Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Return Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 1, 2018

It’s hard to imagine director Greydon Clark didn’t have Steven Spielberg’s 1977 masterpiece, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” in mind when made 1980’s “The Return.” The film opens with a similar mood and visual style, watching a mysterious, glowing alien ship emerge from the sky to dazzle a few Earthlings before rocketing away. However, the production stops trying to manufacture awe soon after, switching to a more affordable invasion story, and one that favors chills over curiosity, with Clark more interested in breaking glass and shooting guns.

After unusual evidence involving cattle mutilation is discovered, scientist Jennifer (Cybill Shepherd) makes her way to rural New Mexico to study the findings, gathering clues that point to the arrival of alien life. Helping her is Wayne (Jan-Michael Vincent), a local cop who finds himself mysteriously drawn to the new arrival, with the pair’s investigation challenged by angry land owners and bullies. Also on the move is an enigmatic prospector (Vincent Schiavelli) who stalks the area, showing signs of psychological decay as he fills a macabre purpose for reasons he doesn’t understand.

After the “Close Encounters” opening, “The Return” settles into television movie mode, developing a story that focuses attention on Jennifer and Wayne as they figure out the reason behind the cattle mutilations, discovering a connection between them tied to the alien presence. However, instead of milking the strangeness of it all, Clark aims for action, arranging car and motorcycle chases to help break up the monotony of exposition and ease off the investigative aspects of the tale, which are rarely interesting. Thankfully, a decent cast is there to do most of the heavy lifting, with Raymond Burr, Martin Landau, and Neville Brand classing up the joint, delivering fine support for Shepherd and Vincent, who offer sibling chemistry, not the romantic stuff.

The Return Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is billed as an "HD Master from the original camera negative," giving "The Return" a fresh look for HD exhibition. Sharpness is generally good throughout, delivering textured close-ups and detailed exploration of nature and small town life. Costuming is fibrous and mutilation effects are open for study. Colors are secure, with strong primaries keeping blue skies bright and greenery flavorful. Alien spacecraft delivers Spielberg-ian yellows and oranges. Skintones are natural. Delineation is comfortable, handling many evening sequences. Source is mostly clean. Interestingly, footage for the climatic cave confrontation dips in resolution (see the last screenshot), perhaps due to special effects work. But the change is noticeable.

The Return Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Volume needs a significant boost to get the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix up to a comfortable level, with the listening event remaining quiet and slightly hissy. Dialogue exchanges aren't threatened, offering adequate dramatic power. Scoring fares a little better, with acceptable instrumentation and dramatic emphasis. Sound effects come to life with shattering glass and alien knife demonstrations. Atmospherics retain their bluntness.

The Return Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Greydon Clark.

• "Katarina's Nightmare Theater" (5:07, HD) presents an introduction from Katarina Leigh Waters, who shares IMDB trivia and filmographies for the cast and crew.

• Interview (12:47, SD) is a brief sit-down with Clark, who provides information about his introduction to filmmaking, working closely with Al Adamson on "Satan's Sadists" and "Dracula vs. Frankenstein," learning the ins and outs of the business before striking out on his own. Clark discusses early directorial efforts such as "Tom" and "Black Shampoo" before arriving at "The Return," where he covers casting interests, mentioning that he acquired Shepherd's participation during a dead spot in her career, how Burr used a TelePrompTer for his scenes, and Vincent was in the throes of alcoholism, showing interest in the project, but little professionalism. The helmer also shares his thoughts on "Mystery Science Theater 3000," which has covered a few of his movies.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:03, SD) is included.

The Return Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Return" has gruesome moments, with a glowing alien knife the preferred weapon of death in the picture. Clark constructs a few suspense sequences that connect, but the feature can't shake its flatness, even when it goes a little loopy in the finale, offering some "2001"-style abstraction to leave the audience floored. It doesn't work, but the lead up to such misplaced ambition isn't without its charms, especially when the effort goes into full B-movie mode, delivering alien horrors and backwoods antagonism in small doses.