Norwegian director Thea Hvistendahl seeks to reinvent the zombie movie with Handling the Undead. Rather than be set in either an apocalyptic warzone, or frenzied outbreak, Hvistendahl’s story is a much more laid-back and melancholic look at reanimated corpses.
The ‘zombies’ on display in Handling the Undead are not the brain-munching kind, but rather simply the dead come back to life. Set in Oslo during the peak of a heatwave, strange electrical activity results in the deceased coming back to life. This scenario is told from the perspective of several households, including one which sees a recently dead mother come back after flatlining, with another focusing on a young boy who is exhumed from his grave by his grandfather. The reactions are varied, with the family remaining in hospital under advice from perplexed physicians, the other keeping the resurrection a secret.
This is not an action zombie film, but rather a meditative musing on the power of loss.
Having the dead simply return is not too dissimilar to French film and television series The Returned. In that series, the departed just appeared again one day with little explanation. Handling the Undead treads a very similar path, however its dead are unable to speak, and their decay is evident to see. The overwhelming and aching melancholy of grief that was present in The Returned is cranked up to maximum potency by Hvistendahl. Even before the event that causes the resurrection happens, there is an overarching, heavy atmosphere of loneliness and sadness. This is not an action zombie film, but rather a meditative musing on the power of loss, as well as offering a tantalising ‘what if’ scenario.
As interesting as the proposition that Handling the Undead makes, the film’s glacial pacing is a slog. It takes a long time for the dead to rise, and doesn’t fill this time with much other than glimpses of the lives of those about to be affected. Even after the dead have risen, the pace remains sedentary with nothing to spur the momentum forward. Amongst the periods of long drawn out emotional turmoil, is one sequence that is exceptionally harrowing. The moment in question features an extended instance of animal cruelty, rivalling fellow Norwegian nightmare The Innocents.
With little in the way of traditional ‘action’ or narrative progression, Handling the Undead requires ultimate patience from the viewer. Whilst this dedication is not rewarded in the expected way, Hvistendahl does a fine job at instilling mood and atmosphere. A film that highlights a slice of life – or more accurately – slice of death, Handling the Undead is a sombre and atmosphere think piece that makes the audience stew in its melancholy.
Handling The Undead was reviewed at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Handling the Undead
Summary
Slow, sombre, and aching with grief, Handling the Undead offers a poignant spin on traditional zombie tropes.
