Don't waste a second on the mawkish, predictable American remake. "Les Revenants" is the real deal, and I have to rate this as the best supernatural thriller series ever made for TV. It bears some similarities to earlier efforts like Twin Peaks and Lost, but unlike its forebears it never disappoints, never veers off into the kind of silliness or pomposity that marred both of those otherwise fine programs. If the first episode, in which a young French girl inexplicably returns from the dead, doesn't grab you, then I don't know what will - intriguing, riveting and strange - and it just gets better from there. It builds from this low-key, mysterious beginning, getting weirder, more mysterious, more disturbing with each episode, and climaxes with a gripping, edge-of-the-seat cliffhanger. An unforgettable highlight for me was the scene in which we first see mystery-boy Victor emerging from the darkness behind the bus stop - no gore, no knives, no monsters, nothing overtly "thrilling" - yet it's one of the most profoundly scary TV moments I've ever witnessed. The series moves at a deliberate pace, and some (American?) viewers might find a little slower than they are used to, but I exhort you to just get into its strange, sombre mood and go with it - you will not be disappointed. The script and storyline are brilliant, and the revelations, as they unfold, leave you panting for more. The performances are uniformly excellent, and the younger actors are particularly fine. most notably the boy who plays Victor, who is is *amazing* - it's no wonder that (as I read on the internet last year) people ran away from him when they saw him on the street when he was on holiday in the south of France! Easily the best child performance in this genre since young Bill Mumy's iconic turn in 'The Twilight Zone'. The photography, design and the fantastic Mogwai score are all superb. The magnificent locations - the stunning mountains, the looming dam, the lake - are both stunning in themselves, and absolutely intrinsic to the story. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I realise that the fact that it's a subtitled French-language series it will inevitably dissuade some viewers and prevent it from gaining the wider recognition it deserves, but in my view this is absolutely one of the very best TV series I have ever seen. Do not miss it.
Review of The Returned
