"The Gift” appears to be another typical creepy movie for teens but it is actually a sophisticated psychological thriller that builds intensity through a progressive revelation of the past. The character-driven story will have you asking “who is the victim and who is the villain?”, with its clever script causing you to change your mind every few scenes as the mystery unfolds. Writer/director/actor Joel Edgerton builds suspense in a masterful Hitchcockian style with small twists that lead to a big twist while saving the climactic moment for the very end. The most interesting part of the film is the transformation of Jason Bateman’s character. We think that he changes throughout the film but he actually doesn’t; instead, our perspective of him slowly changes as information is revealed to create the illusion of transformation. The consistency of who he is and has always been leads to every situation throughout the story. I can’t remember any other film that tells its story in this way! The hidden association between the main characters isn’t too shocking - the true mystery is how deep the connection goes. It is hard to believe that this was Edgerton’s directorial debut and I appreciate that he had the foresight to save all of his scenes for the last 10 days of filming. This allowed him to focus on creating his vision and setting the film’s tone from behind the camera first, then inserting his character into the story. My experience with this movie was similar to my recent experience with “Get Out.” The previews build a certain expectation but the script teaches lessons and goes in directions that you would never expect. I really appreciated the story’s statements about the lifelong psychological effects on someone who has been bullied and how bullies never grow out of their ways. Don’t write off “The Gift” because you think that it’s just another teen horror film. It is so clever that it doesn’t need jump scares - the unsettling stalker plot is enough to disconcert anybody.
[Pictured: The scariest part is how realistic the story seems.]
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