Somehow they manged to take the original story and remove most of the interesting parts, leaving us with a slow and atmospheric exposé of loss and grief. What it does it does great, it's beautifully filmed and the acting is good, but it's just not enough. The entire point of having the dead come back to life is to examine all the implications of this happening, the original story understands this, it's in the title "Handling the undead", it asks the question of how to deal with this situation. But here most of those implications are glanced over or not touched upon at all, making the supernatural elements superfluous. Ultimately this movie had worked much better if it was just a story about three families experiencing loss, maybe in some kind of sliding doors scenario. It unfortunately feels like a missed opportunity and a waste of good source material.
Handling the Undead
2024 [NORWEGIAN]
Drama / Horror / Mystery
Plot summary
On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want?
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
June 18, 2024 at 01:38 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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More tragedy than horror
Slow and sad jewel
Handling the undead is not really a horror movie or a typical Zombie movie. There are hardly any bites at all. It's really about handling the loss of loved ones. You follow three families in their grief and how they cling to the idea of their loved ones return, when in fact they are still dead. Watching this beautiful movie with absolutely fantastic actors my thoughts go to The last of us and The girl with all the gifts. Two of my favourites. But if you think they are slow, this one might put you to sleep... Just get past the first few scenes, then it rises. And as it ends you know you've seems something sad but beautiful.
Too stagnant and introverted to captivate
I basically cheer for European film. This movie got a lot of attention when it was released in Norway. Mostly because Renate Reinsve plays one of the lead roles, but also for the theme; What happens when the dead come back? In the many positive reviews of the film, the main characters' feelings of loss and grief were highlighted as the film's strengths.
The film is based on an interesting perspective; How would we react and listed if our dear deceased came back to us?
Since the film's focus is primarily about the main characters' behavior and reactions, this is to a small extent a "zombie movie". Fair enough.
But for me, the movie doesn't quite work. The film's lack of dialogue and storytelling deprives us of viewers the mility to get to know those involved in the film. It all gets too stagnant for me. And I lost interest in the movie while I saw it. When the movie towards the end finally takes some dramatic twists, it's too late.
But one case has the director succeeded; The creepy mood of the film persists from beginning to end.