They Came Back

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They Came Back ★★½ Les Revenants 2004

Warning: this is not your normal zombie-eats-people movie. Instead, thousands of the dead have shuffled back to their small French village to just live their dull old lives. Sort of. As the living must work to deal with the sudden population explosion, the now-dimwitted undead have been holding secret nightly meetings. First-time director Campillo goes for a quiet look at society's reaction to the walking dead's return rather than a gorefest, a la George Romero. In French with English subtitles. 102m/C VHS, DVD . FR Geraldine Pailhas, Jonathan Zaccai, Frederic Pierrot, Victor Garrivier, Catherine Samie; D: Robin Campillo; W: Robin Campillo, Brigitte Tijou; C: Jeanne Lapoirie; M: Martin Wheeler. VIDEO