News culture The best zombie series of all time is a French creation: with a rating of 100%, it far surpasses The Walking Dead
Do you swear by The Walking Dead when it comes to zombie series? Be shocked by this French series from Canal+: Les Revenants.
Summary
- Far from brain eaters
= French Zombies =
First broadcast on Canal+ in 2012, Les Revenants is a French series (Cocorico) created by Fabrice Gobert. This series is inspired by the 2004 film Les Revenants, but develops a more complex plot and deeper characters. In just two seasons, The Returned has established itself as a must-watch in the horror genre, earning a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The series is set in a small provincial town where people who have been dead for several years and are nicknamed “ghosts” reappear without explanation. Each of them must face returning to a world that lived on without them. Among the ghosts we find Camille, a teenager who died in an accident, and Simon, a young man who died on his wedding day. Their return sparks both joy and fear among their loved ones, who must come to terms with the absence of those they lost while trying to understand the reasons for their resurrection.
The series even won an International Emmy Award!
Far from brain eaters
By moving away from the zombie cliché, Les Revenants presents us with a creature that is both familiar and disturbing. Far from the clichés of the genre, the series explores the nature of humanity through the prism of these beings returned from the dead.
One of the strengths of the series lies in its artistic direction. The photography is both dark and poetic, creating an intriguing atmosphere that reinforces the supernatural nature of the story, particularly with its famous lake, a crossroads between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The natural landscapes of the mountainous region in which the action takes place add an additional dimension to the melancholic atmosphere of the series. Anecdote: The series is filmed around Annecy in Haute-Savoie.
With an average of more than 1.5 million viewers per episode in the first season, “Les Revenants” established itself as an international success. Although the second season saw a slight decline in viewership, the series remains a cross-border television phenomenon.
This series had such an impact that some even compare it to Twin Peaks. For those interested, Les revenant is available in full on Canal+.
