As horror fans, we\u2019re used to zombie outbreaks running wildly out of control, causing mass chaos and mounting odds. These types of movies love to showcase rotting flesh, gooey kills, and as many walkers as possible \u2013 unless you\u2019re The Returned. Director Manuel Carballo and writer Hatem Khraiche fast forward through all the death and destruction, presenting a glimpse into a zombie movie phase most filmmakers refuse to explore \u2013 recovery. So many zombie stories focus on nothing but action, as survivors fight through the apocalypse, but what about after the government takes control again and is able to produce some type of vaccine to help newly turned \u201calmost\u201d zombies? What if people were transformed into zombie time-bombs waiting to turn just by missing one single dose? Welcome to the future.<\/p>\n
In a world where a zombie epidemic has come and gone, those malicious brain-eaters we\u2019ve come to know as \u201czombies\u201d have been replaced by people who have been \u201creturned\u201d \u2013 bitten by a zombie, but treated quickly enough to freeze the virus. Hospitals everywhere now contain specific \u201cReturned\u201d wards, headed up by researchers like Kate (Emily Hampshire) who are fighting for the rights of those perfectly normal \u201creturned\u201d that are living among us. Even though there\u2019s no imminent danger, people still discriminate against these \u201cmonsters\u201d and try to keep the \u201creturned\u201d in their own camps, away from \u201cnormies.\u201d When the supply of life-saving medicine starts to run dangerously low, societal tensions start to rise and Kate finds herself in a professional struggle between rioters, businessmen, the fate of mankind, and her own emotional investment when we learn she may be linked directly with one of the \u201creturned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zombies are no longer this horror subgenre worshiped by George A. Romero fans, but instead a full-blown pop culture phenomena. The Walking Dead is breaking viewership records left and right, I\u2019ve run away from zombies during infested 5K races (RIP Run For Your Lives) and every week sees some new zombie release. Surprisingly though, The Returned is fresh, lively filmmaking in a time of stale, stinky zed-head replicas. Hatem Khraiche explores questions and scenarios previously unknown to more narrow-minded\/action obsessed zombie flicks, as very few movies actually run long enough to discover some kind of antidote.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also re-introduced to that societal bite that zombie movies of today have lost touch with, introducing global fears that view the \u201creturned\u201d as unequal beings, highlighting acts of aggression in the name of discrimination. Once again zombie movies are capable of carrying obvious political and human undertones where zombies represent something much weightier \u2013 not just outlandish corpse re-killings.<\/p>\n
The Returned won\u2019t be for all zombie lovers, mainly because of the before mentioned lack of zombies. Embodying more of a thriller structure than horror story, Manuel Carballo directs a suspenseful chase as Kate and Alex (Kris Holden-Ried) are fighting a governmental shortage of life-saving drugs while it\u2019s the living who present violent opposition. Kate also has a deeper struggle as her professional life conflicts with Alex\u2019s \u201creturned\u201d state, sneaking extra vaccinations at the expense of other innocents, creating multiple dilemmas enthralling enough to make us forget about the overabundance of living characters.<\/p>\n
While invigorating and enjoyable, The Returned falls victim to a predictable and unfortunate ending \u2013 one that I\u2019m sure will shock irregular horror fans while leaving more perceptive genre watchers unappeased. Alex and Kate\u2019s plight is more a labor of love than fight for survival, and Khraiche calls upon their relationship for every possible moment of heartbreaking sadness. In doing so, he charts familiar waters that end with a typical \u201cgut-punch\u201d finale, extending one scene too far. For horror fans, sometimes less is more, letting our minds navigate where our story could possibly still reach \u2013 yet The Returned attempts one final outreach to hook hopeless romantics who might have accidentally stumbled into a movie about zombies.<\/p>\n
Despite a lackluster ending forgetting all implications of suspense and horror, The Returned absolutely succeeds in shining a brand new, inviting light on the zombie subgenre. Avoiding B-Movie chuckles or overly gory terror, Hatem Khraiche gives hope for the living, but introduces brand new problems in doing so. If Danny Boyle ever got around to 28 Months Later, I imagine it\u2019d be exactly like The Returned \u2013 addressing societal quandaries while man conquers one of horror\u2019s most iconic undead curses.<\/p>\n
The Returned is a zombie movie without the zombies, generating scares through social commentary and human nature, which actually makes for a welcome change of pace.