Come Back to Me (2014)

Every now and then I'll just flip through the horror section on Netflix and just take my chances with what comes up. More often than not, whatever I come across is just average. Other than that, you have the occasional stinker and the occasional enjoyable movie. "Come Back to Me" was the latter.

Before I discuss why I liked this movie, I want to point out that although I am giving it a perfect rating, it was not a perfect film. The effects were not phenomenal, but they were effective. Nobody is going to win any awards for this movie, acting or directing included. And no one should be having nightmares over seeing this, nor even looking under the bed before going to sleep. It's not scary.

However, this movie works very well. I'll try to explain without giving anything away.

The movie begins with a scene 12 years ago of an extremely bloody (mostly off screen) dispute between a husband and wife. The wife's son, Dale, who seems like a cross between Donnie Darko and Rain Man, seems somewhat interested in the dispute but it's hard to tell exactly why. When the police arrive, the viewer is given the impression that the mother died during the dispute, but Dale doesn't seem to think so.

Fast forward to the present day and we meet Josh and Sarah, a married couple who is having problems conceiving. Shortly after meeting their strange next door neighbor, a grown up Dale, Sarah begins having night terrors. After some extremely odd experiences, some involving Dale, Sarah finally decides to record what is going on while she sleeps. The result is something she never could have considered.

It's no surprise to the viewer that Dale is involved in what is going on. In fact, from the moment you see him, you know that he's not quite normal. But his exact involvement and what is actually going on might be a bit harder to predict.

One of the best parts of this movie is the performance by Nathan Keyes as Dale. Every time Dale was on screen, I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I was not in anyway intimidated by him, but his presence was like the old woman who stops to talk to you and not matter how hard you try, you can't force her to let you go. He's seems completely nice, and in a way he is, so it's hard for anyone to really disengage.

What Dale is really up to is not something that I would tell anyone, as I didn't see it coming at all. But his plans are not the culmination of this movie. It's just a fork in the road that eventually leads to a destination that I thought I saw coming, but it swerved somewhere I hadn't considered.

If you like watching something that is a bit different than normal Hollywood or normal horror fare, watch this movie. Don't raise your hopes, don't lower your hopes. Just watch it with a soupçon of curiosity and hopefully you will enjoy it like I did.