Customer Reviews
Truelly chilling. - By: Bezerus Bezby, 31 Oct 2007 
I have to admit to being slightly puzzled by some of the negative reviews I have seen about this film. I saw this at the cinema when it came out & had quite low expectations of it. Therefore, I was surprised by how chilling it really is. Combined with the acting skills of Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, "Buddy" (Phoebe's brotherin Friends) & Hilary Swank, this really is a better then average supernatural yarn.
A young girl is missing & psychic Annie has visions of her decomposing body. But who is the murderer?
The relationship between Cate Blanchett & her on screen children is touching & relieves the tension well from some of the more frightening scenes. I actually had a nightmare after watching this film & it involved violins! (Watch the film to see what I mean)
If you liked What Lies Beneath, you will enjoy this. Discard scepticism & enjoy.
2 stars for the movie, +1 star for Blanchett - By: H. Serkan SILAHSOR, 05 Jun 2007 
There is nothing new, fresh, & even special about this movie. With its unoriginal & slow-paced plot, & contrived & clinché-drenched ending, it's a mediocre, 3-star thriller at best. But it does not mean that it's totally worthless. Theoretically, mystery & suspense are relatively easy to achieve, but setting an groovy plot & inventing a satisfactory ending is not. "The Gift" undeniably falls into this pitfall.
From beginning to end, "The Gift" follows the traditional, straightforward, & tested-and-certified pattern of many average thrillers: At first, you are introduced to the people (with their good, bad, bizarre & dubious aspects) around Annie, not giving too much hint bringingin serious suspicions. Then mystery comes: "indecent but innocent" girl vanishes without a trace. The investigations of police produce no results, so our Annie, having a supernatural "gift" of clairvoyance to see/feel things & events occured before, provides her "mystic service" & discovers shocking secrets. And there will be some sort of confrontations & B-grade horror clichésin the latter half & lastly, the "bad man" is captured after a series of trite & stale twists & turns. We've seen these zillions of times...
Apart from a satisfactory casting, thanks to Cate Blanchett here, what you can't findin this type of thrillers, however, is originality, believability, & such a refreshingly high amount of energy that blows your mind up.
Just as good as What lies beneath - By: The Beast, 19 May 2007 When a local woman (Katie Holmes) disappears & the police can't seem to find any leads, her father (Chelcie Ross) turns to a poor young woman (Cate Blanchett) with psychic powers. Slowly she starts having visions of the woman chained &in a pond. Her visions lead to the body & the arrest of an abusive husband (Keanu Reeves), but did he really do it? Greg Kinnear is the missing woman's fiancee, Hilary Swank plays Reeve's abused wife, & Gary Cole is a sleazy attorney with ties to the missing woman.
Slow builder...but stick with it... - By: Mr. Jd Ware, 15 Feb 2006 Wrongly billed as a outright horror flick upon release, the Gift is more like a psychological drama, with a bit of courtroom thrown in, & ending with some pretty nifty scares.
Sam Raimi directs, showing that he can do more than just horror, & comic book movies, with a film that is slow to build up, but all the better for it.
Cate Blanchett plays a psychic, with a young family, who becomes under threat from Keanu Reeves character, who believes she is trying to break up his marriage with Hilary Swank. This is a great beginning. I was immeadiately grabbed by the differing storylines, the troubled characters & the tension bubbling around the edges.
But when Katie Holmes character goes missing, presumed dead, things start to get out of control, & the film kicks off up a gear.
Although never scary, the film does chuck a few jumps at you towards the end, but this film is just a showcase for the remarkable talent involved. All the actors, which also incude Greg Kinnear & Giovanni Ribisi are at the top of their game. There are multiple storyline threads & some real emotion behind it all.
Raimi has cracked his cast, getting them to perform at their best, with a decent storyline (written by none other than Billy Bob Thornton) & an understated directing style. It just all builds up to be one of the most intriguing films to watch. Highly recommended.
Snooze. - By: , 10 Dec 2005 
I tried to watch this film on 3 seperate occasions. Every time I fell asleep about half an hour into it. I rarely fall asleep during films, the only other that seems to summon this temporary narcolepsy is 'The Mothman Prophecies'. Both films are slow, lifeless & soul destroying. You have my respect if you can stay awake.
