Review by Ben Bussey
What if the dead came back – for real? Not as rotting, mindless, flesh-hungry zombies; not as possibly mad Eric Draven-esque avenging angels. What if they just showed up one day, fully dressed, not decomposed, not brain-dead, looking exactly as they did the day before they died, as if nothing had happened? How would society en masse deal with the situation, in basic practical terms – never mind dealing with the broader ramifications of the phenomena? How as hitherto bereaved individuals would we react, having long since come to terms with the loss of our loved ones, only for them to suddenly re-appear? And if the dead returned, could they possibly be the same people they were before?
That’s the fascinating jump-off point for Les Revenants, the 2004 French film from director/co-writer Robin Campillo, formerly released in the US as They Came Back, now released in the UK as The Returned off the back of the TV series of the same name, inspired by the film in question. At the time of writing, I’ve watched the first two episodes of the series, and thus far I’m impressed by what I’ve seen; its enigmatic slow-burn approach makes for great television, building intrigue, luring the viewer back to see how things progress. However, taking that same approach with a single feature-length narrative proves not quite so effective, meaning that which is the film’s principle distinctive attribute ultimately proves to be, in some respects, its downfall.
The main thing we notice about Campillo’s film is the matter-of-factness of it all. That image above of the blank-faced people walking slowly into town, all in notably light shades of clothing – that’s the very first shot of the film. Before we’ve been introduced to a single character, we know that they are all people who have died within the previous decade, that they all suddenly showed up all over the world on the same day, and that this particular French town has had 13,000 returnees. Does the township break down into madness? Go flooding into church, screaming the end is near? Run screaming in terror from their deceased relatives, or screaming in hysteria into their arms? Nope – instead there is an oppressive air of numbness. The initial questions asked are not whether Hell has indeed run out of room, but rather what the hell is to be done with this sudden rise in population: jobs, housing, reintegration into society. Any kind of emotional response to the situation is avoided all around. And these are the French, man. They invented romance, poetry and shit, didn’t they? If they’ve lost that loving feeling, what hope is there for the rest of us?
This cold, clinical, emotionless quality is not only present in the performances and photography, but in the locations too. I can’t verify this, but I think the TV series may subsequently have been shot in some of the same places: it’s a recently built town, stark, clean, square-edged and modern, and not unlike the new home setting of Poltergeist, it’s just about the last place you would expect a supernatural phenomenon to occur. All this builds to create a sense of acute alienation which, at first, is really quite compelling; but it doesn’t take long to realise there aren’t many places the film can go with it.
As much as I hate to keep comparing the movie to the TV series, there can be little question that the show has the upper hand, as it well and truly gives you time to get to know the characters. The Returned is, after all, far more driven by character and relationships than it is by plot, and with all and sundry in more or less the exact same borderline-catatonic state, it’s easy to start losing track of who’s who. It also means that, once attempts are made to build to a dramatic climax, it can’t help feeling a bit forced and unnatural; though not anywhere near as ridiculous as it might have been, under the circumstances.
To class the film or the show as being about zombies is, I think, the wrong way to approach it. Indeed, you’d be forgiven for not regarding it horror at all. None of this is a bad thing, necessarily; The Returned does succeed in doing something significantly different with a familiar genre motif, but it doesn’t realise it to its full potential within 100 minutes. As such, a TV spin-off was the entirely sensible way to go, leaving this film almost certain to wind up nothing more than a curiosity, a point of reference for series fans who want to take a look back at how it all got started. Hmm… Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anyone?
The Returned comes to Region 2 DVD on 22nd July, from Arrow Films.