The Return (2021) by BJ Verot


Director: BJ Verot
Year: 2021
Country: Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural

Plot:
Traveling back to their childhood home, a man, his girlfriend, and his friend arrive to learn they’ve inherited the property upon their fathers’ death, but when they become afflicted by a series of supernatural incidents around the house they try to find the cause of the incidents and stop them from continuing.

Review:

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable and chilling effort. Among the more enjoyable aspects here is the fantastic atmosphere and overall tone present here that makes for a chilling time. Given the backstory present here about the early lives being in the house, the fate of their parents, and the circumstances surrounding his father’s mysterious death that lead them back, this one starts off rather nicely with why they’re at the house and why everything starts. As time goes on and they discover the series of strange experiments and projects that were being conducted which enabled the release of the spirit to begin with, the general storyline involved here is generally rather fun and chilling.

On top of that, there’s so much to like about the location and its air of creepiness. The wood-stained location, creaking floors, and general old-school atmosphere in a modern location all combine together into a creepy location on its own that becomes even better served once the creepy ideas start happening. The sight of the entity emerging from the airdates and interacting with the dolls in the bedroom is immensely chilling even though nothing immediately happens since the character leaves the room before anything happens, but as a start to the later interaction with other dolls or objects falling from their shelves, doors slamming shut unexpectedly, or the flash images of the spirit popping up to shock them.


When it gets to the fun finale, there’s a lot to like with the use of the spirits’ true identity and intentions based on the revelations that come about. The series of attacks continue in the shock ambushes and popping out of nowhere that highlights their childhood encounters leading to the mind-bending reveal that comes about regarding the need to stop the spirit and what comes about there. The final resolution of all this is quite impressive and enjoyable as well, leading to a rather somber note for what had been a chilling and suspenseful series of supernatural attacks that come together quite nicely when dealing with the ghosts once and for all. Given that there’s no violence at all here makes for a different tone and time here, all making for a fun time to be had with this one.

There isn’t a lot to drag this one down but it does come up. One of the main drawbacks is the series of unnecessary interactions that show up that tries to bring up something resembling a love triangle but are just laughably cringe-inducing instead. The constant scenes of the girl trying to hit on him only to be rebuffed which upsets her yet when he tries to be friendly with her either the incident comes off wrong or the girlfriend misinterprets their relationship for something more. It doesn’t add drama or conflict to the story which seems to be the intent and instead seems to drag the pacing down instead. Some of the CGI used for the ghosts is also somewhat laughable, although given the supernatural origins it’s not that bad, overall being the main issues knocking this one back.


Overview: ****/5
There’s quite a lot to like here with some great supernatural elements and some minor drawbacks present in this one which does have some negative factors, overall making the film quite enjoyable. Give this a look if you’re intrigued by the style or type of film that this one falls into, while only those that don’t enjoy this type of film should heed caution.

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