Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    HORROR SCREAMS VIDEO VAULT – SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT HORROR
    • Home
    • Film Reviews
      • Films Beginning With Numbers or Symbols
      • A – C
      • D – F
      • G – I
      • J – L
      • M – O
      • P – R
      • S – U
      • V – X
      • Y – Z
    • Book Reviews
    • Franchise Corner
    • Competitions
    • Horror Screams Podcast
    • Contact Us
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    HORROR SCREAMS VIDEO VAULT – SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT HORROR

    Peter 'Witchfinder' HopkinsBy Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins21st July 2019Updated:21st July 2019No Comments2 Mins Read
    THE GIFT **** USA 2015 Dir: Joel Edgerton. 108 mins

    Their marriage haunted by an earlier tragedy, middle-class couple Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall move to L.A., where they meet a chummy former school acquaintance(Joel Edgerton) of Bateman’s whom he only remembers, disparagingly, as “Gordo the Weirdo”. Unwanted gifts and awkward “dinner parties” follow and Bateman insists Edgerton is a creepy fucker with an obsession for Hall.
    For a while, you may think THE GIFT is a straight-forward thriller in the vein of all those early 90’s Hollywood suspensers in which well to do families are threatened by homicidal babysitters / cops / landlords / etc. Edgerton’s script cleverly flirts with the conventions of this sub-genre (including the apparently imperilled pet dog) but unfurls into something far more unsettling and unpredictable. Clever casting neatly subverts Jason Bateman’s established amiable screen presence, as grim secrets are revealed until a climactic “gift” hits like a sledgehammer. A rare non-violent yet disturbing modern day thriller, it has the courage of its convictions and bows out on a marvellously sour note. The three central performances are excellent, with the underplaying, layered Edgerton a stand-out in the film he wrote and directed under the “Blumhouse” banner.

    Review by Steven West


    FacebookLikeShareTweetPin
    Jason Bateman Joel Edgerton Rebecca Hall The Gift Thriller

    Related Posts

    VIPCO & BayView Entertainment release dramatic thriller CURSED BY HAPPINESS

    7th May 202501 Min Read
    Read More

    Film Review: TIME ADDICTS (2023)

    30th January 202503 Mins Read
    Read More

    ‘Mother Father Sister Brother Frank’ the hilariously horrid comedy horror is served up on Digital

    27th January 202502 Mins Read
    Read More

    Poster for Harley Wallen’s newest flick “Fathers” starring Kaiti Wallen, Jerry Hayes, Deon Hunt, and Emilia Linnea

    26th December 202402 Mins Read
    Read More

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Recent Posts
    • Mors Omnia Solvit: the Italian occult film presented and distributed by TetroVideo and DarkVeins Records
    • Evil Awakening: LOST MEDIA RESURFACES – Horror Movie Returns After 25 Years
    • THE LEGACY LIVES ON: ANDREW PIERSON CAST AS WILLIAM SPANNER IN WITCHCRAFT 17
    • “Tonight She Comes” to MoviVue
    • A BAROQUE FILM FEST is officially in motion!
    Archives
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.