4 star atmospheric and compelling thriller.
The Gift is a 2000 American supernatural thriller film, written by Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade, Jayne Mansfield’s Car) and Tom Epperson (One False Move, A Family Thing).
It is directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead 2, Spider Man) and has enjoyed a 4K Restoration by Arrow Films and Shout! Factory and is available to own on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray from 27th January 2025, courtesy of Arrow Films.
“You have to tell me and you have to tell me now…If I look into a blue diamond and have a negative thought, am I going to die?”
Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett – The New Boy, The Hobbit) is a single mother of three young boys, Mike (Lynnsee Provence – Poor Mama’s Boy), Miller (Hunter McGilvray) and Ben. She is raising them alone following the death of her husband the previous year and makes ends meet using her psychic gift to tell the fortunes of the locals. She has the ability to sense things when reading the cards she lays down for them.
This is not always popular, one of her regulars, Valerie (Hilary Swank – Spark, Million Dollar Baby) is in an abusive marriage and her husband Donnie (Keanu Reeves – John Wick: Chapter 4, Knock Knock) is none too happy at Annie’s interference in his relationship. She also helps out troubled young mechanic Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi – The Virgin Suicides, Sneaky Pete (TV Series)) who struggles with his mental health for reasons which become painfully apparent later on.
She finds herself interested in the school principal Wayne (Greg Kinnear – The Present, Little Miss Sunshine), but he only has eyes for his fiance Jessica (Katie Holmes – Miss Meadows, Woman in Gold). She doesn’t seem to feel the same, as Annie discovers when she finds her in a cupboard with local prosecutor David Duncan (Gary Cole – One Hour Photo, Office Space).
When Jessica goes missing, her father Kenneth (Chelcie Ross – Basic Instinct, Hoosiers) and local sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K.Simmons – Glorious, Patriot’s Day) turn to to her and her psychic abilities for help. But what she finds will open up a can of worms no-one is prepared for and suddenly everyone looks like a suspect.
“Miss Wilson, I don’t believe in what you do. I’ll just be straight with you. Not only that, I don’t like it. But we’ve got to the end of the road in our investigation and looked under every rock there is to be looked under and we’d like you to tell us what you can to help us.”
The Gift is a really excellent film and marked a bit of a departure for Sam Raimi, this was more thoughtful, slower paced and more deliberate than his earlier films. It is very well written, tight and suspenseful and a really good mystery thriller that keeps you guessing. It also tackles difficult issues head on and without compromise (your heart will break just a little bit when you find out what the blue diamond is). The supernatural element is well managed and doesn’t make it feel far fetched.
It has an amazing cast and all of them perform brilliantly. It also boasts great cinematography, really making the most of the dramatic Southern locations. All in all, this film has thoroughly benefitted from the 4K treatment, it looks better than ever and with a whole host of special features, this is well worth adding to your collection.
“Messing with the Devil’s gonna get you burned. Everybody knows that. I’ll see you soon, boys.”
The Gift is available now on Limited Edition 4K UHD, Limited Edition Blu-ray and is available to stream on ARROW
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- New 4K remaster from the 35mm interpositive by Arrow Films and Shout! Factory
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio and optional lossless stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- Brand new audio commentary by critic Meagan Navarro
- Isolated music and effects track
- Haunting Visions, a newly filmed interview with actor Chelcie Ross
- Savage Waters, a newly filmed interview with editors Bob Murawski and Arthur Coburn
- Southern Gothic, a newly filmed interview with composer Christopher Young
- Four archive featurettes: The Gift: A Look Inside, The Making of The Gift, The Cast on Sam Raimi and Sam Raimi on The Cast
- Promotional interviews with Sam Raimi, Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi
- Footage from the film’s world premiere
- Music video for “Furnace Room Lullaby” by Neko Case
- Theatrical trailer, TV spots and radio spots
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Thinh Dinh
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bilge Ebiri, original production notes and and an excerpt from the book The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi by John Kenneth Muir

Director | Sam Raimi |
Genre | Thriller |
Starring | Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi |