The Returning is a 1991 Australia-New Zealand horror film directed by John Day.Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p130 It had it's premiere in Gore, New Zealand on 16 February. Day was nominated for Best Director the 1992 New Zealand Film Awards.
The film, which Day calls "a powerful love story with all the elements of a psychological thriller", was inspired by a dream. Filming began in February 1990 with Phillip Gordon and Alison Routledge in the lead roles.
Cast Phillip Gordon as Alan Steadman Alison Routledge as Jessica Scott Max Cullen as Donohue Jim Moriarty as George John Ewart as Steadman Senior Grant Tilly as Dr Pitts Jenny Ryken as Charlotte Heatherington
Reception John Parker in Onfilm called it an "excellent erotic/psychological/supernatural thriller". Richard Scheib of Moria gave it 1 star and said "Doing an old-fashioned weepie ghost story in this day and age either takes a dedicated romanticism or a great foolhardiness to pull off. Sadly, this New Zealand-made effort, which never seems to have been seen by the wider world, has neither and emerges as a film of astounding silliness. " Jim Murphy in the Age Green Guide said it "is heavy with Gothic trappings and intriguing enough if you for that sort of thing."
References
External links
The Returning at NZ Film Archive The Returning at NZ Film