Joan who does not like being scared, decides not to see a horror film with her friends joan is using

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.

I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed Sarah Michelle Gellar. She delivers.This is a mystery / drama. The thriller and horror portions are barely there.

I think I missed something in the plot, but the movie still seems like a smart art piece.

There are attractions to this film. One, it proceeds at its own pace specific to the revelations the main character achieves. Some would say it moves too slowly but, I think, this is only in contrast to recent genre films that rush to exploit thrills, sometimes fun, sometimes silly. The pace is more like that of classic mystery movies with a little film noir mixed in.The atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of recent Japanese horror films and remakes though the narrative is much more structured. This is emphasized by the "washed out" look of the photography even in direct sunlight. Of course, parts of Texas where much of this was shot appear a little washed out in reality. While this is not especially flattering to the actors, it underscores the uncertainty the characters must endure. (Congratulations to Ms. Gellar for acceding to this when most actresses are looking for every cinematographic advantage they can get!) The film is more about character and the discovery of destiny than about complex plot or even surprises. As in many Hitchcock movies, the audience is supposed to know more about some things than the characters. Most horror and mystery fans will have a pretty good inkling of the answer the heroine is seeking well before all the loose ends are tied up. (As the "Robot Chicken" version of M. Night Shyamalan might say, "What a twist!")

Ms. Gellar must portray a repressed young woman suffering from more than one trauma from the past. She conveys effectively that her character is confused, haunted, resolute, scared, brave and smart enough to make her way in a good ole boy business world. She cannot accept help even from the few who are closest to her. Her premonitions (memories?) lead her to out of the way places and a man with a past as tormented as her own. There is solid support from the reliable Sam Shepard and from J.C. MacKenzie in a performance that is quite a departure from his usual roles.

i'm really surprised by the low rating this movie currently has(4.8/10).i really liked it.that's saying a lot because i generally don't like Sarah Michelle Gellar.however,i didn't mind her in this movie.this movie kept me at unease throughout,not knowing what might happen next.the movie is filled with an air of dread.i also liked the look of the movie.very dark and atmospheric with muted colours.i found that very effective.the story itself is unique and is not predictable.i thought i had it figured out a few times,only to find out i was wrong.near the end,i came close to figuring it out,but it turned out i wasn't quite right.any movie that can keep you guessing to the end is doing something right,in my mind.there is lots of suspense in this movie,but no gore,which is very refreshing.this is one of the better suspense/thriller movies i have seen in a long time.i had low expectation going into this movie,and those expectation were shattered.if you're looking for a suspense movie with clever writing and good characters,check this movie out.for me,"The Return" is a 9/10

I saw this film last night not knowing what to expect. What I found was something excellent. Now this movie does require a few things before watching however; an IQ over 50, bit of patience, and the knowledge that gore and cheap thrills don't always mean a good film.The film was shot beautifully and the acting was really well done! However my only issue was that at times the film does drag and that's where patience is required because it is worth it in the end.

For those looking for a film full of cheap thrills, excessive gore and no plot or decent acting in sight then this is NOT the film for you. However if you're after a solid Drama/Thriller with a supernatural element then definitely check this film out.

How on earth is it possible that, in this modern day & age of progressive cinema and amazing visual techniques, such redundant and out-of-date films like "The Return" still manage to find their way to theater distribution? I can't even decide what to hate most about this film, as the list of inept & pitiable aspects is almost too long to choose from. Sarah Michelle Gellar's embarrassing attempt to come across as a real actress? The total lack of logic and continuity? Or simply the fact it's an unendurably boring & soporific film that doesn't feature a single moment of action or tension? But most likely I hate it because director Asif Kapadia and writer Adam Sussman haven't even got an actual story to tell and simply attempt to tie together the loose ends of something that vaguely resembles a supernatural thriller/ghosts-from-the-past melodrama. I watched this dull turkey at the Belgian Festival of Horror & Fantasy Films and the spontaneous reactions of the audience didn't lie. "The Return" honestly deserved all the BOOH's and BOOOOOOORING's that were disrespectfully yelled at the screen. They want us to believe Gellar is a successful young saleswoman on her way to close up a million Dollar deal in the Texan area where she grew up. The poor woman is haunted by visions of a murder that occurred in the area almost 15 years ago and, even though she doesn't recognize the man in her dreams, she feels connected to him and carefully seeks contact. A whole lot of boredom and pointless sub plot later, there's the climax that doesn't make the slightest bit of sense and won't shock or surprise even the smallest child. I tremendously disliked the recent mystery-thriller "The Messengers" because it shamelessly presented an endless number false frights and clichés, but that film is honestly a masterpiece compared to "The Return", as the latter features nothing! Not even a single slamming door or random ghostly appearance in a mirror. The plot is often more incoherent than the ones of low-budget B-movies of the 70's, as some supportive characters inexplicably disappear and others abruptly enter the scene without being introduced. Sam Shepard, the only decent player in the entire film, is dreadfully underused while the awful TV-actor Peter O'Brien gives away a terrible performance. Roman Osnin provides the film with a handful of beautifully shot images that actually deserved to be in a better film. Some people claimed that "The Return" turned out a lot better because they didn't expect to see a horror film. Well, I think that no matter what genre you're expecting to see, it'll always remain a dire film.

No saguaro and a whole lot of stubby trees with thorns. Yup.For those who've been to the area, it's very distinct, and this movie gives a good visual feel for what the area around San Antonio and central Texas looks like.SMG's character wants to come back to Texas for work to get a shipping contract for her company, and it's a realistic job for the area, as well as a realistic position to have a "face" like Sarah Michelle Gellar in that kind of business. She's very realistic as one who goes to make deals with businesses, and she's completely believable in that role.The exchange with her boss is realistic and great. The coworker jealous of her success makes sense to begin with... and then less so partway through.There are other reviews that discuss more plot. I watched this cold, pulling it from a horror movie 4 pack, without even a menu screen. I was not disappointed, and letting it unfold without knowing anything about it probably made it more enjoyable.I'll just address in vaguest terms minor issues I found that on viewing, you might see... or might not.The movie has what seems like a few jarring errors that could be solved with a few lines of dialog. Without spoiling any plot elements (these are all peripheral issues):1. What's up with jealous coworker after the first scene?2. Why is she staying in that dismal hotel? Were there no other choices available? What woman chooses to stay somewhere that looks like that?3. Why does a character give a warning where the character clearly knows why they're giving the warning but provides no substance to the warning? And why doesn't SMG just ask "why are you warning me about that" or "what's the story"?4. Why don't people talk about the problems they know about when someone is clearly interested in them in more than a superficial way?There are a few plot errors/bad decisions that seem needless and easily fixable with a couple lines of dialog, and they're not "turn your brain off" bad, but they're what takes the movie from great to just pretty good.

The visuals are fantastic, there's good use of showing changes in time, and aside from a couple scenes that drag a bit (and not in a bad way), its pretty solid.

Joanna Mills(Sarah Michelle Gellar), a work-a-holic and successful business woman doesn't stay put in any one place for long. She seems to think this staying on the move will somehow fade the horrible nightmares of a fifteen year old murder. She doesn't really know how or why she keeps having visions of a certain barn and old farmhouse in Texas. Business takes Joanna back to her home state and she drops in on her estranged father Ed(Sam Shepard), who tries to shed light on how her nightmares began. Her trip back to Texas seems to have led to a successful deal; but he memories of the barn and farmhouse keep getting stronger...strong enough to draw her to the sight and its owner Terry Stahl(Peter O'Brien). The eerie finale is worth the wait. Also in the cast: Erinn Allison, Kate Beahan, Adam Scott, Brad Leland and as young Joanna, Darrian McClanahan.

I got to see the advance screening of this movie too, way in advance though it wasn't a star studded screening.About the movie, one thing must be said is that this movie is really interesting and mysterious though it cannot be compared to other movies like saw, mindhunters as this movie does not have gore at all.It can be compared to the butterfly effect as it has that supernatural kind of story which is very well written and i will go on to say that to me this was better than the butterfly effect. Most importantly the acting is top of the line from all the actors specially Sarah's. The way this movie is directed is also very intriguing and i really have to admire Asif's direction.Well if you want to watch an amazing, interesting and kind of a thriller movie you must watch this as it is certainly worth a watch.

7/10

Read the above title. The thing you need to realize is when you go into the movie is that it is a suspense thriller, not a horror film like Saw or The Grudge. I know this because I went with my best friend to see the film and he hates horror films, but he loved this movie as did I...You need to go into the movie with some things in mind. One, it is a low budget film, it's released through Rogue Pictures, from what I have heard, it is an indie film and therefore its not going to be on the same par as some of the other films that are out there today. Two, think more along the lines of "What Lies Beneath" and not along the lines of "The Grudge". I thought it was very creative, the way it was filmed and the way the story panned out. You may not figure everything out until the last 15 minutes of the movie, but I am sorry, I actually enjoy movies like that and not ones that are going to give everything away to you in the first ten minutes of the movie. Sarah Michelle Gellar does an excellent job in this film. I think it's just good all around. It's a good film to see if you want to be in suspense, but not be grossed out like Saw does.

I am amazed with some of the reviews of this film. The only place that seems to tell the truth is RottenTomatoes.com. This film is awful. The plot is extremely lazy. It is not scary either. People out there who think that because it stars Sarah Michelle Geller it is somehow like The Grudge should forget about it. This film is more like Dark Water, except it is even more predictable and slow moving than it. I was extremely disappointed with this film. It didn't scare me nor interest me either. Let's face it , this type of plot has been flogged to death at this stage e.g. the dead trying to contact the living - Dragonfly, What Lies Beneath, Ghost Story, Dark Water, Darkness, The Changeling etc.etc. It seems to me that the only ones writing original horror films nowadays are the Japanese and the Koreans. The films that are coming out of Hollywood, like this, are cynical exercises in money making without a shred of respect for the viewer. They're just being churned out

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.

Joanna Mills is a tough young Midwesterner determined to learn the truth behind the increasingly terrifying supernatural visions that have been haunting her.The Return offers a decent storyline that's bogged down by tedious pacing and stiff performances. It's disappointing that the studio decided to market this film as a horror movie since it was really a drama with a supernatural hook to it. The first hour is so hard to sit through because the director moved everything at such a crawling pace. It might just be me but listening to the same clues and watching the same flashbacks over and over again does get pretty annoying. The story is literally at a standstill until the one hour mark.When the plot finally reaches its boiling point, it does so far past the point of audience involvement or genuine concern. The characters were not engaging enough for me to care about them and absolutely nothing happened in the first hour so there was very little to actually be interested in. When things start to pick up, the suspense is pretty low and the ending wasn't really that great. It was something a little different compared to most films that come out these days but it still wasn't good enough to compensate for everything the audience had to sit through.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was so wooden and uninteresting. She moved at such a slow pace and all of her actions were done very slowly to my annoyance. She gave her lines without emotion and she just looked bored throughout the entire thing. J.C. MacKenzie gave the best performance out of everyone although that's not much of a compliment. He had a few effective scenes as the twisted psycho. Peter O'Brien was just as emotionless as Sarah and it was very yawn inducing to watch them on screen together. Overall, The Return is a tough film to sit through mainly because it's so dull. I only recommend checking it out if you're a big fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar otherwise just skip it. Rating 3/10

I remember seeing the trailer for The Return a few mos. ago. I remember feeling intrigued but a little underwhelmed. I thought any movie is worth a look with lovely Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead. I've always loved SGM in her Buffy hey day. But as it got closer and closer to its switchy release date buzz dropped, there were no advance screenings and a PG-13 rating. All pretty much signaling a crapfest. Momentum especially dropped after the release one of the worst films ever made The Grudge 2 after bad publicity like that I'm not sure I would've really tried to push this film either. But after seeing it this evening I'm happy to say it deserves to be seen, but not by all. Let's face it SMG is great but her movie choices haven't been so worthy she showed off her acting chops in her multi-emmy nominated Buffy role, hence her following. But I will say that this is first real movie, that demanded a real performance and she delivers. The Return is no standard hodge podge of cheap scare tactics and a translucent plot grabbings. It is instead a multi layered psychological thriller with elements of the supernatural and the macabre. Gellar stars in beautiful dark brown hair as Joanna Mills a tough young business woman who returns home to Texas for a business deal. While she is there she's haunted by strange visions and even stranger mishaps. She is seemingly being stalked by a homicidal maniac and is reliving the murder of a woman that looks frightfully like her. All of the twists culminate to an unexpected and shocking finale worthy of attention. But stupid people looking for cheap thrills do need not apply. The Return earns its scares courtesy of its director Asif Kapadia director of the award winning film The Warrior. This is a thinking persons movie. You must piece the plot together while enduring some delightfully creepy setpieces and some experimentally satisfying cinematography. But the real fun is talking about the movie after its over. Because all though seemingly figured out it leaves a lot to your imagination. You become immersed in the films subtext of loneliness and despair. The yearning for a connection to someone or some place that could complete you as a person. The return offers such insight if your willing to look. SMG's character Joanna Mills is lonely, confused but strong willed and confident. Many of us can identify with her. The director aims to tell a story about the wrongful murder of a woman , yes, but also about a young woman struggling to find herself in this world, her purpose, all set against the backdrop of the seemingly whole hearted midwest. The film is drab looking rightfully so and is brutally serious any humor left within is purely coincidental. The fact that SMG would choose a film like this is a clear sign that she means business. She wants to be recognized for her talent and doesn't just want to be a genre staple. The film is filled with delicately subtle and effective performances most notably by Sam Shepard. And all though the film is creatively executed it's not flawless in the end it either needed to be shorter or longer. A longer cut may have given us a bit more insight into the characters and the directors emotional landscape a shorter cut would have made for a fine and exceptional episode of masters of horror or some other genre show. But don't pass this one up if your looking for something different, something smart. The Return is a return to intelligent genre film making.

Ok I must confess that I adore Sarah Michelle Gellar first but this movie was surprisingly interesting and creepy. I felt drawn in right away and was hooked on finding out the "truth" of the story throughout it. SMG is terrific in the leading role but the supporting cast is good too. If you like a supernatural thriller, give this a try.

I just got back from The Return and loved it. It certainly wasn't amazing, but it was a huge cut above other movies like it. I went into this expecting a movie like Dark Water. More of a drama than anything scary. I was wrong. Return had a whole lot more scares than Dark Water, but had a story to back it up, not to say Dark Water didn't have any. Sarah's acting was a whole lot better than her other movies, which added to the scares. It was a bit confusing at times but the ending brought it all together. the scares were mostly jump moments, but the atmosphere and cinematography added on to them.Go and see this movie, but don't expect stupid scares like the Grudge 2, and enjoy the ride. The return was a well acted, slow moving yet wonderfully intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

It's possible for a horror film to have a dreadful story, awful effects, risible acting, or an incomprehensible plot, and yet somehow still manage to entertain. What is unforgivable, however, is if a scary movie is boring; The Return will have you comatose within an hour, drool running off your chin! The film tried so hard to be mysterious and creepy in the first 60 minutes (but still failed), that by the time it attempted to explain what the hell was going on, I just didn't give a damn. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a young business woman who suffers from nightmarish visions. Unwisely following clues revealed to her in these 'dreams', she discovers the truth behind a murder that occurred 15 years before. After much tedium and unfathomable 'plot development', a lame Shyalaman-style denouement eventually puts viewers out of their misery. With absolutely no atmosphere, Gellar portraying a character with less depth than Daphne in Scooby Doo, and only a couple of cheap mechanical scares eliciting any kind of reaction from this viewer, The Return is a dull, pointless pile of cack that should be avoided at all costs. In fact, anyone who manages to watch the whole mess without falling asleep should be awarded some kind of medal to mark their achievement.

I just saw this movie yesterday...I cannot believe the reviews on this site. The ones that give it over one-star must be Buffy fanatics. Well, I am a Buffy fan of the first order, but I know crap when I see it. On every level, this film is terrible. Technically, much of the time you don't know where you are in this movie, even within one scene, it jumps POV like crazy for no reason. No logic whatsoever in cinematic terms. Emotionally is bleak for bleak's sake and attempts to be a psychological thriller when it is just confusing. Throwing nasty-looking red-necks in your movie is a cheap way to convey "atmosphere". I ran out of patience with it a long time before the last act, but I was having too much fun with my friends doing MST3K riffs to turn it off. Since leaving Buffy, SMG has had 2 successful movies, if even listing "Scooby Doo" on your resume could count. Gellar is a fine actress, but she (or her agent) sure can't find a vehicle for her. And Mr. Shepard, if you are having trouble paying your mortgage, I'll send you a few bucks if you promise to not appear in a movie like this again! ( Also, the estate of Patsy Cline should sue for defamation! )

THE RETURN is a ghost story that joins the supernatural with drama. The film starts being very mysterious and confusing because the main character JOANNA (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) has some visions that she doesn't know where they come from. It makes the plot confusing at the beginning because we don't know what is real or not, as her entire life seems to be an allegory! Nevertheless, from a certain part of the plot we start figuring it all out and the end just appears in a predictable and expected way. It's not bad though! I must say I enjoyed that ending even expecting it.

The movie is quite suspenseful, mysterious, and has a chilling atmosphere, nice to a ghost story. I also appreciated the cinematography. In fact there're very beautiful shots of landscapes in this film and the camera work is very good (some scenes are shot in great plans). The acting is good too.

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.

OK i will admit, it started out very pleasing and good, but then it just dropped downhill, i cannot believe Sarah Michelle Gellar could have even finished reading the script after about 5 minutes into the movie, the only reason i actually sat through the whole movie, was i wanted to see the twist at the ned, and to my surprise, well, folks i cannot even tell you if there ven was one, because the end just leaves you confused, and then the credit role, i was like what the hell? this did not deserve a theater run, i am sorry, but it didn't i mean it was horrible, the only reaso i gave it a 4 is because it had a few jumpy parts...thats it! you can watch it, im not telling you not to, hey you might even like it or even love it! but if you hate it, don't say i didn't warn you!

The Return is an effectively suspenseful psychological thriller and not the standard type of horror movie that the trailer implies. It has the feel of Korean cinema with redneck overtones, which add to the overall vibe. Many reviews have complained that there are'nt any jump scares and the story evolves slowly, but that makes the uneasiness all the more effective. Please don't let the misleading trailer cloud your judgement. Immerse yourself in the story and you'll appreciate this film. The cast do a great job, especially Sarah Michelle Gellar who, as always gives a believability to the character of Joanna and creates a vulnerable person that can be easily empathised with. A movie that should be seen more than once and that, in time, will be given the accolades that it deserves.

"The Return" is an excellent, suspenseful film that is easily one of my favorite supernatural thrillers. The plot follows Joanna Mills (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a young executive who receives a promotion and is sent to a small town named La Salle, Texas to do business. After arriving in the town and meeting up with an old friend, Joanna begins experiencing strange nightmares and visions about a murder that occurred 15 years ago in the town. After meeting a man named Terry, the husband of the woman who was murdered, Joanna begins having more intense hallucinations and is chased by a strange man who keeps on referring to her as "sunshine". Joanna becomes determined to solve the mystery behind Terry's wife's murder, and discovers that it may be linked to a past event that occurred in her life.I was really shocked to see how many negative reviews there were for this film on IMDb, and how many people rated it one star out of ten. Are you joking? This is one of the most intelligent supernatural thrillers I've seen in years. Sure, it's a bit of a thinker, but what's wrong with that? It seems like people have become so lazy with films that they want everything spoon-fed to them or otherwise don't even want to bother. "The Return" boasts a very smart and nicely woven story that was interesting and never 'dull', as some have described it. It's very intricate, but it makes sense. I can understand a little confusion with what is going on at the early and mid stages of the movie, because if you don't pay attention you may find yourself lost - but as long as you're paying attention to what's happening on screen, the plot is actually pretty easy to follow. The cast is led by Sarah Michelle Gellar, who has already earned her place in the horror/suspense genres for her roles in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Grudge", and again proves her acting skills with this film. The supporting cast includes Peter O'Brien as the mysterious Terry, and Kate Beahan (of "The Wicker Man" remake) as one of Joanna's old hometown friends. No problem with any of the acting here, everyone did a good job. The film is set in a rundown Texas town, and the country backdrop was a spooky place to set the story, and it is made good use of. There's nice cinematography and some rather shaky camera-work used, but it is appropriate and sets a certain tone to the film. While this movie isn't exactly a 'horror' film per se, it does have some very scary moments (or at least I thought so). The scenes where Joanna was being chased by the "sunshine" man were actually very terrifying and had me on the edge of my seat. His character was menacing and just downright creepy and gave me shudders on more than one occasion - probably one of the scariest things about this film.One problem that may have caused the large amount of dislike towards this film was the marketing, which made it out to be something along the lines of "The Grudge", and it is absolutely nothing like that. This was a very subtle, atmospheric, and smart supernatural mystery. There's no shaky-moving monsters or an over use of cheap "jump" scares here. This movie garners it's spookiness with a very subtle tone and a spooky story to boot (the suspense factor being of significance too). The conclusion is appropriate and ties everything together very neatly, leaving no loose ends whatsoever. I've read complaints about how the ending made no sense, but it is also very simple. I won't explain it here because I want to avoid spoilers with my review, but think about it a little bit and it should make perfect sense pretty easily.

Overall, "The Return" is a superior supernatural mystery/thriller that is severely underrated. I'd say it's the best supernatural thriller of 2006, and is a new favorite of mine. It's the type of film that takes a little thought to fully understand - not everything is spoon fed to you, but it's not rocket science either. I'd strongly recommend this for people who like subtle, creepy films. It's not a gory slash fest and I'm not even really sure if it can be considered horror - but it's a creepy film nonetheless with an excellently written story. 10/10.