raygun Productions, EuropaCorp, Intrepid Pictures, Rogue Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Terror|Disturbing Images|Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 10, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 22, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.7M
Runtime
1h 25m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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