The Gift review: Don't judge this film by its terrible trailer

Director: Joel Edgerton; Screenwriter: Joel Edgerton; Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton; Running time: 108 mins; Certificate: 15

Well that was a turn up for the books. Warrior and Zero Dark Thirty star Joel Edgerton's directorial debut The Gift comes across like a naff slasher movie from its trailer (the presence of Blumhouse Productions on the credits does nothing to allay these fears), but in reality it's a nifty little psychological thriller that asks if it's possible to run away from buried secrets in your past.

Ostensibly a three-hander between Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton, the story revolves around a married couple who up sticks for a fresh start. Bateman's Simon is a corporate hotshot, while Hall's Robyn is a work-at-home designer keen to have a family. Their marriage is seemingly perfect, until the arrival of Edgerton's Gordo, an old schoolmate from Simon's past who carries with him deep-rooted emotional scars.

Edgerton's Gordo, with his neatly-trimmed David Brent-ish goatee and pierced left ear, initially comes across as a harmless if socially awkward intrusion on Simon and Robyn's life. Things begin to take an uneasy turn as Gordo brings them gifts and keeps turning up at their home unannounced. Robyn is sympathetic to him at first, seeing him as a lonely soul just looking for company. Simon, however, gets increasingly unsettled and wants him out of their lives. Back in school he was called "Gordo the Weirdo", offering up a hint about the dynamic of their past relationship.

Edgerton initially presents The Gift as a '90s-style stalker-horror, but as the narrative progresses it becomes more an exercise in slow-burning tension and shifting character perspectives. As the friction between Simon and Gordo begins to escalate, the pair's shared history unravels and Robyn (who switches into audience surrogate mode) starts to question just how well she knows her husband. Each revelation intensifies their marital woes, putting the pair under the microscope like a stripped down, condensed take on similar themes explored in Gone Girl.

This also gives Bateman, so often the buttoned-down straight man, a chance to cut loose and stretch his acting muscles a little as he goes up against Gordo. This creepy, gradual home invader gives proceedings a sinister edge, but The Gift owes more to Michael Haneke and Roman Polanski than it does to the multiplex horror Blumhouse usually specialises in.

Edgerton initially presents The Gift as a '90s-style stalker-horror, but as the narrative progresses it becomes more an exercise in slow-burning tension and shifting character perspectives.

Edgerton has been taking baby steps behind the camera for nearly 20 years, producing and directing shorts and penning the script for 2013's crime drama Felony. The Gift is an assured feature debut and points to a filmmaker with bags of potential. The twists and turns stack up and by the end credibility is severely under question, but if you're willing to cast that aside and embrace its more hysterical leanings you'll be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Simon Reynolds

Movies Editor 

Simon has worked as a journalist for more than a decade, writing on staff and freelance for Hearst, Dennis, Future and Autovia titles before joining Cision in 2022.