The Gift (DVD)

Annie Wilson is a young widow living in the American Deep South with her three young sons. Annie is apparently gifted with psychic powers, which she uses to support herself and her family financially by giving the town’s inhabitants card readings. Her regular customers include a mentally disturbed garage mechanic and a battered wife who refuses to see the evil in her husband. When a wealthy young local woman goes missing, the police finally turn in desperation to Annie, to see if her psychic abilities may reveal a clue as to the whereabouts of the missing woman. But even Annie is not prepared for the terrifying chain of events that the woman’s disappearance has set in ...  Read the complete review

I wanted to like 'The Gift', I really did. I loved director Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' series, which were superbly entertaining gory horror films, and I expected 'The Gift' to be the movie that would show me that he'd matured, and was able to produce equally entertaining popular horror or suspense films. I was greatly disappointed - 'The Gift' is very much a by-the-book, generic whodunnit, with the usual plot misdirection driving the story, but we'll come to that later... THE PLOT Set among the mangrove swamps of Georgia, 'The Gift' tells the story of Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett). Annie is a ...  Read the complete review

Sam Raimi's 'The Gift' has taken a fair amount of slagging off which i can understand as it is fairly controversial and if there is no interest in the 'supernatural' then this one is definitely not for you, although having said that, there may be some hope kept alive only by the amazing cast who really act (something many new faces on our screens these days, are unfamiliar with) to their full potential, really bringing the characters alive. I am biased as i am interested in Wicca and Supernatural subjects, and although it was fictional, i found 'The Gift' an intriguing watch. Set in the small town of Brixton, Georgia, ...  Read the complete review

This film utterly infuriates me. Sam Raimi is one of my favourite directors, whose career I have followed and whose films I have avidly watched. From the giddy heights of the classic 'Evil Dead' films, through his gradual introduction to the Hollywood studio system, one would expect a maturing of style, and a slight commercialisation of technique. These are not necessarily bad things, and many directors have successfully made the transition from cult/indie to the mainstream. Following his deeply average forees into the sport and western genres, I was delighted to learn that Raimi was returning to his horror roots, this time with a far higher budget and a high ...  Read the complete review

The Gift http://www.thegiftmovie.com THE FILM From Director Sam Raimi and written jointly by Billy Bob Thornton & Tom Epperson comes the latest Supernatural thriller known as 'The Gift'. Starring Cate Blanchett (Mr. Ripley etc.) as Anne Wilson, a woman struggling to make ends meat after the death of her husband. Growing up she knew she has a gift of some kind, and through the help of her grandmother managed to channel her psychic ability, which now in her later life supports her and there three sons. Anne gives readings for her friends and neighbours who make donations for the service offered. While it does not make her a ...  Read the complete review