In the early 90s, various psycho thrillers were churned out by studios following the success of Fatal Attraction and The Silence Of The Lambs. These lead the way for dozens of simliar fare, including the likes of Cape Fear, the underrated Pacific Heights, Misery, Raising Cain, Single White Female, Unlawful Entry and, memorably, Basic Instinct. Meanwhile mostly derivative knock offs germinated the “psycho bitch from hell” sub-genre from which the likes of Poison Ivy, Mother’s Boys, The Crush and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle were spawned.

Lesser imitations haunted video stores throughout the decade, meshing with the traits of the 80s’ stalk and slash pictures. This era of faded video sleeves featuring images of screaming faces reflected in giant knife blades, remained imbedded in the memory and collections of film fans of a certain age and elk.

Actor Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut The Gift hugely harks back to the aforementioned but feels like neither a homage nor a post-modern revamp. Married couple Simon and Robyn (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) move into a house in a well-to-do neighbourhood when an ominous old school “friend” Gordo (Joel Edgerton) arrives baring gifts, a shifty demeanour and ulterior motives. Tension mounts and peril ensues when Gordo flips into full psycho mode and starts meddling with their private lives, unearthing personal secrets in the process.

The Gift Image

The Gift manages to conjure a couple of decent frights but unravels without much flair or narrative ingenuity. Despite a couple of interesting quirks, the story is ridden with clichés, stale dialogue and flat characterisation. What substance and cunning The Gift does boast of feels far too flimsy and contrived to make an impact with genre fans but may strike a chord with impartial audiences.

Some shock scenes prove potent as segments but do little to bolster the whole. Simon and Robyn are also far too generic as leading characters and lead villain Gordo is a jumbled and cumbersome antagonist, lacking the edge and charisma of Norman Bates, Jack Torrance and Hannibal Lector.

The packed story crams too many outlandish scenarios into its latter half as the twists welter into implausibility. The set up drifts leisurely with Hall and Bateman just about elevating Simon and Robyn out of mediocrity with half decent performances but hack dialogue and a hammy first half haunt The Gift like the ghost of its 90s predecessors.

On the whole The Gift is an occasionally rousing but mostly mediocre thriller, let down by its synthetic protagonists and unbelievable arcs. The acting fails to divert from the flaws but it remains pithy and airless entertainment despite some ludicrous plotting. While feeling like a family member of the early 90s thrillers that appeared to inspire The Gift remains a notably lesser work.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
The Gift
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Daniel Goodwin is a prevalent film writer for multiple websites including HeyUGuys, Scream Horror Magazine, Little White Lies, i-D and Dazed. After studying Film, Media and Cultural Studies at university and Creative Writing at the London School of Journalism, Daniel went on to work in TV production for Hat Trick Productions, So Television and The London Studios. He has also worked at the Home Office, in the private office of Hilary Benn MP and the Coroner's and Burials Department, as well as on the Movies on Pay TV market investigation for the Competition Commission.
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