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The Return
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Metascore
38 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
4.7 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 38 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Sam Shepard, Sarah Michelle Gellar
  • Summary: Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Joanna Mills, a tough young Midwesterner determined to learn the truth behind the increasingly terrifying supernatural visions that have been haunting her. (Rogue Pictures)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 16
  3. Negative: 6 out of 16
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    67
    It's more haunting than it has any right to be, thanks to its love of long, lonesome highways and the way the violence of the past bleeds into the present.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    50
    The minimalist style keeps the suspense warm. The movie is unusual among teen horror flicks in that it largely avoids the usual cheap thrills and bursts of scare music. Instead, it carefully repeats isolated images and sound bites until they take on a shivery power.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    38
    Since Adam Sussman's script is as lazy as Asif Kapadia's direction is disjointed, nothing ever makes sense, even after the anticlimatic explanation is revealed.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. RogerSmith97
    10
    What A Great Psychological Thriller!! The Whole Cast Is Great, The Music Is Very Good, And The Plot Is Very Fun To Follow! Sarah Michelle Gellar Show's Us She CAN Act! :)… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. Riren
    4
    The first half is like a rejected draft of a Silent Hill movie, while the second is a disappointingly illogical explanation for the first. Even the soundtrack wants more action out of the characters than they are willing to provide, and the acting is far too dull for all the shadows and shaky camera tricks to hide. The lack of thrills and content isn't made up for by the languishing suspense and bursts of ill-fitting violence. The Return is only recommended to horror/thriller lovers who want another odd plot to unravel in their spare time.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. Redlight
    3
    an absolute mess. striving to be this eerie, psychological thriller, the film instead winds up being a dull, vague disaster. one day, i hope Sarah Michelle Gellar will make a movie worthy of her talents. but with this and the grudge 2, just now it looks like she'll be the first one to sign up for the Buffy: 10 Years On tv series if it ever materialized.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes

See all 10 User Reviews

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