Retornados

Manuel Carballo's new zombie movie plenty of thrills , chills , gore and blood . This zombie thriller stars a good cast such as Kris Holden-Reid , Emily Hampshire , Claudia Bassols , Melina Matthews , Barry Flatman and Shawn Doyle . It is set in a post-zombie world , a place where a deadly zombie virus has infected mankind , but a single cure has been found . As a treatment called the "Return Protein" can stop the spread of the virus if injected quickly after infection, but cannot cure it . With injections every 36 hours, the "Returned" are able to live as though they were never bit, despite the virus still coursing through their veins . When it is discovered that the protein stock is running low , chaos hits the streets. Returned who run out of the protein turn to zombies and disasters , protesters turn to killers as they try to rid the streets of the returned, and right in the middle of it all are Alex and Kate . With daily injections, the "Returned" are able to live relatively normal lives, but with brutal attacks at the hands of Anti-Return groups and rumors that protein stock is running low, the world is again on the brink of chaos . In the midst of this turmoil are Alex (Kris Holden-Ried) and Kate (Emily Hampshire), a young , successful and enviable couple that are hiding a long held secret – Alex is Returned . As death and fear run rampant , Alex's secret becomes known and when the retroviral drug is running out , then chaos and destruction burst .

This zombie thriller ¨The Returned¨ from Spanish genre hub Filmax and being professionally shot by director Manuel Carballo . The film utilizes the opening credits sequence to address the conventions of the genre , only to completely move away from them for the rest of the movie . A mostly unnecessary flashback sequence—that is never returned to again until it's required to do some third act heavy lifting—gives horror fans what they come to expect from anything zombie related : blood , guts , screaming , gore , guns , more blood and horror as the dead become fearsomely undead . The Returned takes this idea , blows it up a bit, and then does something fairly intriguing . It decides not to be a zombie terror movie at all , in fact it is more a thriller than a horror flick . The main premise results to be the following : the viral outbreak that led to a zombie apocalypse has come and gone , and society is attempting to move forward . A cure of sorts was discovered that brings the recently infected back to normal, but the injections are needed on a daily basis . Nice acting from Emily Hampshire as Kate a leading doctor in the field of zombie virus' and Kris Holden Reid as Alex , a musician with a dark secret, he is a Returned ; both of whom must fight for a chance to live before he becomes a zombie .

Javier Salmones cinematography is excellent , creating a frightening and scary atmosphere , he's expert on sombre photography . Atmospheric musical score by Jonathan Goldsmith fitted perfectly to suspense , action and terror . This is a Canadian-Spanish co-production between Ramaco Media and Filmax or Fantastic Factory . Filmax is run by the Catalan producers Julio Fernandez along with his brother Carlos Fernández , being a successful company in charge of production horror/SF movies such as ¨The machinist¨, ¨Darkness¨ ,¨Stranded¨ , ¨Faust¨ and ¨The nameless¨, among others . The filmmaker Manuel Carballo is a fine Spanish director , he began as a camera assistant for Filmax/Julio Fernández in ¨Rottweiler¨, ¨Romasanta¨ , ¨Beyond Re-Animator¨ and ¨Dagon¨ . Manuel Carballo has directed a few films as ¨El Ultimo Justo¨ (2007) , ¨La Posesión De Emma Evans or Exorcismus¨ (2007) and TV Series as ¨Trece Miedos¨ . Furthermore , he directed Shorts : ¨Diminutos del Calvario¨ and ¨Seiken¨ .

After a bloody opening, one would expect the rest of the movie to follow the typical shenanigans of a living dead creature fest; however this is not the case. The Returned plays out more like a drama that displays the desperation of Kate and Alex as the supply of a protein (needed to be injected once a day) that keeps one from returning to the living dead becomes scarce. Alex is one of "The Returned' – the label for those who are lucky enough to get the solution within four hours of being infected, and his wife Kate is a doctor who treats the survivors.

Overall the movie was very captivating with a top notch cast and a realistic premise of how the response to a shortage of such a protein would be carried out in our society today. The visuals were exquisite, including a few gory scenes. My only criticisms are the ending (which I won't mention specifics here) that seems unnecessary and a moment where a Security Guard is drinking coffee out of an empty cut. Despite these setbacks, it's worth a watch! 8/10

The Returned (2013)

I'm sure every screenwriter is straining to find a way to tap into the zombie movie craze while it's hot. So here's the latest twist—an antidote exists for zombie-ness. Those who are now safely taking their medication are no longer zombies and are dubbed "the Returned."

Of course, these are prejudiced against, and of course there is a constant search for enough medicine to go around—but I'm getting ahead of myself. The main point is that now we can have the threat of zombies without quite having zombies. So maybe this isn't a zombie movie after all!

Except it is, and cleverly so. The leading woman is a doctor who is aware the shortage of medicine—and someone she loves (unnamed here) is one of the Returned, so it matters very much. Tension builds nicely in a couple of different ways, and the general mood (mostly avoiding the usual grotesqueness) is steadily intense. It's good stuff, and a nice surprise. I'm not sure why the overall rating is so low.

This is a Spanish production with a mostly North American cast, so it's basically a low budget fringe film. It doesn't feel like it, however, so expect something solid. Canadian Emily Hampshire is the leading actor, and she gives it all credibility. If there is a weakness here it might be a lack of adventure—the plot follows its logical line closely and the small turns of events are not surprising, quite.

Still, it's well enough done I say, watch it if you are inclined to this kind of movie at all. Or to a quieter kind of zombie plot.

After a zombie outbreak, the infected people survive due to a vaccine made of the the spinal fluid of dead zombies and they are called "Returned". Dr. Kate (Emily Hampshire) works in a hospital and is responsible for the wing of Returned". There is a rumor that the vaccine is running out and Kate secretly buys vaccines from Eve (Melina Matthews), who is the responsible for the storeroom. Kate's beloved husband, the musician Alex (Kris Holden-Ried), was infected and only Kate and Alex's brother Jacob (Shawn Doyle) and his wife Amber (Claudia Bassols) knows. When the vaccine runs out, the government brings the infected people to quarantine centers while research a synthetic vaccine. However, Alex and Kate flee to Jacob's house in the countryside expecting that Alex survives until the synthetic vaccine becomes reality. But when Alex's wallet is stolen, Kate's last hope is to get some vaccines from the director of the hospital where she works. Will she succeed?

"The Returned" is among the best zombie movies with a dramatic and credible story and outstanding direction and performances. The behavior of the human beings feeling despair for the situation with beloved ones is impressive and realistic. The dark conclusion is predictable but also perfect. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Retornados" ("Returned")

Note: On 21 Aug 2020, I saw this film again.

The world has survived a zombie virus. A cure has been developed using the zombies. If one dose of the cure is missed, the infected called "The Returned" gets turned. In Toronto, Kate (Emily Hampshire) is a doctor working on a synthetic cure. His boyfriend Alex (Kris Holden-Ried) is one of the Returned and there are rumors of a shortage. Alex comes out to their friends Jacob (Shawn Doyle) and his wife Amber (Claudia Bassols). Eve is a nurse stealing dosages and selling them to Kate who is stockpiling the cure.

This is a different take on the zombie genre. It's almost everything except the zombies. It's an intriguing idea. It takes a little too long to get going and to get the clarifying expositions. The idea is almost more important than the thrills. It's admirable to subvert the genre but it has to bring something else in its place. I give full marks for the idea but not so much for the movie.