They Came Back

Starring:GÃ©raldine Pailhas, Jonathan ZaccaÃ¯, FrÃ©dÃ©ric Pierrot, Victor Garrivier, Catherine Samie, Djemel Barek, Marie Matheron, Saady Delas, GÃ©rard Watkins, Marie-Dominique Dessez, Dan Herzberg, GÃ©rard Jeauffroy, Yvan Halouin, Philippe Herisson, HÃ©lÃ¨ne Alexandridis, Marisa Commandeur, Marie Cantet, Marie-Anne Mestre, FÃ©lix Cantet, Serge Biavan
Director: Robin Campillo
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Description

One morning, a small French city wakes up to discover thousands of recently dead people walking into town. The reason why is a mystery and there is no time to look into it. Hasty reunions - some passionate, some strained - occur with their survivors. But can they be reintegrated into society when their jobs have been filled and their partners have moved on? As officials try to figure out what to do with them, the dead begin behaving in bizarre ways and it becomes apparent that the returnees are not exactly who they used to be. Robin Campillo's (co-writer of Time Out) directorial debut is a provocative look at how society copes with grief and just how hard it is to let go.

Customer Reviews:

A Zombie by any other name.......2007-01-10

I lucked into this little known flick and am glad I did. I am a dedicated horror fan and Zombie films are what I cut my blood-soaked teeth on. Dawn of the Dead(1979) still ranks as my favorite horror flick and since then Ive gotten hold of whatever Zombie flick I could. What Ive learned from that is that there are alot... I mean alot of derivative or just plain bad zombie movies out there. Im somewhat of a traditionalist, I prefer the Romero zombie type but have really enjoyed movies like the Dawn remake or 28 Days Later(contention for whether or not thats really a zombie movie-BEGIN!!)because they did somehting different, showed a side that wasn't standard typical zombie fare. Well if those seemed like departures, wait until you take a gander at this one.
Simply put, this is a zombie film in the fact that the dead have returned.Thats pretty much where the comparison stops. Yes the dead have returned, in fact the movie starts with the streets of a small French town flooded with almost angelic looking people that very quickly we realize have been dead for years in most cases. They look exactly the same as they did before they died, as if nothing had ever happened and basically try to pick up where they left off. This of course is complicated by the fact that their loved ones have moved on, none of them remember dying and while they all look like themselves,they all have something almost sinister behind their eyes. Also presenting a huge problem for everyone around them-what do we do with them. The questions of why and how these people have returned are quickly replaced with how are they going to become active members of society again. Soon after semi resuming their lives, the returned start clamoring to escape the lives they came back to. They are driven by a need to leave. Some of them meet secretly at night planning something that doesnt materialize until the last few minutes of the movie.I dont think that revealing it would ruin the movie, but Im not gonna say anyway,nyah nyah.
I can understand anyone seeing this movie and disputing that it is horror. Its not in the traditional sense. Not once is there a jump scare, no gore, they all look and act like completly normal people. What made it count to me is that it plays on more basic human fears. The whole reason(as far as the filmakers are concerned I think) is not to have us afraid of physical monsters that might eat us, its to make us afraid of what we have inside us every day.. fear of the unknown,loss,lonliness the true fear of having what you want given to you only to find out its not what you thought it was. It even plays the terrorism angle at one point. What would you do if someone you loved turned out to be capable of violent acts for their own agenda? But its not played that heavy as there are no real victims of the "acts of terrorism"(to quote myself) in the film. Its more rumination on life and letting go than it is anything else and what struck me was that in those cases,those scenes rattled me in a way that horror movies usually don't. Basic human emotion can be just as scary as any monster.
The film itself is beuatifully shot and all the acting is great. It is a pet peeve of mine when movies of this type go the exra mile to explain whats happening instead of dealing with it and the fact that the reason the dead came back is not touched on makes it more mysterious and eerie and the reactions by the characters around them add to that atmosphere.Everyone in the movie realistically portrays what is almost impossible to imagine. What would you do if someone you loved dearly had passed away and you had just started getting on with your life and there they were. The best example of this in the film is a middle aged couple who've had their son returned to them and the difficulty it creates in their relationship. As they realize their son wants to leave again, all their guilt,anger with each other and desire to do whats best for their son(or themselves) comes bubbling to the surface. You dont see that in Resident Evil.

a french Zombie movie... I got what I expected.......2006-03-26

I know I'm just another low-brow guy... But holy Christ! The cover of this movie uses the phrase "Zombie Movie" on both front and back. So I thought hey, Lets see how the french do Zombies. So I watched it last night, I wish I could turn back time and have the "Magic" of not knowing how the french do Zombies again, Because my imagination was WAY BETTER than the way french realy do Zombies.

I fell asleep twice during the movie.

There are no Zombies, Just a bunch of emotional artsy drama that was way over my head... I would say there was no blood in the entire movie, But I think someone bumps their head and so there might a little. Oh and someone Shouts too.

Tom Savini you need to throw another REAL ZOMBIE MOVIE at us again, it's been 16 years man!

Maybe I missed the bateau .......2006-03-21

I'm not sure this movie was about anything except an event where the dead mysteriously reappear. At the end of the movie, you are still left with the same questions you had at the begining.

COULD'VE BEEN INGENIOUS.......2005-10-15

I want to say straight away: the concept of the film was great if not to say ingenious. This is the first movie where dead people don't act like blood and flesh-thirsty creatures, here they are "returnees" who came back and want to return to their normal lives. Just think how many possibilities can this astonishing plot afford - people who are happy to see their deceased ones, those who don't want to meet them at all because (admit it) it's pretty eerie, one of the marriage-partners returns and sees that the other one is already living happily with a new husband (wife), and what would that other person do in this situation, a murder victim meets his killer (what would be the reaction), should a murderer be judged after he's returned?
There's a million questions the makers of the film could ask but they didn't. Instead they are concentrating on a couple of returnees' lives after their comeback, but this concentration doesn't lead anywhere. I can say that there are many uneasy and sombre moments in the film, the atmosphere of total incomprehension of what happened is done great, but it's one of those cases when we ask ourselves after the final credits: so what does this all mean? along with many other questions. No answers are given by the director. None.
And talking of questions - if some person returns from the dead and begins to live normally among people, and if you know this person - wouldn't you want to ask him something? I bet you would. And I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you are going to ask him about. But noone asks in the movie! I was waiting for the whole 2 hours - and nothing. Just some kid tried to say something but grown-ups obturated him quickly. And noone else asks. When such things happen - I don't believe a film. Living dead are OK but not asking them about what they experienced is improbable.
So I gave it 3 stars for a try but it could have been much better. Speaking frankly it could be a real masterpiece.

Not a Zombie movie!.......2005-09-30

Rob Zombie would be appalled. Ok I'm a zombie movie fan, but not an action movie fan and I don't like crappy movies. Don't think i'm some gore-fest fan that only likes movies with exploding heads. I like interesting innovative movies, or atleast a different take on the classic movie (such as Shawn of the Dead). The premise for They Came Back had great potential. A "zombie" movie were the dead could integrate into society. Lots of possibilities in the relationship area. This movie was unbelivably boring and long. The "Zombies" just act like they are really stoned. Character development is extremely thin and not at all compelling. The resolution / climax was confusing and non existant. As other reviewers pointed out, none of the critical questions were addressed, let alone awnsered. They need to re-word the promotional sonopsis on the box because it is extremely misleading.

Revenants, Les (Original French Version with English Subtitles)

Average customer rating:

Return the Returnees
COULD'VE BEEN INGENIOUS

Revenants, Les (Original French Version with English Subtitles)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000ANQTG6

Customer Reviews:

Return the Returnees.......2006-04-28

I agree with the other reviewer that this movie had potential, but sadly went nowhere. Absolutely nothing happened. No one questioned what was going on. There were no real conflicts. Then it was over. You might try to ponder the question of whether some of us are alive but not really living, but thats a stretch not implied by the movie. I gave it 2 stars, because it was well made and had a nice eerie feel to it and good visual images, but it should never have been made. It is a waste of film and your time.

COULD'VE BEEN INGENIOUS.......2005-10-15

I want to say straight away: the concept of the film was great if not to say ingenious. This is the first movie where dead people don't act like blood and flesh-thirsty creatures, here they are "returnees" who came back and want to return to their normal lives. Just think how many possibilities can this astonishing plot afford - people who are happy to see their deceased ones, those who don't want to meet them at all because (admit it) it's pretty eerie, one of the marriage-partners returnes and sees that the other one is already living happily with another person (and what would that another person do in this situation), a murder victim meets his killer (what would be the reaction), should a murderer be judged after he's returned?
There's a million questions the makers of the film could ask but they didn't. Instead they are concentrating on a couple of returnees' lives after their comeback, but this concentration doesn't lead anywhere. I can say that there are many uneasy and sombre moments in the film, the atmosphere of total incomprehension of what happened is done great, but it's one of those cases when we ask ourselves after the final credits: so what does this all mean? along with many other questions. No answers are given by the director. None.
And talking of questions - if some person returns from the dead and begins to live normally among people, and if you know this person - wouldn't you want to ask him something? I bet you would. And I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you are going to ask him about. But noone asks in the movie! I was waiting the whole 2 hours - and nothing. Just some kid tried to say something but grown-ups obturated him quickly. And noone else asks. When such things happen - I don't believe a film. Living dead are OK but not asking them about what they experienced is improbable.
So I gave it 3 stars for a try but it could have been much better. Speaking frankly it could be a real masterpiece.

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