Gordo begins repeatedly dropping in unannounced and delivering gifts, such as bottles of wine and koi for their pond.

That night, the dog suddenly returns, and Robyn finds a letter of apology from Gordo in the mail.

Simon asks his boss about a promotion and is told that his only competition is his coworker Danny McDonald.

Robyn discovers that Simon has run background checks on both Danny McDonald and Gordo, who has spent his life in and out of prison.

Gordo wears the mask of a monkey (a lifelong fear for Simon) as he touches an unconscious Robyn on the bed before the camera cuts.

[6] His inspirations for the screenplay included Alfred Hitchcock, Cape Fear, Fatal Attraction and Michael Haneke's 2005 French film Caché,[5][7] as well as Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy.

[12][13][14] In an interview with Collider, Edgerton revealed that he did not start filming his acting role until two weeks into shooting (devoting that time, instead, solely to directing).

On January 20, 2015, STX Entertainment bought the United States distribution rights to the film.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The Gift is wickedly smart and playfully subversive, challenging the audience's expectations while leaving them leaning on the edges of their seats.

[28] Time Out's Daisy Bowie-Sell praised The Gift as "darkly unnerving", commending its ending and comparing it positively to a similar film, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

[29] In a review for IndieWire, Katie Walsh lamented the film's use of common thriller cliches and restraint towards the climax, but lauded Joel Edgerton's direction, concluding: "His deft, controlled maneuvering of plot, character, style, and tone is damn near perfect for his feature debut—even if it is in service of a very standard genre piece.

"[30] Critics also praised Bateman, known for portraying the “straight man” in comedies,[31] for playing against type as the mean-spirited Simon.

RogerEbert.com’s Sheila O’Malley wrote that Bateman gives a “beautiful and focused performance” as someone who is “kindly and condescending, sometimes in the same moment”.

[32] Collider's Matt Goldberg commented that, while the film “almost goes too far in making [Simon] a sociopath”, Bateman's charisma worked for the character: “What makes Bateman inherently likable gives Simon a lot of his power, and it’s a memorable performance as we despise the character but also wonder if he deserves vicious comeuppance for what he did to Gordo.”[33] Slate's Keith Phipps wrote that “Bateman plays Simon with the easy charm and everyman approachability of past roles,” but “pushes the charm into smarm and the approachability into sleaze.”[31]