they came back

THE FLICK: They Came Back is a film of staggering emotional power built on the premise of a zombie film. And ironically it’s the “Z”-word that will most likely be both a blessing and a curse for French director Robin Campillo’s debut feature. A certain number of critics dismiss most of the horror genre (however tenuous the connection) outright. While a select group of cinephiles will watch anything that promises an appearance by the undead (preferably with ample amounts of gore). In that case, both camps will be disappointed. The zombies of They Came Back are not rotting corpses; in fact, they are the embodiment of perfect health besides being mentally slow and a few degrees cooler. And the only immediate threat they pose to the general populace is their reintegration into normal society. How are they reunited with loved ones? Who will provide them jobs? Can a zombie be a self-sufficient citizen? Even George Romero at his best (which was Dawn of the Dead) never imagined this sort of social, political and psychological commentary (in fact, his latest chapter, Land of the Dead, looks downright juvenile by comparison). Campillo addresses the audience’s suspension of disbelief in the first ten minutes by approaching the situation with a clinical attachment. His zombies are holed up in refugee centers waiting to be claimed by family members, like lost luggage on an airport carousel. And the moment when a family is reunited with their recently deceased 8-year-old son sets the tone for the rest of the film. As the counselor on hand says, “You will probably feel a multitude of emotions at once...grief, joy, shock.” And just as he warned, the experience, for both the viewer and the parents, is overwhelming. As the extras on the DVD point out, They Came Back is a film about mourning, about how we deal with loss. But there is an element of old-fashioned mystery, if not straightforward horror. Why the dead have returned is never explained, but they do have some sort of agenda, gathering for clandestine meetings at odds hours (much like pod-people from some 50’s sci-fi double-bill). The conclusion veers closer to art-film territory rather than providing the satisfaction of any concrete scientific (or celestial) answers. But, as with the characters in the film, there’s a sense of closure that’s almost revelatory for a genre few would have dreamt possible to produce such a work of astounding brilliance. THE FEATURES: The Wellspring DVD only comes one way: in French with English subtitles. Which is exactly how it should be, since the acting here is of the utmost importance. The special features include a 20-some-minute “Making Of” that includes sit-downs with the lead actors and select members of the crew. The theatrical trailer goes along with a 16 X 9 enhanced transfer / 5.1 mix of the feature itself.