Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Returned

(2013)***1/2

This post zombie apocalypse film takes a completely new angle. After the second wave of infection, scientists come up with a protein based injection that can keep a person from turning if administered within the first few hours of exposure. The "returned" must take regular injections to keep the infection at bay.  Crisis commences when there is a shortage of the necessary protein and the returned begin turning. The government takes over concentration camp style herding up the returned while they race to develop a synthetic protein. Kate is a doctor who works first hand with the program, her husband Alex is one of the returned. She hides Alex to keep him out of the camp and it becomes a race against time to keep him well.


This film was less about zombies and more about the desperation of these people who were trying to hang onto their lives. It is more psychological than gore as good people begin to do things against their very nature to try and get hold of life saving doses of the protein. Within a sea of zombie films I truly appreciated this fresh and more realistic look at the aftermath of an epidemic.

7 comments:

Landshark said...

Cool! I love the long term post-apocalypse takes on zombie stories. The standard ones always end and I'm like, "Well now what?"

Catfreeek said...

Exactly, this is like back to normal life. No cannibals, no dirty groups of zombie hunters. It's quite intellectual.

JPX said...

I just don't think I can do zombie or vampire movies anymore...

Trevor said...

The title is the same as a 8-episode French television show that dealt with the same subject, and from what I can tell on Wikipedia, dealt with zombies in the same way. And yet, I can't find any connection between the movie and TV show.

The French show is being remade into a US version for A&E though.

Catfreeek said...

I thought the French show and the American show dealt with people that died and suddenly came back not zombies.

AC said...

Another solid find! I like the realistic angle you describe.

Octopunk said...

I had the same impression about the French show, returned, but not zombies. I guess we'll know soon enough.

Cool find, Cat! Nicely reviewed. Pushing the boundaries of these ideas is often great stuff.

Malevolent

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