Spain, Canada · 2013
1h 38m
Director Manuel Carballo
Starring Emily Hampshire, Kristen Holden-Ried, Shawn Doyle, Claudia Bassols
Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
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The zombie plague came and went: humanity was able to find a cure for the virus that prevents the infected from turning into ravening undead -- sort of. The infected live normal lives not eating brains only as long as the drugs don't run out, and the world's supply is running dangerously low.
Zombies are a versatile source for metaphor, whether they represent a deadened consumerist society, a victimized minority or a worldwide medical disaster. In The Returned, they serve best as an unseen peril, one that's growing inside Alex and threatening to undo his and Kate's enviable existence.
It proves that the zombie narrative is still capable of subversion, but does so with the laziest, Lifetime-grade intimations of social relevance.
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
There is something potentially special in the elements of The Returned, with its allusions to class and social structures, and stigmas held around people with certain afflictions. But it merely nods toward them with no commentary or depth.
There’s a sluggishness to The Returned throughout, attributable to generally weak acting and a plot that requires a lot of exposition.
The film suffers from a series of unsatisfying endings, but it's nonetheless refreshing to see a zombie movie with brains behind the camera instead of on the menu.
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Though an admirable shake-up of the typically overbearing, munch-intensive undead yarn, The Returned is still a far cry from the smarts-and-shocks zombie allegories George Romero mastered.
RogerEbert.com by Susan Wloszczyna
It is less of a horror flick and more of a suspense thriller with sci-fi elements that possesses both brains–some sacrificed in messy fashion, of course–and a heart, as it makes a statement about an imaginary social issue that reflects those conflicts facing our country today.
Terror comes calling.
For courage. For loyalty. For honor.
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An aimless college dropout struggles to engage with life — though life doesn’t seem to be evading him.
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For this late-20s serial monogamist, life has been smooth sailing.