THE GIFT

2001

As a young man, Sam Raimi made a name for himself by making trashy scary movies. Now, as a mature director, he has wisely chosen to surround himself with an ensemble cast of some of the finest young talent on screen today (Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, Hillary Swank, Keanu Reeves and Katie Holmes.) The result is...another trashy scary movie! The story, written by Billy Bob Thornton(!) is so preposterous that it can only be true(as Thornton himself claims.) But whether it's true or not is not important, because Raimi buries it with every cliche in the horror film genre, from dead bodies in bathtubs, to lightning flashing in every nightime scene, to frogs croaking in foggy swamps. The climax utilizes the most famous cliche in the teen-slasher-film genre. The heroine goes into the darkened woods, the scene of the crime, with the one person with whom she should not go into the woods! Good for some laughs and some cheap scares, but don't waste your time.

1 Star

NJB