The Returning (1983)

Too much of everything

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

IN regards to viewers who may have seen THE RETURNING movie permit me to say that the version that has been peddled on the internet is not the real print or the final product that my company produced back in 1983. There has been a copy-right infringement of this film. Given the parasitic impulse and nature of some individuals- this perhaps is not surprising or unusual. Somehow, somewhere some character(s) or entity got hold of a tape of the film THE RETURNING and began to illegally peddle it. Also other characters out there- in order to hide and cover-up their illegal activity re-titled THE RETURNING:-- WITCH DOCTOR - being one of their cover-ups. We at Willow Productions will in the very near future submit the proper and legal version of the film THE RETURNING. Sincere apologies to all who may have- with good intentions- paid a fee to see such an illegal and inferior product. Gabriel Walsh : President : Willow Productions. Co. Ltd.

Coming out in 1983, The Returning has the feel of a child lost in time. A creeping, ambient work, if I hadn't known beforehand I wouldn't have placed it any later than 1977. It takes its theme of American Indian mysticism seriously, even thoughtfully, forming a considerable contrast to the more gruesome and energetic slasher horror prevalent at the time. Polar opposite of something like Fred Olen Ray's classic Scalps, no passion of knifeplay nor life lost in red spray, the scares here are strange and quiet. The film focuses on the Ophir family, father John, his wife Sybil and son Jason. After a curious find on a rock hunting expedition on an Indian reservation John begins to feel a supernatural pinch, and after Jason is killed in an accident things really get a bit weird... It sounds like a standard "Indian curse teaches the white man some respect" narrative, but happily is rather more mature than such vaguely xenophobic alarmism. The supernatural forces at work are somewhat vague until the end, but rather than working from a purely malign position their intent seems to be more of a lesson. Father and son are largely blameless individuals and interested in other cultures, but in the father such interest seems to be ossified, he collects artifacts and works in the Department of Indian Affairs but seems lacking in passion. Son Jason seems more enthusiastic, but there is the general feel that he will follow in his fathers footsteps, becoming more mind than heart in his pursuits. Though harsh in its workings the fate that befalls serves to unite the the, the aim being one presumes to save both. And so the film serves to question means rather than totally condemn, inquiring on a deeper than expected level into the relationship of ancient mysticism and the present. Underlying issues unfortunately muddy the film and drive it into its slightly unsatisfying, more plotted final block, but even here the emphasis is refreshingly on the Indian's side of things. The film sadly is a little too light on excitement, with its handful of incidents generally not weird or shocking enough to make much impact. The mystical side of things isn't developed enough either, though the vagueness and lack of much exposition appeals to the imagination there isn't enough power over imagery to suggest greater depths. The editing is a bit glitchy too, scenes sometime cut short or lacking point. Still, its nice looking stuff and pretty watchable, tilted angles and various peering shots of artifacts put across a certain offbeat atmosphere and there are some great shots of grand Dakota desert-scapes. The acting is good too, Gabriel Walsh conveying a suitable blank weirdness as John, Susan Strasberg loving, striving and frustrated as his wife and Victor Arnold nicely harried as the trucker responsible for Jason's death. So for all that the film somewhat underwhelms, it has an underlying persuasiveness to it that makes it fairly worthwhile. Fans of obscurities could do worse than to check it out, though its still a bit of a borderline case

Some of my mates and I deliberately seek out obscure, weird and bad horror movies; particularly from the 1980's. Yes, we're totally nuts, but that's beside the point. Needless to say we've seen some crazy stuff over the years already. We've seen films that vary from cheap and bizarre but imaginative towards cheap, bad and too utterly demented for words. "The Returning" simply has got to be one of the most inexplicably nonsensical things we've ever laid our hands on. The film is a strange kind of amalgamation of themes & tones, like drama vs. horror and psychology vs. revenge. I'm almost tempted to claim director Joel Bender and writer Patrick Nash attempted to accomplish something experimental and artistic, but sadly it just got categorized as tacky "Indian Curse" horror from the early 80's, like there are dozens of them. The plot introduces the Ophir family from Utah. Father John and son Billy are obsessed with collecting ancient Indian relics, so each year the family heads out to the Mojave Desert to find new rocks, arrow heads and whatever they can find. During the last holiday, Billy brought back a unique pair of stones that occasionally "glow". A few weeks later, however, Billy tragically dies when a trucker hits his bike. Heavily struggling with grief, his father becomes "possessed" with the power of the stones. He starts to behave like his 12-year-old son and does all sort of macabre stuff, like digging up the corpse, speaking long-dead Native Indian languages and attacking school teachers. He also tracks down his son's killer, even though this man – a former alcoholic – is heartbroken over the accident as well. The stones eventually turn out to home the spirits of two competitive Indian warriors that never had a chance to settle their vendetta. Admittedly the plot description of "The Returning" sounds like very interesting and compelling, and it basically is, but the elaboration is incredibly amateurish and incoherent. Any given random sequence in this film lasts approximately 10 seconds and then the action cuts to something entirely different and often irrelevant. Even though some of the characters deserve it (like the mother), you simply can't grow compassionate for them because their sentiments remain underdeveloped. The editing and narrative structure of this production is horrible and it doesn't allow you to contemplate about the suppressed themes, like Indian mythology and reincarnation. Strictly speaking as a fanatic 80's horror buff, "The Returning" certainly isn't worth tracking down, neither. There are some remotely unsettling images (the sight of a grown man on a swing creeps me out, for some reason) and a decent moody atmosphere throughout, but there aren't any moments of true "horror" to be found in this film. Soap-opera elements really don't mix with horror, so don't expect nasty murders or eerie demons.

A couple lose their son in a freak accident. Two stones the boy had collected from an Indian Reservation keep his spirit "alive", along with those of two ancient Native American warriors.As stated in previous comments here, there is a great deal of befuddling intricacy in this film which may be a monogram of somewhat avant-gard directorial flair, or quite possibly just messy editing(I also got the feeling that it may have passed through a few too many junctions in post-production). Still, I found THE RETURNING to be a curiously haunting film which made me recall Peter Weir's THE LAST WAVE. While that film, though vastly superior, presents an Aboriginal mythos, the supernatural elements of THE RETURNING are of Native American lore. Both films, different as they are on many levels, present a similar incorporeal eeriness and unresolved metaphysical/spiritual mystery, despite remaining largely bloodless and actionless throughout. Good performances all around from the leads, especially Strasberg and Warrick.Opinions will be scattered regarding this film, but if you enjoy a brooding, more cerebral type of horror, give it a shot. Clearly there are many who don't like it, but I personally feel it is unjustly maligned and worth a look.5/10