The Gift (2000) Dir. Sam Raimi

Back in the late 90s/early 2000s there was an influx of cinematic supernatural thrillers, and as well as the biggies like The Sixth Sense (1999), What Lies Beneath (2000) and The Others (2001) there were a slew of smaller movies that similarly mixed drama and otherworldly aspects.

From Stir of Echoes (1999), Fallen (1998) and The Skeleton Key (2005), the genre was at its peak and one of the better, but lesser-known, is Sam Raimi’s The Gift. (Check out our Letterboxd list for some more). Here, Cate Blanchett stars as a mother in the US South whose psychic visions help assist the police investigate a missing woman. But her clairvoyant powers disturb as much as they illuminate, with the locals ranging from strong believers to angry skeptics.

After Katie Holmes goes missing and Blanchett is called upon to help find her, her discoveries lead to more questions about the guilt of those around her and come into question at the suspect’s trial. Blanchett is fantastic as the vulnerable single-mom cursed by her “gift” and she is supported by an absolutely stacked supporting cast.

Including her with her fellow cast members Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear, JK Simmons, Rose Harris and writer Billy Bob Thornton, there’s 6 Oscar wins from 17 nominations (!) between them - not including Danny Elfman (who cameos) and his 4 noms. In fairness, they do elevate some stereotypical caricatures and a host of convenient plot points but it’s an entertaining mystery nonetheless.

Sam Raimi includes some of his famous directorial flourishes - crazy zooms, quick editing and extreme close-ups (plus a cameo from the famous Evil Dead car), and Keanu Reeves - who also got his own hit in the genre with 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate - plays excellently against type as an abusive “red-neck” husband.

This was Raimi’s warm-up for Spider-Man, which helped cement his mainstream credentials and although The Gift is messy and silly at times, it was a hit with audiences where it made back 4 times its budget. And I have to agree with them.

Maybe it’s just a nostalgia trip or its fantastic cast doing great work with freaky page-turner material (that’s probably beneath their talent, in all honesty) but I really enjoy The Gift. Mixing an award-winning cast with Sam Raimi’s roots in horror, the film is one of the best examples of that genre and I for one would love to see a resurgence of the spooky drama I loved so much from that period.

★★★★

4 / 5

Michael Sales

X @midlandsmovies

The Gift gets a special edition UK home re-release on BluRay and 4k via Arrow Video on 27th January 2025