Handling the Undead

I basically cheer for European film. This movie got a lot of attention when it was released in Norway. Mostly because Renate Reinsve plays one of the lead roles, but also for the theme; What happens when the dead come back? In the many positive reviews of the film, the main characters' feelings of loss and grief were highlighted as the film's strengths.

The film is based on an interesting perspective; How would we react and listed if our dear deceased came back to us?

Since the film's focus is primarily about the main characters' behavior and reactions, this is to a small extent a "zombie movie". Fair enough.

But for me, the movie doesn't quite work. The film's lack of dialogue and storytelling deprives us of viewers the mility to get to know those involved in the film. It all gets too stagnant for me. And I lost interest in the movie while I saw it. When the movie towards the end finally takes some dramatic twists, it's too late.

But one case has the director succeeded; The creepy mood of the film persists from beginning to end.

Disappointed by many of the reviews that don't give enough credit for the inventive twist in the zombie genre, and the subsequent emotional heft of Handing the Undead. Granted, the film does move at a glacial pace, and the entire screenplay was probably under 3 pages. A very quiet and somber drama, and other than a couple of forays into common zombie territory towards the end, this is a study in grief, loss, loneliness and hope. The story - as the rest of the film - unfolds slowly, but it reveals emotional depth I wasn't expecting. Expectations are tricky and in this case, I think the movie will be enjoyed by those approaching with an open mind and patience.

Your potential movie-watcher is likely to arrive at this expecting something different than it is; billed as a 'zombie horror' and written by John Ajvide Lindquist (it was his follow up novel to Let The Right One In). This is something quite different however.

A bit more light is shed by being aware that this is Norway's entry to the Oscar for the Best International Film. Rather, it is a fairly slow-moving and tragic drama, though it does involve the dead reawakening. The measured pace is symbolic of the mood of the characters as they grieve. The film is, in effect, a triptych, concerning three families who have just lost loved ones. The cinematography is the highlight, and it is a fine achievement and a first break through feature for its director, Thea Hvistendahl.

Its IMDb score is understandable as so many will stumble on this expecting something quite different; zombie films have jump scares and often dark humour, this is meditative and thought provoking, though it would have benefitted from a few lighter moments.

The film discusses the idea of death and how we deal with it as humans How pain largely lies in the loss and absence of the feelings we need Death is likened in the film to the absence of feelings How the absence of feelings in humans is extremely terrifying and sometimes even harmful How this makes a person feel dead and unwanted What distinguishes life are feelings and the ability to express them, such as love, joy, fear and pain...and losing them is like death What connects us as humans are mutual feelings How a person is willing to abandon the people closest to him if he lacks certain feelings towards him and we reviewed this concept in the film on three different levels childhood, maturity, and old age, and I think that this gave greater depth to the message that the film wanted to convey The pace of the film is slow but very poetic and the soundtrack is beautiful.

Somehow they manged to take the original story and remove most of the interesting parts, leaving us with a slow and atmospheric exposé of loss and grief. What it does it does great, it's beautifully filmed and the acting is good, but it's just not enough. The entire point of having the dead come back to life is to examine all the implications of this happening, the original story understands this, it's in the title "Handling the undead", it asks the question of how to deal with this situation. But here most of those implications are glanced over or not touched upon at all, making the supernatural elements superfluous. Ultimately this movie had worked much better if it was just a story about three families experiencing loss, maybe in some kind of sliding doors scenario. It unfortunately feels like a missed opportunity and a waste of good source material.