Review by Chris Rennirt
Far too often I review a movie that could have the same subtitle: “Good Actors in a Bad Movie.” And here we go again! COME BACK TO ME (directed by Paul Leyden, written by Paul Leyden and Wrath James White) is based on a story called The Resurrectionist–a story likely better than the movie, and something not difficult to achieve.
What’s all this underperforming movie about? Come Back to Me gets off to a bloody, promising start (for a horror film) with out-of-control domestic violence and a boy enduring the pain, psychologically, from just hearing it–the sounds and screams of his mother being attacked relentlessly by his father. What happens next is something sinister and far better than the movie itself. Fash forward to married couple Sarah (Kate Walder) and Josh (Matt Passmore). They live in a nice, seemingly safe, suburban neighborhood. They have all the appearances and behaviors of a couple well off and happy, ready to take the next step being married, having a child. But can things really be so happy, carefree and sure in a psychological thriller attempting supernatural horror? Of course not! And how could the two events, so diametrically opposed, in their settings and content ever be connected? Yes, of course! And they are here. But ironically, they only add to the movie’s myriad problems and stretches of believability, even in a supernatural movie that sets its own rules.
One of the many problems with Come Back to Me is its use (or misuse and abuse) of relentless, repetitive scenes where a main character, Sarah, awakens from dreams, blackouts, or whatever she’s having. Yes, we learn, early on, that she suffers blackouts from a car accident she had earlier in life. But that doesn’t excuse the annoyances of excess uncertainty about reality and nonreality. While I can always handle a few such surprises, finding out that I just spent five minutes watching just a dream (or maybe not), I can’t handle a movie that consists of mostly that. Although it eventually sorts things out, albeit in the messiest of ways, by then it’s all too late, asking too much of the average viewer…and certainly too much of me!
Another of the movie’s problems is with the murderous psycho’s supernatural abilities–literally breathing life back into the dead, by literally blowing his own exhaled air into them. That in itself, if executed properly, could not only work, but also be the catalyst of an effective, truly horrifying film. But just like all else missing, proper execution is AWOL as well. Perhaps making something so amazing truly amazing, rather than banal and ordinary would help. Even a little more atmosphere with a backstory would help. But not even oxygen is in this movie’s air. The movie’s capstone feature, breathing life into the dead, was ironically flat and lifeless, as common and uninteresting as picking your nose!
Yes! Buried somewhere in the novel from whence this movie came could be a more coherent, effective, believable, and even compelling story. But in this version, it’s nowhere to be found. It’s all well-hidden, if it ever existed. While you could do worse with 90 minutes of your life, I challenge you to find worse after seeing Come Back to Me. Perhaps pulling your nose hairs with tweezers? With that, at least your nose would be clear of those pesky hairs, unlike the lingering flashbacks from a movie you’d rather forget and rather not have seen.
One of the worst things about Come Back to Me (yes, there’s more) is what I mentioned at the beginning of this review. Good actors are in a bad movie again! Katie Walder (as Sarah, known for the TV series Gilmore Girls), is as good as she can be in a movie so bad. Walder is emotive, believable even in scenes that make doing so seem impossible. Matt Passmore (as Josh, known for the role of Logan Nelson in Jigsaw) does the best he can with his scripted lines and behaviors that sometimes force him to be more stilted and robotic than natural–especially while leaving so soon after finding out his wife is pregnant. And don’t get me started on how Josh refuses to have sex with his lovely young wife, blond and barely dressed, after she practically begs him for it! What the fuck! (Actually, NOT the fuck!) Even his scripted reasons don’t make sense! And the psycho-gifted-with-the-breath-of-life role would fall apart fast in this film, no matter who had the part. Here, it’s Nathan Keyes (as Dale the older, not the younger). Bless you for your effort, Nathan, and may Hollywood give you roles in the future more worthy of your talents.
Come Back to Me would be totally predictable if it wasn’t for common sense failing to foresee things so ludicrous. “Why did I give it even three rockets?” you ask. It’s mostly because of the acting, bobbling, struggling like a float, still on the water’s surface, just barely, overweighted by its dead-bait beneath. Yes! In all fairness, I had to give that bobbling float something. Ironically, one of the best things about Come Back to Me, and reason for another rocket, is the end. And I’m not saying that to be cliched and overtly cruel; I’m being overtly honest. The scenes in end are all that I found truly interesting, enough so to rewind and watch them again. If that intrigues you at all and you can see the movie for free, by all means use your remote…and skip to the end! And trust me, you won’t want Come Back to Me to come back again! (Yes, you must have seen that coming!)
Rocket Rating – 3
Chris Rennirt is a movie critic and writer in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as editor in chief at Space Jockey Reviews. He has been a judge at many film festivals, including Macabre Faire Film Festival and Crimson Screen Film Fest, and he attends horror and sci-fi conventions often. Chris’ movie reviews, articles, and interviews appear in Effective Magazine and are published regularly on Space Jockey Reviews.