The Gift 2015

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: Just when we think we know where The Gift is going, we're surprised. And then surprised again. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: Officially, this is a blank-from-hell movie. But Edgerton has remixed the formula. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: A dark and ultimately quite nasty psychological thriller from actor/writer/debut director Joel Edgerton, who manages to yank the carpet out from under his audience a couple of times. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: A coolly unsettling thriller that begins as an unironic homage to late-'80s/early-'90s yuppies-in-peril dramas... before taking a turn toward the moral and existential minefield of Michael Haneke's Cache. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Edgerton isn't above a hoary jump scare or two, but he otherwise tackles his Cape Fear premise with a degree of technical and dramatic intelligence. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: It's a confident thriller suffused with dread that builds suspense without breaking until it's too late to turn back - with a few jump scares thrown in for good measure. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: [An] expertly crafted exercise in guilt, ambiguity and revenge. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Edgerton -- who also wrote The Square and the story for The Rover -- exploits Bateman's smarty-pants persona to chilling effect; he's the rare triple threat who's more valuable behind the camera than in front of it. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: At heart this is a three-character chamber piece. And Bateman, Hall and Edgerton are three very interesting actors showcased in a confident directorial debut. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: It touches on notions of trust, the male ego and forgiveness, but Edgerton doesn't overturn any new stones. Read more

Kevin P. Sullivan, Entertainment Weekly: More than anything, Edgerton's script and direction demonstrate a keen understanding of tension and what puts an audience on edge. Read more

Jon Frosch, Hollywood Reporter: Joel Edgerton's feature-length directorial debut is a pleasant -- or pleasantly unpleasant -- surprise, hitting its genre marks in brisk, unfussy fashion and raising a few hairs on the back of your neck along the way. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: A disturbing drama that twists its outsider-from-hell story into something more unique and unexpected than its marketing campaign might imply. Read more

Sandy Cohen, Associated Press: A satisfying directorial debut from writer, producer and actor Joel Edgerton. Read more

Katherine Pushkar, New York Daily News: Edgerton seems to have pulled "The Gift" right out of a time capsule from 1992. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Underneath it all, "The Gift" is a merciless critique of an amoral corporate culture in which the ends justify the means, and lying and cheating are O.K., as long as they're not found out. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Clever and atmospheric, the film has enough twists to keep the average viewer guessing. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "The Gift" stretches things a little too much for it to be a first-rate thriller. Still, among second-rate thrillers, it's one of the best. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: Edgerton's touch as a director and writer is fluid - he eerily holds our attention, like Hitchcock holds a door for Tippi Hedren. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This indie pulse-raiser is more of a stealth shocker than an overt one, even if the twisted payoff is telegraphed to anyone paying attention. Read more

James Rocchi, TheWrap: Nothing here feels cheap or hasty, which is why the horror, when it comes, is all the more chilling and grim. Slick, sharp and terrifying, "The Gift" is a truly brilliant thriller - and, one hopes, the first of many features from Edgerton to come. Read more

Daisy Bowie-Sell, Time Out: A darkly unnerving psychological thriller. Read more

Jane Stevenson, Toronto Sun: Edgerton not only wrote the movie but makes an impressive directorial debut with the ripe-for-discussion subject matter of bullying and its after-effects. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: The Gift starts out like so many other thrillers before it - with an attractive, well-to-do couple purchasing a big new house - and then beats its own, uniquely tense and twisted path from there. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: One of the many gifts conferred by The Gift is the unaccustomed pleasure of feeling like putty in the hands of a first-rate storyteller. Read more