Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Just spent 5 nights binging this show after spending even longer binging all 50 or so episodes of The 4400. Was hoping i would not be disappointed with the ending as i was with the 4400, but i was. Biggest question. Who is the little kid and where the hell does he come from? Hell? That aside it appears that he has been living hidden with his dad for 35 years and hasn't aged a bit. How he stayed hidden all that time is a mystery. Then in the last episode when he finds his 80 year old dad dead he uses his psychic power to bring him back to life but adds a little too much gas and brings a whole bunch of other dead people and a butterfly back as well. Other questions. What happens to adele and Simon? Victor says the baby must stay because he is like him. What does that mean? Another demon child? What exactly is their purpose? In the final scene victor is on the beach with julie and her new girlfriend the nurse. WTF just happened there. Is victor gonna go on staying a child while everyone else rots away? Too many unanswered questions. A big plot hole: When so many dead people come back to life how they gonna keep that a secret? No journalists live in France? As long as your gonna go all existential like bringing people back from the dead the least you can do is have a big bang ending not get swallowed by a sink hole. Bah humbug.

Les Revenants is a French show that I've been hearing a lot about but didn't think to check out until now. Calling it a zombie show wouldn't do it justice cause its a much deeper and thoughtful show than that.What we have come to expect of the zombie genre is an apocalypse people on the run trying to survive.'In Les Revenants however people who have lost their loved ones wake up one day to them(loved ones) coming back to life,one by one.That sounds like a trip to boredom but the writers and directors find a way to engage you through well realised characters and creating a beautiful and melodic atmosphere. The French auteur theory put a lot of emphasis on style over substance due to believing a movie is solely dependent on the directorIn Les Revenants Im glad to see the two blend well together to create something unique,engaging and interesting.

Les Revenants is a supernatural thriller that has a beautifully crafted stillness about it. Like the calm waters of the towns dam, which is very much intrinsic to this story, its seeming calm belies deep, dark secrets, waiting to be uncovered. When secrets do begin to reveal themselves, they do so almost silently. Its akin to water slowly being drained away to ever so gradually reveal something increasingly disturbing. There is, as a consequence, a real tension, in this series but its constrained by the fact that knowledge and understanding is only gained gradually. Indeed, even when the pieces start to come together its a calculatedly disjointed process, designed to unnerve the viewer. The acting is in French but there are subtitles. Its difficult to say any one performance or performances are excellent as this series is not about any one individual. Moreover, the characters have a subdued quality about them. Perhaps a better way of viewing Les Revenants cast is to say their collective performance is polished. The story is highly original and clever. So much so, its very hard to put the pieces together. This will frustrate some but delight others. I rarely come across a mystery/thriller I can't unravel and this one gave me hours of enjoyment trying to work out what was taking place. In summary, this is an excellent series. If you have not taken a look I'd recommend you do. Nine out of ten from me.

No spoilers here, just some casual references to the themes.The Returned has a few issues which prevent it from being great: the cast's facial expressions are almost-permanently overwrought with bedraggled despair. It gets tiring after a while, and makes it harder to connect with the characters.the music is bland elevator electronica, with the same 4 or 5 motifs repeated every few minutes, not really fitting the mood...and no variation for different episodes.the post-Lost trend to add mysteries wrapped in enigmas for the sake of it only works if we can really care for potential answers. That's not quite the case here, and don't expect much in the way of answers anyway.there are many moments of standard telly soap-opera: for example tropes like a love triangle where two are being affectionate while the other just happens to look on from a distance - there's also tortured emo-prancing which is one very small step removed from Twilight's Bella & Edward.It's not all bad, tho': I like how there are no obvious good & evil characters, tho' this is nothing new nowadays, and this shading is taken to distastefully extreme levels by portraying a certain disturbed character as sympathetic later in the series.it is agreeably watchable, its mood & rhythms remind me of Twin Peaks sometimes, but it lacks the sharp humour and memorable surrealism.the acting is good, if limited by the script and direction.there's some decent camera work, quality dialogue and solid (if a bit archetypal) characterisation.the story and its development is genuinely interesting.it's not English. I enjoy delving into other-language dramas...gives us a sense of something culturally fresh. Original audio with subs is a must, of course...dubs almost always ruin the intended vibe.Broadly recommended if you don't mind the aforementioned negative points.