Whether you squirm at the thought of a scary movie, are sick of the clichés of the horror genre, or are just looking for something to watch that’ll put you in the Halloween spirit, you’ve come to the right place! Each day from now through Halloween day, I’ll post about a movie or TV show that is emblematic of the season, free of slashing, spurting, or exorcising. The only requirements are thus: it must be available on a major streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, or Disney Plus), and it mustn’t be a well-known blockbuster. Sorry, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Entry 3- The Gift (2015)
There is no place in our lives that is more associated with comfort, security, and safety than our own homes, That’s why the horror genre has so often tried to strip away that sense of safety, often using the perilous house as the foundation of many scary movie premises, one of the most popular being the home invasion flick. Though The Gift shares many hallmarks of this setup, it also plays with our expectations and deftly subverts them, creating a thriller that delivers much more than tension and scares.
When Simon Callum and his wife Robyn move to their dream home in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles, they think that they have finally found the lives that they always wanted to lead. One day while out shopping, the couple run into Gordo, a high school acquaintance of Simon. Gordo awkwardly invites himself over for dinner and then slowly forces his way into the couple’s lives. The premise is simple enough, but it’s the twists and turns that follow that make this movie a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. The mystery that unfolds is shocking and engaging, yes, but it’s the connections that these alarming events have to commonplace occurrences in our society that causes the story to hit home and make the viewer think.
More so than any other entry on this watchlist, The Gift has many elements in common with horror movies. At times the film even attempts to scare its audience, using routine horror movie setups. The difference lies in the way the movie builds tension and moves the plot. The purpose of The Gift is not to crescendo to an eye-covering, popcorn-tossing conclusion. It instead challenges the viewer to accept reveal(s) that might hit close to home (pun intended), and in some ways, that’s scarier than any demon or monster. It should also be noted that this isn’t a white-knuckle, wall-to-wall tension thriller. This slow burn doesn’t try the patience of its audience, but forgoes cheap thrills to create situations and atmosphere that feel all too real. Just as is the case with many real-life presents, enjoy the 2-sided coin that is The Gift.
The Gift is streaming now on Netflix.
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