The Returned: DVD Review
A small town is turned upside down when several local people, who have been long presumed dead suddenly reappear, bringing with them both positive and detrimental consequences. As families are reunited, the lives of those who were left behind are challenged on a physical and emotional level. Interpersonal relationships are examined with intrigue and depth as strange phenomena begin to occur.
When I was told about the French version of this show it was explained to me as a zombie story without traditional zombies. I didn’t get what they meant but it peaked my curiosity enough though. So of course I watched it and then I heard about it being remade for the U.S. so obviously I had to watch it too. Without comparing the two too much I do want to say that I enjoyed the French version more so than this one BUT this version did have some fantastic actors in it like Mark Pellegrino, Jeremy Sisto and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The scene that is about 6 minutes into the show was fairly shocking but really set up the show and after that my curiosity meter went through the roof. After a few episodes you begin to realize that this show was kind of like Pet Sematary in the sense that after these people come back from being dead they don’t seem entirely the same. It played out a lot different than any other show I’ve seen with moments of flashbacks that give just enough information for certain moments in episodes. I liked the fact that each of the 10 episodes concentrated on a certain character but still managed to push to overall story through. The unfortunate thing about it is that apparently the show was cancelled a few months after it’s premiere and we were left with a cliffhanger that (in the U.S. version) will have no resolution. The good thing is that if you’re still interested in the story the French version will continue to air on the Sundance Channel. I really did like this show a lot and hoped that they would at least gave the show some sort of closure even though it would hard to do with another version still happening. I still do suggest checking it out if you’ve never seen it before and then move over to the original and if you’ve seen the original it’s still fun to compare the two versions. 8/10
Special Features:
Inside The Episode: Specials – Pretty basic BTS features on each of the episodes.
