Review of The Gift (2015) by Alcor — 07 Aug 2015

This movie was sold as a psychological thriller and reviewed as a breath of fresh air. I went out to see it and was disappointed. Simple logic unravels the plot points and all of the characters are unlikable.

***Spoilers to follow***.

The final 'zing' ending doesn't survive the idiot test as the 'weirdo' character leaves all sorts of actionable evidence that he has committed multiple crimes. The bully who gets zinged was not bad enough so the writer manufactured a side plot where he secretly sabotaged someone else - yet didn't show it (as if it was manufactured via re-shoot after screen tests). The flawed wife character is easily corrupted to the core via her naivety, yet is sold as sympathetic.

This movie doesn't survive simple logic such as:

1. Why doesn't the weirdo use a cell phone to call ahead? (He has one at the end.).

2. The wife is a pill popping, easily manipulated, nut job. Why should we care what she thinks?

3. They bought a million dollar home in the Hollywood Hills on one income and the husband needs a promotion that badly?

4. The two characters in conflict went to high school 3000 miles away from Los Angeles, meet by chance (one in a million event), then the husband's bosses came from the same high school 3000 miles away, AND the husband's friend from high school(that's 3000 miles away) also lives in L.A.. (I'm curious how professional movie reviewers missed this one.).

5. The end of the movie completely falls apart because the weirdo character left material evidence that he was breaking and entering, intimated he'd committed a rape, and broke into someone else's house to host a dinner party.