Les Revenants (TV series) - French supernatural drama series (aka "The Returned")

[dracenstein]

Just seen it. I wouldn't call them zombies, but it's pretty good. And that kid is spooky...When the woman was going to call the police and he just looked at her...

[Morto Vivente]

Just seen it. I wouldn't call them zombies, but it's pretty good. And that kid is spooky...When the woman was going to call the police and he just looked at her... I've tried to watch "The Returned", unsuccessful as yet with the country restrictions, still searching for a vpn option. To me it seems that the mainstream press in the UK have just avoided using the word revenant and replaced it with zombie. What's the point in simplifying a description by one syllable only to ultimately confuse the whole concept, at least for me. Just because zombies have been popular for many years now, anything that's returned from the dead, unless it has fangs is labelled a "zombie". Call them what they are! Patronizing twats. Update: Finally watched this show. They're not zombies of any variety. Guess what....They're revenants! Imagine that. I still enjoyed the show though.

[MinionZombie]

Finally got around to watching Sunday's first episode - I really dug it. And yeah - not zombies in any way, shape, or form - even a cursory glance at Wikipedia's plot description for the show could have told those lazy journos that, geez! Anyway - very strange, very mysterious, very atmospheric, and very intriguing. Regarding Camille and Lena:   Nice twist near the end when it was revealed that they're in fact twins, and it's been 4 years since the bus crash, but then - as was proferred in a suggestive bit of dialogue - it seems that Camille and Lena switched identities for that day so Camille could hang out with that boy, who was thinking he was there for Lena ... plus it seems they have a psychic connection of some sort (the one on the bus felt something as the one at home was losing her virginity) ... but then also think about it, "Lena" who is drinking like a fish is most likely Camille, and for four years she has had to hide a relatively innocent little lie and live the life of her sister as her parents grieve her, and not her sister ... if that makes sense? Twisty stuff! And yes ... "Victor" is a creepy looking little blighter, isn't he? I'm very glad I started watching this now - and clearly it's a supernatural show about revenants, as Morto says. As such, I've moved the thread into general "Media" discussion and tweaked the thread title.

[Morto Vivente]

Finally got around to watching Sunday's first episode - I really dug it.Anyway - very strange, very mysterious, very atmospheric, and very intriguing. If the show maintains the same standard as the 1st episode I think this will be a great series. There's a few personal themes and reactions for the different living-revenant-relationships within the plot so far. The other revenants:   It's interesting that the revenants have all died at different points in the town's history. For instance the boyfriend character Simon who ends up in the cemetery, where his own gravestone reveals that he died 10 years earlier,and also that this isn't the first time he's came back (distraught girlfriend). Whereas this appears to be Camille's, or as MZ pointed out, probably LENA'S first return with the others. Great twist and a very engaging episode! I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment.

[Neil]

^^ It doesn't necessarily mean he's come back before? She may have had 'episodes' before?

[Morto Vivente]

@ Neil   True, I should have said possibly. The sudden appearance of Victor on the mountain road and also that he seems to be from a much earlier time made me think that the bus accident occurred during a previous "return" for him. That coupled with the distraught girlfriend "It's happening again", and the different times of death got me thinking that some of the revenants had returned before. The sign of a good mystery though....speculation. But yeah it is pure speculation on my part.

[MinionZombie]

@Morto - good point - I hadn't even thought about the 'different revenants from different times' angle. There's lots of intriguing ideas and chilling moments in this show too:   Like the girl who is murdered in the underpass - no doubt she'll come back - but who was her attacker, what was their motive, etc? ... and then when Mr Costa tied up his revenant and burned his house down - only for the firemen to say nobody was in the house at all - and then him jumping off the dam ... so will Mr Costa come back as well?! Ooh, it is intriguing ... plenty of mystery and lots of possibilities and some really cool "ooh" ideas dotted around to boot. Hopefully the quality holds up for the remainder of the series.

[Morto Vivente]

@MZ. More speculation:   I agree, the murdered girl will no doubt be back. Maybe violent or untimely deaths are the catalyst? As for Mr Costa, I was thinking that he may not "return" because he willingly tries to "destroy the connection to his revenant" by setting the fire and burning the photographs, like some sort of cleansing? Plus he takes his own life unlike Lena/Camille, or the murder victim. Incidentally I loved the reanimated butterfly sequence when Mr Costa first appears, and the black and white photograph of "his revenant" is displayed on the table beside him. It must be his wife or daughter, maybe his sister?

[kidgloves]

Watched the 1st 2 episodes last night. Excellent. Got me hooked right in.

[MinionZombie]

Another cracking episode.   What's with the woman with the scars on her belly - she must have been someone who was attacked by that killer, but is she also a revenant? I'm now wondering if the 'twins swapping identities' theory is a bust - am I right in reading the 2nd episode that Lena is indeed Lena and likewise for Camile? Lena had her photo taken with Simon, and she then saw and recognised that photo again years later in the present day in the bar. What's up with the killer, his Dad, and all that, eh? It's good how they're keeping the pace of the show going ... it's a gradual sort of mystery, but it never ever feels like it stops. We're always getting a new nugget of information, or a new mystery, or a new question, or a partial answer, or just some really cool idea/image presented to us ... aye - very cool. Also - blimey, that woman across the hall is a right nosey bitch, isn't she?

[Morto Vivente]

Loving this show. Aside from the really important stuff such as characters and plot the location is also spectacular. We got to see much more coverage of the village and surrounding area in episode 2 (considering most of the 1st episode took place at night), a fantastic landscape.   Good point, creepy Vic's surrogate mother could also be a revenant! And yeah, I think Lena and Camille haven't swapped identities. Shame it could have been a great plot device from what we've seen so far. Is the older guy definitely the killer's father? Possibly an older brother who's now even older? Anyway, whatever the relationship it looks like there could be some cool plot stuff. He seems to have been a prime suspect for the previous attacks/killings before they mysteriously stopped. Maybe the father/brother of the killer "took him out" because he realized what was going on after becoming an interest for the cops? Hence the business end of the spade when they first meet again, or maybe he just likes panning ghosts with large implements? Looking forward to Sunday's episode.

[MinionZombie]

Agreed, the setting is really cool - particularly the image of the dam looming over the town - and what's happening with the water level? Hmmm...   I'm pretty sure the bar owner is the killer's Dad - when they were talking he either addressed him directly as such, or the context of their discussion led me to strongly believe that - e.g. talking about his mother dying a while back ... oh and yeah, the fact that the son was there too/died at the same time as the mother ... another mini mystery! Two crackin' episodes in a row - I saw a trailer for it when channel-hopping, and some of the preview shots suggested some really cool scenes/ideas in future episodes ... so I'm also very much looking forward to seeing how it continues to evolve.

[dracenstein]

I think the bar owner is the killer's brother... A good episode again. And how did 'Victor' jump from the window to be inside the building when the woman went looking for him?

[Morto Vivente]

And how did 'Victor' jump from the window to be inside the building when the woman went looking for him? Yup!.... He's Creepy Vic.

[dracenstein]

Another good episode. Was that the late Mrs Costa at her husband's funeral? Julie survived an attack by the serial killer years back, is that why 'Victor' adopted her? I liked the cats were eating Julie's nosey neighbour at the end. They are finally looking to see where the water was disappearing in the dam. I think the dam is safe itself, otherwise we would see water gushing out the other side. For now, at least. And Simon's ex-bride-to-be, forget her name, now realising that somebody else saw him, therefore he's not a vision. So she snogs him at the end of episode, unaware her boyfriend is watching on cctv - and that he suspects Simon of being the serial killer. And 'Victor' again, what was that about the serial killer attacking Julie by the lift? Why did he have Julie hallucinating that?