Filmmakers have parsed the zombie genre from seemingly every angle possible. George A. Romero innovated with the idea of using the undead to highlight social issues. “The Walking Dead” showcased how the living are the real villains in the face of a zombie apocalypse. And in between, there are thousands of derivations, with many just ending with the hordes of undead ripping people apart in horrifically gory ways. Zombies are monsters, right? Well, Thea Hvistendahl’s “Handling the Undead” offers something unique—a story about the reanimated dead, sure, but with the emotional core focusing on the grief associated with the idea of loved ones returning and how real people might act in the face of a family member inexplicably returning to life. It’s a film that begs you to think of a zombie as a real person and not just some mindless husk-craving brains. The result is a beautifully dark tragedy filled with intense sadness and incredibly honest emotion.
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“Handling the Undead” is a slow burn soaked in moody dread. So, if you’re looking for a horror film filled with blood, guts, and guttural screams, then you’re in for a shock. But don’t believe for a second that this isn’t a harrowing, pitch-black, frightening experience. In her feature film directorial debut, Hvistendahl delivers a film that gets under your skin, plunging the viewer into feelings of anxiety and despair, and over the course of its 100-minute runtime, it barely gives you a moment of respite. ‘Undead’ is an experience demanding its audience to put themselves in the positions of these characters, who are all grappling with their grief in varying ways, often eliciting feelings of your own sadness remembering a loved one you have lost. It’s an unsettling experience.
On a reasonably typical, unexciting summer day in Oslo, an unexplained power surge startles the city. And in the hours that follow, people who have recently passed away are suddenly returning from the dead. A woman who was just involved in a horrific car accident lies dead in the hospital, but her heart mysteriously begins to beat again. An older lady who was just laid to rest leaves the funeral parlor and wanders home in the middle of the night. A barely audible knock comes from inside a young child’s casket. “Handling the Undead” follows three separate stories, each one focusing on a family coming to terms with the sudden reemergence of a loved one they are still mourning. And each story is anchored by minimalist but intense and affecting performances.
The biggest name is Renate Reinsve (an actor who broke out massively thanks to “The Worst Person in the World”), who plays a young mother coming to terms with the news that her deceased child is now alive again. To tease any of these scenes would be to spoil the emotional weight, but trust that Reinsve delivers a performance filled with anger, sadness, and despair. However, what makes Reinsve—as well as actors Anders Danielsen Lie (also from “The Worst Person in the World”), Inesa Dauksta, Bjørn Sundquist, and Bente Børsum—so special in this movie is what these performers give the audience in their silence. “Handling the Undead” is a film that savors the quiet moments, never rushing to the next scene. Throughout the film, the cast is tasked with conveying so much with just a look. There are no lengthy monologues, dialogue is sparingly used, and there are no “Hereditary” dinner table moments. In that way, Hvistendahl’s film gives the audience plenty of time to meditate on their experiences and bring those feelings to the characters’ actions. You never question why someone would carefully (and lovingly) wash the body of a loved one who has just returned from the dead, still covered in dirt and flies buzzing around their body. If that were you, you would do the same.
Adding to the general sense of anguish in each frame of this movie is the intimate cinematography of Pål Ulvik Rokseth. Despite the film taking place in the summer, the dreariness of the day and the intense shadows of the images never allow for the audience to believe things will be better eventually. It doesn’t take a seasoned cinephile to understand where things are headed, and that’s in large part due to the stark, gloomy (but never drab) visuals.
As a directorial debut, “Handling the Undead” firmly announces Thea Hvistendahl as a filmmaker to watch moving forward. Similar to what Ari Aster did with the aforementioned “Hereditary,” this is a film that shows there are plenty of breathtaking filmmaking moments to be found in a story filled with utter sadness. The horror genre can be so much more than just low-budget slashers and jumpscare-filled supernatural bores. There is room for actual emotion, beauty, and depth to be found in the darkest moments of our lives. The devastatingly bleak story of “Handling the Undead” is a wrenching but beautiful exploration of grief and human connection in the face of something horrific. [A]
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