The Returned (2014)

I honestly loved the first half, rather two-third of the movie. Its different and complex and doesn't have many unrelated scenes. I mean, I loved how it stayed on the topic rather than straying to cheap story lines like many movies do. Now, the sad part, the sad part is that the movie had such great potential to be great but this one mistake just took 4 stars out of its rating. My point is that throughout the movie the viewer is made to realize that the antidote is the only precious thing in the world and suddenly the lead-lady **spoiler** starts taking it as lightly as it was a normal pack of crisps available everywhere. "Once Bitten Twice Shy" is an idiom based on real life rational humans, thus after the couple faces the brunt of their carelessness and excessive trust once, they both should have been extra extra careful. As opposed to Yelling on the phone about the dozes obtained and their number too. Also after that too, such a delicately packed glass tubes which are extremely hard to get and people are actually killing for it, is kept under the seat or in the trunk or hidden in some bag or something not put on the front seat for display. Also, if one expects the government to make an announcement about the antidote synthesis, one would at least wait until then to shoot a loved one, if one actually is able to. Generally though, I liked the movie, just the ending or say penultimate scenes were unsatisfactory.

Filmax is a Spanish studio specialized in independent horror cinema, usually shot in English in order to increment the perspectives of international distribution. And even though I haven't always enjoyed Filmax movies, I have noticed a progressive increment in the quality of its productions. What takes me to The Returned, an entertaining zombie film which leaves aside the sub-genus clichés in order to explore the economical and cultural consequences of a "post-post-apocalyptic" world, in which society recovered itself from the crisis, even though the danger for it to happen again is there. And naturally, that threat promotes the prejudices and intolerance from some people who would prefer to isolate the "returned" ones in concentration camps... or even better, kill them before they spread their disease to other ones. That isn't a new idea; the films Les Revenants and American Zombie had employed a similar premise. But The Returned might be the one which has approached the metaphors about racism, paranoid analogies to AIDS and the references to the Holocaust with the most vehemence. Unfortunately, the second half of The Returned abandons the global approach in order to focus into the problems of a couple desperate to supply themselves of the anti-virus before the general population finds out about its impending shortage. The screenplay keeps being interesting, but it loses credibility due to two very forced twists (one of them is predictable, and the other one is absurd) and the hollow sentimentality of the conclusion, which feels absolutely artificial and prefabricated. Nevertheless, I think I can give a moderate recommendation to The Returned because of its unusual handling of the zombies, competent performances and Manuel Carballo's adequate direction. This isn't the best film produced by Filmax (I think that one would be REC so far), but I consider it a decent horror film.

I don't want viewers to walk into this movie expecting a cheap horror flick because this is not that. The Returned is a very serious drama taking the zombie virus into an entirely new setting.As the plot is summarized, this movie is a world in which the zombie virus exists and is controlled within the infected by a special protein; these people are "The Returned." They live just as regular human beings and function normally, but must inject their cure once every day to maintain this. However, supply is running desperately low. Now, it is highly easy to assume that, because of this, the plot would decide to take a horror-esque route with the infected turning into reanimated corpses and wreak havoc. That doesn't happen. The film stays very close knit to a serious drama and does it brilliantly.Very seldom is there gore, in order to keep the infectious setting believable. These moments, as well as other scenes, are shot using horror techniques, but in no way build horror movie tension. The tension is built strictly through the story and there is a lot of it. The first two acts find it lightly sprinkled, while the third act roller coaster's the viewer to the end.The characters felt very genuine to the world they were in. I, personally, felt so much compassion for the cast within the film that whenever something terrible did happen, I was horrified and hoped for a positive outcome. I won't spoil the details of these plot elements. The story writer(s) was incredibly good at weaving in these minor story elements in the first two acts that foreshadowed events that would conclude in the third. Most of these were very subtle moments that would have been otherwise overlooked, but tied all of the loose ends of the film so neatly.Overall, The Returned is one of the best films that I have seen in a long while and I am very happy that I didn't pass it up. Of course, I wasn't expecting it to be anything but a horror movie. It's well written, has some great character development and does carry a lot of tension. My only complaint is that the movie advertised itself as a horror movie and mislead an entire audience.

Like most, when I started this movie, I was very skeptical. I thought it was just another throw away on netflix. I was wrong. This film is very unique and to be very honest, I completely different type of movie. If you are looking for a ultraviolet flick, this is not it. If you are looking for a thought provoking and honest film that deals with the emotional conflicts that would arise from a world of 2 classes, one with dormant infection ( like aids but worse) and one that is normal, then this is your film! I enjoyed the acting, and the fresh take on a age old idea. I like how it explores both the view points of the spouses and doctors of the infected with real depth. For the few scenes with infected, the makeup is great! The infected act like zombies, yet they aren't the point of the film. Rather infection, which becomes active when people who were infected with the virus during the outbreak fail to take their treatments acts a a fear for everyone in the film. The film deals with how we as a people deal with that, and what happens when we no longer have the resources to provide the infected with their medication. In short, this is a great and outstanding film! Please watch it!