I bought this on a whim because it was super cheap, because the plot seemed interesting and because there was a blurb from Ain't It Cool News referring to Shaun of the Dead. Well, I regret my naivety and impulsive buy. All over the world, but in this film a small french town, the people who died over the last 10 years come back. They don't look decomposed, they're not hungry for human flesh, they just walk slowly and are pretty much dazed and emotionless. The box cover and the intro basically have the most memorable and "scariest" sequence of the story: a bunch of mostly old people walking in the streets. Do not expect horror, fun or suspense. OK, perhaps a little suspense/mystery that will unnecessarily frustrate you as too often, there are cuts away from impactful dramatic moments (ex: reunions of living and previously dead), but most importantly because nothing is explained or revealed. There's not much happening in terms of events and virtually no pay-offs watching this semblance of a story so very slowly unfold, either for the small things or the big overall mystery.
Just so we're clear, this is nothing at all like Shaun of the Dead; this is a serious artsy drama, void of special effects, with a great concept (returning dead that are not zombies) that is totally and shamefully wasted. I found this movie didn't really have much emotionality to it, that it was really cold and lifeless. Some might consider it melancholy, but to me it would be an insult to that beautiful yet sometimes painful feeling. To finish, all the big questions you think living people would ask their formerly defunct loved ones? None of that here. Perhaps somewhere it was said the dead don't remember, but in any case, it was an easy cop-out, rendered all the more cheap by the cheap ending.
Rating: 2 out of 10 (terrible)
Just so we're clear, this is nothing at all like Shaun of the Dead; this is a serious artsy drama, void of special effects, with a great concept (returning dead that are not zombies) that is totally and shamefully wasted. I found this movie didn't really have much emotionality to it, that it was really cold and lifeless. Some might consider it melancholy, but to me it would be an insult to that beautiful yet sometimes painful feeling. To finish, all the big questions you think living people would ask their formerly defunct loved ones? None of that here. Perhaps somewhere it was said the dead don't remember, but in any case, it was an easy cop-out, rendered all the more cheap by the cheap ending.
Rating: 2 out of 10 (terrible)