Les revenants, aka The Returned
I heard about this French series somewhere (Tumblr?), but figured I'd have to wait for a DVD to come out to see it, if a US distributor decided to release it. Then I discovered it's being shown on The Sundance Channel, which I happen to have, but I missed the first four episodes, which is half the series. But they had a marathon, I did a marathon, and I've just watched the sixth episode.
If you know your French, you have a good idea what the show is about. Most would translate it as "zombie" but that's not quite right. A revenant is visible ghost or animated dead person, usually returned from the grave to torment its family and friends, but other than being dead but still animated in some fashion, that's where the similarity ends. There's no craving of brains nor rotting bodies, though the returned folks are hungry all the time and never seem to sleep. IIRC, revenants are the source of modern-day zombie stories which added more of the horror elements we're familiar with.
The short version of the plot (and of the film it is based on) is people who have died in a small French town are returning and appear very much alive. They're from various times (going back to 35 years that we've seen), but do not remember what happened to them (or do they?). Meanwhile, there's some spooky doings regarding the hydroelectric dam that provides power for the town, which include water mysteriously dropping in the lake behind it, revealing the old city that was destroyed when a previous dam failed decades ago. Also makes for flickering lights and power outages at key moments. Is it all related, and how? Why were some people returned while others were not? Will more return?
This is a much more moody take on the walking dead than you normally see; more about how the returned and those around them deal with what's happened and continuing to happen. That's not to say there's not a touch of gore, and there's nudity as well, but it's a lot more subtle than most shows would do. It is in French with English subtitles, which was nice to not have to deal with a horrible dub, though I know some won't watch without a dub. I could understand enough here and there to know the subtitles didn't always include every word, but that's often the case even if it's in the same language. I do have a feeling that a network somewhere will eventually want to remake this in English, probably with less nudity and more gore.
I also know that there's not a definite end at the end of the eighth episode, but there's a second season coming out next year. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so if you've seen it, don't tell me the ending. However, if you're interested in watching this in the US, Sundance is doing another marathon this Sunday, plus there were ads saying it's available on iTunes. Not sure how it's going to turn out, but it's different enough to keep me interested so far. I may toss things at my TV in two weeks though.
If you know your French, you have a good idea what the show is about. Most would translate it as "zombie" but that's not quite right. A revenant is visible ghost or animated dead person, usually returned from the grave to torment its family and friends, but other than being dead but still animated in some fashion, that's where the similarity ends. There's no craving of brains nor rotting bodies, though the returned folks are hungry all the time and never seem to sleep. IIRC, revenants are the source of modern-day zombie stories which added more of the horror elements we're familiar with.
The short version of the plot (and of the film it is based on) is people who have died in a small French town are returning and appear very much alive. They're from various times (going back to 35 years that we've seen), but do not remember what happened to them (or do they?). Meanwhile, there's some spooky doings regarding the hydroelectric dam that provides power for the town, which include water mysteriously dropping in the lake behind it, revealing the old city that was destroyed when a previous dam failed decades ago. Also makes for flickering lights and power outages at key moments. Is it all related, and how? Why were some people returned while others were not? Will more return?
This is a much more moody take on the walking dead than you normally see; more about how the returned and those around them deal with what's happened and continuing to happen. That's not to say there's not a touch of gore, and there's nudity as well, but it's a lot more subtle than most shows would do. It is in French with English subtitles, which was nice to not have to deal with a horrible dub, though I know some won't watch without a dub. I could understand enough here and there to know the subtitles didn't always include every word, but that's often the case even if it's in the same language. I do have a feeling that a network somewhere will eventually want to remake this in English, probably with less nudity and more gore.
I also know that there's not a definite end at the end of the eighth episode, but there's a second season coming out next year. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so if you've seen it, don't tell me the ending. However, if you're interested in watching this in the US, Sundance is doing another marathon this Sunday, plus there were ads saying it's available on iTunes. Not sure how it's going to turn out, but it's different enough to keep me interested so far. I may toss things at my TV in two weeks though.