They Came Back (2004 France) AKA Les Revenants

I may have a halo effect when it comes to French cinema because I am of French descent. However, it is hard not to enjoy movies in which there has been effort made to create something new and thoroughly thought out. People had warned me that they thought I would find it boring and oh contraire mes ami, I found it quite fascinating.

                What if 2300 people who had died within the last 10 years just suddenly came back, appearing physically unchanged from death? The horror in the film is more disturbing and believable because of the realistic sense of having to deal with the situation politically as well as emotionally. Those that come back have colder body temperatures, they are slower moving, slower reacting, and appear to be only capable of thought processes that they can retrieve from their past memories. They cannot sleep and most of them slip out of their houses and join together for meetings with other undead folk. 

                The creepiness factor is really high being that no true answers are given right off the start, leaving the main characters as well as the audience continuously guessing. Slowness of the film is a marvellous technique that adds so much to the eerie and often melancholy feel. This reaches emotional levels that most films would try and dodge, hoping to attract more audiences.   

                If you still have the patience of a 5 year old, then you may just want to skip this one. But if you enjoy having your thoughts challenged, then this one is for you.

See it