Come Back to Me Movie Review

Runtime: 90 minutes
Release Date: July 25, 2014
Rating: R
Director: Paul Leyden


Dale is just a poor young guy when his father brutally murders his mother at the beginning of the film as he holds his rabbit and listens to her screams. When the police show up, they swear that his mother is dead, but when Dale goes into see her, she suddenly starts moving again.


Cut to Sarah and Josh, a young married couple living in Las Vegas. Sarah is a graduate student and Josh works in a casino. Though she recently survived a serious car accident and has no source of income, Sarah really wants to have a baby, but Josh wants her to focus on her recovery. He also wants them to meet their new neighbor, who turns out to be a now adult Dale who doesn't seem too thrilled that they brought him store bought cookies.


Not long after, Sarah begins experiencing vivid and realistic dreams that always seem to end in her death or the death of her husband. Unable to cope with the dreams and frightened of falling asleep, Sarah turns to her best friend Leslie. Leslie convinces her that the dreams are simply night terrors and something many people go through, but she can't explain why an old scar Sarah had suddenly disappeared. Though willing to accept her explanation, Sarah doesn't know what to do once she finds bloody clothing and other things that indicate her dreams aren't just dreams.


Come Back to Me is one of those movies that after it ended, I was left with my WTF face firmly in place. It was also one of those films that I really wanted to talk about with someone, but unfortunately, no one watched it with me. It was so strange that I know it will stick with me for a long time.


Katie Walder, who I only know from Rules of Engagement and How I Met Your Mother, was a good choice as Sarah, though I do have to say that she occasionally overreaches a bit. Matt Passmore from The Glades and Nathan Keyes also did well in their roles as Josh and Dale. Keyes is equally parts creepy and normal, which leaves the audience wondering what connection he has to the current story, if any, and how the beginning of the story connects to the rest of the film.


As a former fan of As the World Turns, it was nice seeing Maura West again too. Though she's barely in the film, she turns up towards the end in a pivotal role. She has one of those scenes that left me shouting at the television. Fans of the old soap opera may also get a kick out of knowing that director Paul Leyden previously appeared on the show as Simon.


It's hard to say much about Come Back to Me without giving away too much of the film, but I really did enjoy it. I ended up recapping the entire movie to my roommates in the car later that night and then encouraging them to go home and watch it. Though it occasionally came across as a little like a Lifetime movie, it was interesting, creepy, strange, and a little weird.