Popular reviews

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  Review by Sarah_C ★★★½

  They Came Back is the movie that made me sincerely grateful that no one lives forever. Traffic would be a nightmare.

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  Review by Bob Hovey ★★★

  Zombie films have remained quite popular in the last thirty years, and the degree of familiarity prompted by their increasing numbers makes it harder and harder to give each succeeding film a fair shot. "They Came Back," or "Les Revenants" is a decade old at this point but regardless of its age, those seeing it for the first time may have mixed reactions. It's definitely something different, but depending on expectations one might find those differences refreshing or disappointing.

  The film takes place in a French town where the dead have come back to life. Dispensing with all the zombie tropes, the film makers present them as a placid bunch who appear perfectly normal ... no rotting sores or appetite…

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  Review by Mike Lawson ★★ 2

  This could have been really great. I like the premise a lot, but it's just slow and most of what is set up never really pays off. Or when it does pay off, it doesn't really feel worth it.

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  Review by Chris Duck ★★★★

  Horror x52 Challenge - 45 of 52
  (#30 - Made in Europe)

  This has to be the most atypical zombie movie I've ever seen. Given the fact that is spawned both a French and an American TV series, this French film has been on my radar for a while. Part of me is still processing the allegories made by this story, but I feel that it will hit either deep or shallow with a viewer depending on their own experiences with grief and loss and their general mindset when they settle in. Even though you get several shambling hordes, these are not the menacing flesh-eaters you normally think of when the "Z word" is used. Read the short synopsis of the film before you watch. Then be prepared for a great French film.

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  Review by Erwan Ticheler ★★½

  Watch the French TV series instead, that's much better and also has a lot more atmosphere and mystery in the style of TWIN PEAKS. Oh, and the American adaptation for television was pretty terrible the first two episodes so I gave up on that.

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  Review by Fint ★★★ 2

  It's always something of a letdown when you expect a horror film and what's on offer is something entirely different, not in the least thrilling but instead slow, considered and contemplative. Nothing wrong with that per se, but Les Revenants, a tale of the dead coming back as unthreatening zombies, feels half-baked, its concepts too obtuse and ill-thought-through, its dramatic potential stranded in French art-movie languor, its pulse as weak as one of its returned.

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  Review by Brent Paton ★★½

  Interesting concept. Thought-provoking but not very engaging.

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  Review by HarryAngel ★★★

  Interesting premise unconvincingly executed.

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  Review by Sam ★★★★ 1

  Before watching this I would have never been able to articulate that what I find missing in a lot of these types of things is a lack of bureaucracy. Yes! I'm not being sarcastic... more conversations around tables about these issues!

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  Review by Jordon ★★★★

  Perfectly ordinary looking on the surface but it feels so supernatural. Loved the execution, the tone, and the revelations each character experienced. If you’ve ever lost someone this film will resonate. Wondering why I’d never heard of this film before renting it from Videotheque. Thanks Mark!

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  Review by Rick D ★½

  The recent dead have come back to life.

  They aren't killing anyone or blood thirsty. How do the living acclimate to the dead and vice versa?

  Nothing is explained. Nothing really happens until near the end and it just fizzles.

  Is the movie on commentary on people and their reactions to the unknown? Can't we just enjoy what is given to us? What awaits us in the afterlife?

  Some solid performances and a few very creepy scenes.

  This is not a horror flick but more of a drama.

  I found Géraldine Pailhas memerizing.

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  Review by Jo Finlay ★★★½

  As someone who has relatively recently lost a loved one, the idea of this resonated deeply with me. Of course you want not to have had a close relative die, but the "returned" here aren't jumping back to a time pre-death; this plot deals with them coming back after the terrible event, after their relatives have grieved and gone some way to reconcile the death and move on. And these aren't violent zombies, they are recognisable enough as their old selves, and yet they aren't the same as before. Something is... off. How much do you want them back? Would you want that person returned to you, if they weren't as before, as you remember and love them? It's a heartbreaking and terrifying thought. The ending is a little flat, considering the eerie and atmospheric build up. However, I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for a very still, thought-provoking film.