Don’t get your hopes ups, Velvet Underground fans. No, nobody has decided to make a feature film adaptation of “The Gift” from White Light/White Heat, though I think would make for an interesting film. Instead, actor Joel Edgerton is making his writing-directing debut with The Gift, a new thriller from the horror masters over at Blumhouse Productions. In the film, Edgerton plays Gordo, a lonely and weird guy who reenters the life of a former high school classmate, played by Jason Bateman, and his wife, played by Rebecca Hall. As these things go, at first it seems friendly and innocuous until it takes a turn for the unsettling — and I thought my high school reunion was bad (just kidding, I would never go to one of those).
I’m curious to see what Edgerton can do as a writer-director, as he’s always seemed to gravitate towards interesting projects. Conversely, I think it’ll be quite refreshing seeing Jason Bateman take a break from the super-sarcastic smart guy that he typically plays. Rebecca Hall is usually good in everything, so I’m not worried there. As if you needed a reminder as to why you don’t talk to certain people from high school anymore, The Gift opens August 7th, 2015.
The official synopsis for The Gift:
A young married couple’s lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an acquaintance from the husband’s past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.
