Return
1985 · Directed by Andrew Silver
Original language: English
- horror
- fantasy
- romance
The story
After reading an article about hypnotic regression, a woman whose maternal grandfather died when she was only three years old contacts the hypnotic subject named in the article believing that he is the reincarnation of her grandfather, and hoping that she can learn the truth about how he died.
What it’s like
Quiet investigative unease, with a supernatural undertow, suits this one best. Its premise is built on the hush of a hypnotist's room and the careful, probing talk of a woman who has spent her life with one unanswered question about a grandfather she barely knew. The pacing should be measured, driven by conversation and the slow accumulation of doubt rather than set-piece action, and the emotional register leans toward longing and tentative attachment as the two people circle each other. Its mix of horror, fantasy, and romance suggests that the eerie and the tender sit side by side, so expect a current of dread beneath the gentler scenes. Intensity is hard to judge from the available information: the horror label points to some frightening moments, but the level of violence, gore, or cruelty is not something this description can vouch for. It will appeal most to viewers who enjoy reincarnation stories and the slow-burn mystery of a buried death, and who are comfortable with a film that asks them to sit with ambiguity and the unsettling possibility that the past is not fully past.
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