The Returned
Look who crawled out of their grave!
Since man was able to think of something other than satisfying hunger, curiosity about what happens after death has always fascinated all cultures. This fascination manifested itself in the most diverse artistic expressions, and cinema could not be left out. A lot of movies of drama, terror and mystery brings supernatural characters to startle the living ones. But what if, instead of ghosts, vampires, zombies, what came was the real people who died one day? This is the theme of some movies and series that have fallen to the liking of viewers.
The first to bring the theme to the big screen was French director Robin Campillo, who wrote and directed the film “Les Revenants” in 2004. In it, without explanation, millions of dead people were resurrected, as if nothing had happened. The curious thing is that, instead of the fear of the supernatural, everyone’s concern was about the effects of overpopulation in the world.
The only difference between the returned and the living was the lowest body temperature, and the slower movements. This allowed governments to keep them under surveillance, thanks to thermal cameras. Some readings were made about the film, as if it were an allegory about the invasion of illegal immigrants, but, like every good French film, there are not many explanations.
Based on Campillo’s film, in 2012 the French series “Les Revenants” was produced, which won the international title “The Returned”. The series, which had eight episodes in the first season, was very well received by both critics and audiences, which earned it the prestigious International Emmy for Best Drama Series in 2013. Subsequently, in 2015 was released the second season, also with eight episodes, as intriguing and even more enlightening as the first one.
In a small mountain town, some dead people reappear, apparently alive and normal: Camille (Yara Pilartz) – a teenage girl who had died in a road accident four years before; Simon (Pierre Perrier) – a groom who had committed suicide; Victor (Swann Nambotin) – a little boy who had been murdered by thieves; and Serge (Guillaume Gouix), a serial killer.
They try to continue their lives from where they had left while strange phenomena happen: between recurring power outages, the water level of the city’s reservoir mysteriously decreases, revealing the presence of dead animals and a church tower; also strange marks appear on the bodies of the living and the dead.
In addition to the technical aspects, such as darker photography, a perfect soundtrack, and little-known but talented actors, the show’s format was different, like stories that were set in the same city and with the same group of characters, but each chapter focuses on one of the resurrected, with current scenes and flashbacks.
Another aspect that caught the eye was the dissociation of religious aspects, and although there is a priest in the plot, at no time are there any questions whether the undead were in heaven or hell, or what power had brought them back to life. The truth is that the return of the dead is not comfortable for anyone, family members or the ex-deceased. Some approaches recall spiritist theories, but without any immersion in the theme.
Much freer than their American congeners, European producers are more daring in their creations, and the dramatic issues are further deepened, as well as the ingredients of horror and eroticism. News circulated that a third season was under project but it never happened.
Moving on to the same theme, ABC American network launched the series “Ressurection”, which shows a small city in the interior of the United States being disturbed by the appearance of several people who had died. Although been very similar to the French series, American producers claim that their source of inspiration was the book “Ressurection” by Jason Mott.
The first season of the show follows the format enshrined by “Lost”, with a story told in eight episodes, with many questions and no explanation. In this series, a federal agent, J. Martin Bellamy (Omar Epps), while escorting a lost boy to his city, discovers that he is the first in a series of dead people who are returning to life.
Amid the prejudice and religious intolerance of the community, Bellamy counts on the help of doctor Lucille (France Fisher) and Pastor Tom Hale (Mark Hildreth). Unlike the French series and even the book on which it was based, the American series introduces villains, religious and political aspects into a mix that did not please any audience and the series was never renewed.
The idea of the French series was innovative mainly for dissociating the characters of terror and the image of the traditional zombie. In addition, the series also provoked questions about what those people would be, their motivations, and especially why they had returned. The series received several nominations and awards, including prestigious BAFTA in the category Best International Series.
The most interesting of the productions cited is that, unlike the numerous films and series about zombies and vampires, they raise discussions about the values of so-called “civilized” societies, but that panic when they come into contact with anything other than normal – whatever “normal” could mean.