They Came Back

Inexplicably, the dead are revived… This time, however, they’re not the subject of a zombie-horror chiller, but something more thoughtful and genuinely provocative. The eschewal of genre works wonders: not only does the return of everyone who’s passed away in the last ten years to a small town cause concern for the council, health services and former employers, but it also, of course, has its effect on those familiars, friends and lovers left behind. Not without wit or suspense, the film is nevertheless a serious and rewarding meditation of matters of life and death. Campillo has worked with Laurent Cantet (‘Ressources Humaines’, ‘Time Out’) in the past, and it shows.