''The Return'' is a 1980 American

science-fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Greydon Clark Greydon Clark (born February 7, 1943) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. His career spans several decades and genres, although the majority of his work has been low-budget productions in the action/horror genres. His m ...

and starring

Jan-Michael Vincent Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor known for portraying helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series ''Airwolf'' (1984–1987) and the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film ''Big W ...

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

and

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

. It met with little commercial success and was released directly to television and video.

Plot

While stopping with her father at a gas station late one night in a small New Mexico town called Little Creek, a young girl wanders the empty main street of the town. She meets a local boy, and both are soon mesmerized by a column of light from above. The light disappears and the girl runs back to her father's car, and they soon leave. Twenty-five years later, the town's deputy marshal Wayne is investigating a strange case of cattle mutilations with few leads to follow. His efforts are soon hampered by Jennifer, a scientist from California, who is overseeing a geology project in the area. As the two disagree over the mutilations and their possible causes, they find themselves attracted to each another in a seemingly familiar way as if they share some unknown bond. They discover that they were the children who had met in Little Creek. Wayne stayed and became a police officer while Jennifer returned to California and worked for her father's company. Jennifer claims that she has always felt a strange urge to return. The mutilation case appears to be solved when the culprit is identified as a crazy old prospector hermit from the outskirts of town He claims that he was visited by aliens 25 years ago and he has not aged a day since. Claiming to be on a mission from the aliens, the hermit says that the mutilations have a purpose: he has been using a "knife" made of energy to excise parts of the cattle and teleport them into space using a device hidden in the cave behind his cabin. While confronting him in the cave, Jennifer is subdued while the hermit explains that the aliens gave him a purpose that night. He then expresses jealousy that the aliens would also choose someone else and is shocked when an otherwise fatal blow from the alien "knife" fails to kill or even harm her. After she is saved by Wayne, it becomes apparent that it was all an experiment by the aliens.

Cast

as Wayne *

as Jennifer *

as Niles Buchanan *

as Dr. Kramer *

Neville Brand Lawrence Neville Brand (August 13, 1920 – April 16, 1992) was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and ''films noir'', and was nominated for a BAFTA Awa ...

as Walt * Brad Rearden as Eddie *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan s ...

as Prospector *

Darby Hinton Edgar Raymond Darby Hinton (born August 19, 1957) is an American actor. His parents were actor Ed Hinton (1919–1958) and Marilyn Mau Hinton (1922–1982). Both of his sisters, Darcy and Daryn Hinton, were actresses from childhood.Everett Aake ...

as Darren * Susan Kiger as Joyce * Hilary Labow as Lee Ann

External links

The Return : review of the US DVD
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Return, The 1980 films American science fiction films 1980 science fiction films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Greydon Clark 1980s American films