Movies and TV Another zombie show: The Returned

**Fire Me Boy!** · 04:37 PM

On Sundance, starts tomorrow. Anyone planning to give it a shot?

NSFW (language)

**notorious** · 10-30-2013, 05:44 PM

Worth a shot.

Clyde Frog · 10-30-2013, 05:48 PM

The overacting reminds me of world cup soccer

Sweet Daddy Hate · 10-30-2013, 06:27 PM

****ING SWEET!

puke.

**the Talking Can** · 10-30-2013, 07:00 PM

they need to teach her how to cuss...she'd get killed in deadwood for slandering swear words like that

Sure-Oz · 10-30-2013, 08:59 PM

hmm not sure...give it a shot and see if its worth watching. DVR'ing it. the chicks acting left alot to be desired

**hometeam** · 10-30-2013, 09:02 PM

DVR set

Deberg_1990 · 10-30-2013, 09:04 PM

Looks like something they put in the Redbox machine for filler.

**CrazyPhuD** · 10-31-2013, 03:16 AM

I actually say the first couple episodes a while ago. Different concept and I liked it, I need to finish the rest and see where it went, I just didn't have time to do it.

NewChief · 10-31-2013, 09:36 AM

AVClub gave it an A.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-returned,104889/

Spoiler!

Since 2007, TV Club has dissected television episode by episode. Beginning this September, The A.V. Club will also step back to take a wider view in our new TV Reviews section. With pre-air reviews of new shows, returning favorites, and noteworthy finales, TV Reviews doesn’t replace TV Club—as usual, some shows will get the weekly treatment—but it adds a look at a bigger picture.
Grief isn’t always an emotion. Sometimes, it’s an ever-present, never-seen traveling companion, a predator stalking a hiker under the dark cover of the woods. As the hiker moves along the trail and the predator keeps its distance, the monster almost becomes familiar and beloved, a tether to a bleaker, inescapable reality. To grieve is to get better at holding these things in your peripheral vision, to understand that looking directly at them might mean being devoured whole.

Sundance’s new French import, The Returned (Les Revenants in its country of origin), succeeds so tremendously because it understands all of the above—and finds an ingenious horror metaphor with which to depict it. A loose adaptation of a French film of the same name, the series centers on a small village that becomes home to five former corpses. Now living again, they have no memory of where they were in the time they were deceased—indeed, no knowledge they were dead at all. A teenage girl, a mysterious young boy, a woman who’s been dead for decades, a cold-hearted criminal, and a groom who perished on his wedding day return from the grave, expecting at first to pick up where they left off. Instead, they find that time has passed and those they loved grew older.

The Returned adroitly straddles the line between “mystery show” and “horror series” as well as any program of this sort since Lost. In the first episode, “Camille,” larger mysteries about why these people have returned to life and the circumstances behind their deaths—and the very odd fact that a nearby reservoir’s water level is plummeting—swirl around the characters, both living and dead. The end of that premiere interweaves a number of beautifully accomplished shocks and big questions, all the while revealing just how good this show’s casting department is.

From there, the series has bought itself enough space to meander. It understands that true horror often involves a growing sense of unease, and it exploits that as much as possible, getting weirder and more off-kilter with every episode. Yet it never becomes an especially plot-bound series. The mysteries are what they are, and the show tosses a few bones to those who desire a straightforward narrative. But at almost every turn, The Returned chooses to highlight two things that set it apart from the many other series in TV’s recent horror boom: mood and emotion.

The mood develops exquisitely from the first frame. Filmed in the French Alps, the series’ locations have a unique look, one that utilizes the outdoor surroundings and barren outposts of such an isolated town. Though it possesses several moving dialogue scenes, The Returned is never afraid to go silent for long periods of time—to simply observe its characters, both living and dead, adjusting to what their lives have become. The series boasts some haunting imagery: a church steeple poking out above a placid lake’s surface; a young woman bathed in a pool of light, waiting for something horrible to happen. An excellent, brooding score by post-rock outfit Mogwai adds to the gloom.

Yet it’s emotion that carries the day here. In its finale—one of the year’s best TV episodes—The Returned reveals how skillfully it has developed a whole community of characters, then evokes how much more fierce the bonds might become between, say, a mother and a child reunited after death. As the series wears on, it reveals itself to be a deeply moving one about motherhood—planned, unexpected, and gained through circumstance. Though it is a series with a great many strong male characters, the beating heart of the program is its women, who adapt and evolve and refuse to give up, even when assaulted by a killer in a dark alley or discovering a long-dead daughter poking around in her old bedroom.

That finale also reveals just how beautifully the titular returned operate as a metaphor for grief and loss. The series makes a fuller tilt into actual horror as it goes along, with most of the tropes expected from a story about the dead returning to life getting at least a nod. But it clings so strongly to the emotional through-line that it can never get lost. To lose a daughter or a brother doesn’t mean one stops being a parent or a sibling. It simply means that the relationship shifts and warps to accommodate the blank space. The Returned celebrates the possibilities of resurrection, yes, but it also warns how all-consuming grief can be, how impossible it is to keep your eyes on the trail when there’s something else lurking in the dark.

NewChief · 10-31-2013, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Just inserting returns. That giant block of text was making me cross-eyed.

Fixed original.

lcarus · 10-31-2013, 11:31 AM

Have zombies gotten so popular now that people hate them? "I was watching zombie movies before they were cool!"

NewChief · 10-31-2013, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcarus

Have zombies gotten so popular now that people hate them? "I was watching zombie movies before they were cool!"

They're the hipsters of the horror world.

keg in kc · 10-31-2013, 12:56 PM

I don't think the trailer you linked is actually what's on Sundance tonight. They're broadcasting Les Revenants (which is in French, and will be subtitled).

A&E is doing a remake, so maybe that's what this is. I'm not really sure.

Anyway, Les Revenants is supposed to be pretty good.

NewChief · 10-31-2013, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I don't think the trailer you linked is actually what's on Sundance tonight. They're broadcasting Les Revenants (which is in French, and will be subtitled).

A&E is doing a remake, so maybe that's what this is. I'm not really sure.

Anyway, Les Revenants is supposed to be pretty good.

Yes. The Returned is an American series based off Les Revenants, I believe.

10-30-2013, 04:50 PM
Fire Me Boy! Cast Iron Jedi Join Date: Nov 2004 Casino cash: $9999900 VARSITY	Another zombie show: The Returned On Sundance, starts tomorrow. Anyone planning to give it a shot? NSFW (language) Last edited by Gonzo; 10-31-2013 at 04:37 PM.. Reason: NSFW
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10-30-2013, 05:44 PM	#2
notorious Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Who knows? Casino cash: $2965884	Worth a shot.
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10-30-2013, 05:48 PM	#3
Clyde Frog Tre Right, Three Jet Chip Wasp Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Land of the Tech Bro Casino cash: $5192474	The overacting reminds me of world cup soccer
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10-30-2013, 06:27 PM	#4
Sweet Daddy Hate Unsparing Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $10004900	**ING SWEET! puke. __________________ 1. Merciless, severe. 2. Given freely and generously. 100% refusal to overrate 20 year Head Coaches with ZERO ing rings as a Head Coach. CP's Official Professor of 'Dem Blues for 2019/2020!**
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10-30-2013, 07:00 PM	#5
the Talking Can Supporter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: street Casino cash: $10022208	they need to teach her how to cuss...she'd get killed in deadwood for slandering swear words like that __________________ Clark Hunt: "Thank god for the Dominican pool boy"
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10-30-2013, 09:02 PM	#7
hometeam Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Casino cash: $4141956	DVR set
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10-30-2013, 09:04 PM	#8
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	Looks like something they put in the Redbox machine for filler. __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
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10-31-2013, 03:16 AM	#9
CrazyPhuD Meow Join Date: Jun 2005 Casino cash: $10005050	I actually say the first couple episodes a while ago. Different concept and I liked it, I need to finish the rest and see where it went, I just didn't have time to do it. __________________ "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t*rd by the clean end"
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10-31-2013, 09:36 AM	#10
NewChief In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Fayetteville, AR Casino cash: $9730204	AVClub gave it an A. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-returned,104889/ Spoiler! Since 2007, TV Club has dissected television episode by episode. Beginning this September, The A.V. Club will also step back to take a wider view in our new TV Reviews section. With pre-air reviews of new shows, returning favorites, and noteworthy finales, TV Reviews doesn’t replace TV Club—as usual, some shows will get the weekly treatment—but it adds a look at a bigger picture. Grief isn’t always an emotion. Sometimes, it’s an ever-present, never-seen traveling companion, a predator stalking a hiker under the dark cover of the woods. As the hiker moves along the trail and the predator keeps its distance, the monster almost becomes familiar and beloved, a tether to a bleaker, inescapable reality. To grieve is to get better at holding these things in your peripheral vision, to understand that looking directly at them might mean being devoured whole. Sundance’s new French import, The Returned (Les Revenants in its country of origin), succeeds so tremendously because it understands all of the above—and finds an ingenious horror metaphor with which to depict it. A loose adaptation of a French film of the same name, the series centers on a small village that becomes home to five former corpses. Now living again, they have no memory of where they were in the time they were deceased—indeed, no knowledge they were dead at all. A teenage girl, a mysterious young boy, a woman who’s been dead for decades, a cold-hearted criminal, and a groom who perished on his wedding day return from the grave, expecting at first to pick up where they left off. Instead, they find that time has passed and those they loved grew older. The Returned adroitly straddles the line between “mystery show” and “horror series” as well as any program of this sort since Lost. In the first episode, “Camille,” larger mysteries about why these people have returned to life and the circumstances behind their deaths—and the very odd fact that a nearby reservoir’s water level is plummeting—swirl around the characters, both living and dead. The end of that premiere interweaves a number of beautifully accomplished shocks and big questions, all the while revealing just how good this show’s casting department is. From there, the series has bought itself enough space to meander. It understands that true horror often involves a growing sense of unease, and it exploits that as much as possible, getting weirder and more off-kilter with every episode. Yet it never becomes an especially plot-bound series. The mysteries are what they are, and the show tosses a few bones to those who desire a straightforward narrative. But at almost every turn, The Returned chooses to highlight two things that set it apart from the many other series in TV’s recent horror boom: mood and emotion. The mood develops exquisitely from the first frame. Filmed in the French Alps, the series’ locations have a unique look, one that utilizes the outdoor surroundings and barren outposts of such an isolated town. Though it possesses several moving dialogue scenes, The Returned is never afraid to go silent for long periods of time—to simply observe its characters, both living and dead, adjusting to what their lives have become. The series boasts some haunting imagery: a church steeple poking out above a placid lake’s surface; a young woman bathed in a pool of light, waiting for something horrible to happen. An excellent, brooding score by post-rock outfit Mogwai adds to the gloom. Yet it’s emotion that carries the day here. In its finale—one of the year’s best TV episodes—The Returned reveals how skillfully it has developed a whole community of characters, then evokes how much more fierce the bonds might become between, say, a mother and a child reunited after death. As the series wears on, it reveals itself to be a deeply moving one about motherhood—planned, unexpected, and gained through circumstance. Though it is a series with a great many strong male characters, the beating heart of the program is its women, who adapt and evolve and refuse to give up, even when assaulted by a killer in a dark alley or discovering a long-dead daughter poking around in her old bedroom. That finale also reveals just how beautifully the titular returned operate as a metaphor for grief and loss. The series makes a fuller tilt into actual horror as it goes along, with most of the tropes expected from a story about the dead returning to life getting at least a nod. But it clings so strongly to the emotional through-line that it can never get lost. To lose a daughter or a brother doesn’t mean one stops being a parent or a sibling. It simply means that the relationship shifts and warps to accommodate the blank space. The Returned celebrates the possibilities of resurrection, yes, but it also warns how all-consuming grief can be, how impossible it is to keep your eyes on the trail when there’s something else lurking in the dark. __________________ In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. - H. L. Mencken Last edited by NewChief; 10-31-2013 at 10:14 AM..
Posts: 21,758

10-31-2013, 11:31 AM	#12
lcarus Everybody Lies. Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: 22 Acacia Avenue Casino cash: $1899928	Have zombies gotten so popular now that people hate them? "I was watching zombie movies before they were cool!"
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10-31-2013, 12:56 PM	#14
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	I don't think the trailer you linked is actually what's on Sundance tonight. They're broadcasting Les Revenants (which is in French, and will be subtitled). A&E is doing a remake, so maybe that's what this is. I'm not really sure. Anyway, Les Revenants is supposed to be pretty good.
Posts: 58,682