khaymanbb If you went into They Came Back with ideas of zombies eating brains, apocalyptic cities in ruin, or gore/violence, you picked the wrong movie. Though you could rightly say this is a zombie movie, it would have to be stressed these zombies are not like traditional ones. I don't want to give anything away, and I'll try not to spoil this, but I will say this movie goes more into the emotional aspect of the "what if" scenario the dead do come back to life. Not the shuffling type, but exactly the same way they were before they passed away. Several family units are explored, and their attempt to reintegrate their loved one back into the land of the living, and this allows the director to shed more light on the message he appears to be sending. Of which, I am not sure. At first I thought end-of-days thoughts, such as a pseudo-biblical theme, and to be honest he may very well be going for that. However, the ending doesn't seem to make that scenario valid, so I'm still open as to this movies meaning. All in all, it was enjoyable.

Cliff Sloane First, let me say that the low score of 8 is only because of an improbable plot point near the end.More on that later.The rekindled grief of the survivors is the whole point of the movie. Watching the anguish as it goes through stages is utterly gripping, especially seeing how the parents of the little boy go through such dissimilar reactions.The "pieces of the puzzle" method of telling the tale is also gripping. We see the peculiarities of the returned and cannot fully understand it. Then, when our puzzlement is at its height, a researcher explains what we had observed but couldn't understand.****SPOILERS**** Two things marred this for me. One was the stalking doctor. His presence made little sense to me, other than as a stand-in for the director. The other was the bit about the sabotage and the exploding sleep medication. Just silly. You could just as easily had the dead gather, and then spontaneously collapse in exhaustion. Then, the stunningly lovely ending would have made more sense. Had it stayed at the level of parable, it would earn a 10 for sure.

DICK STEEL The horror... the horror!No, the movie's nothing frightening, but in fact, it bored me to tears. You can literally take a leak, go to the snack bar, have a smoke, and return to the theatre, missing absolutely nothing. Half the time I was wondering whether something remotely interesting will crop up midway to quicken the pace, but I was dead wrong. The movie is meant to be painfully and excruciatingly slow, for it to bring forth its philosophy about life and death, and its abstract ideas about existentialism.The big question presented, though it is hardly ever gonna come true anyway, is how will society react if the dead suddenly became alive again? The issues that are posed, from housing to employment to health care and even human rights (!), are those that are any government's nightmare. The movie begins with stoned elderly folks walking, and walking, and walking some more when the opening credits rolled, until it is said that the dead are walking the earth, and are quickly scrambled to makeshift holding areas while awaiting the relatives to come claim them, and for everyone else to try and make sense of this phenomenon.Perhaps Heaven is getting crowded, or Hell has frozen over, that the departed need to return to the land of the living. They do not crave the blood of man, but rather, are finding ways to integrate back into society. Herein lies the opportunity for philosophy that is unappreciated by myself. There are different viewpoints presented via various characters, but all that is worth recalling, is that the dead are not pleased to be alive, and those alive are absolutely clueless as to what to do next. Bottom line is, let sleeping dogs lie.One thing's for sure, I don't really like abstract zombies. Give me those that crave for flesh and blood anytime!

leplatypus When I give "1" to a movie, it means it's an execrable one and I have no intention to waste any more time with it! Just know that the dead are coming back. The action is originally located in a small French town. Thus, leaving the "horror" side, it concentrates on the psychological & social effects on the alive! Problem: when the alive lack even more emotions than the dead, you simply got nothing: no dialogues, no interaction, no story.... Geraldine Pailhas confesses it on the making-of: " If I live this situation for real, I would laugh, cry, speak, stay silent, be happy & be terrified, but HERE, the director wanted no feelings".So, as I said in another review, sometimes the dead should never come back !!!!