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Handling the Undead

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Handling the Undead R Released May 31 1h 37m Horror Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 79 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? A family is faced with the mother's reawakening before they have even mourned her death after a car accident; an elderly woman gets the love of her life back the same day she has buried her; a grandfather rescues his grandchild from the gravesite in a desperate attempt to get his daughter out of her depression. Handling the Undead is a drama with elements of horror about three families, a story about grief and loss, but also about hope and understanding of what we can't comprehend or control.
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Handling the Undead

Handling the Undead

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Critics Consensus

A grounded zombie picture with emotional bite, Handling the Undead shuffles along at a patient pace but succeeds as a poignant and thoughtful addition to the genre.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Hvistendahl treats the audience with respect, her and Lindqvist’s reworking of the latter’s source material respectful, intelligent, and overflowing in empathy. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 9, 2024 Full Review Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News Composer Peter Raeburn’s beautifully sad soundtrack along with Pål Ulvik Rokseth’s cinematography contribute to creating a tragic mood that’s hard to let go of after the film’s sad conclusion. Rated: 3/4 Jun 6, 2024 Full Review Brent Simon AV Club The cooking comparison for Handling the Undead would be a sauce that’s broken, its elements having separated. There’s a genuine sense of lived-in sadness here, but this would-be elegy doesn't offer quite enough mesmeric insights to justify its somberness. Rated: C- Jun 6, 2024 Full Review John Serba Decider Handling the Undead won’t deliver the shocks and dyed-red corn syrup you may expect. But for an art film with more on its mind than gruesome slaughter, it delivers. Oct 27, 2024 Full Review Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall The downbeat tone means that this isn't an easy film to watch, and it holds its nerve by never offering much hope. Rated: 3.5/5 Sep 17, 2024 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews An uneasy and somber atmospheric zombie tale on grief. Rated: B+ Aug 23, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Christina L Oh my goodness this is an absolutely awful movie! It is slow, boring and the acting is lackluster! There is no plot and the people are doing the dumbest thing which is sitting around and staring at their dead love ones!! I am not sure why some people are giving this a good review but don’t waste your time! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 12/09/24 Full Review Frank W It's a slow movie. It's got great music and camera work but it is hard for me to care about the characters. Everything is so sullen and grim. It isn't my style but is beautifully made. I just get tired of the tensionless suggestion of energy. It's like a thousand great still images linked together about death and loss. Maybe Swedes are into darkness and minimal dialogue. I found myself trying to project interest into the lives of the characters but didn't have the foundation to do that. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/07/24 Full Review Pam C I loved the trailer. Awesome spook movie , I dont like to read a movie . I wished it was English . I am still going to try to see if I am even able to get the whole movie on my tablet. Kind of movies I love. Awesome thanks to who was a part of making this movie.😘 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/10/24 Full Review Kyle M Intrigued premise in conceptualizing realism regarding the (personified) undead rising, actually dissociating from horrific circumstances, doesn’t dive deep into sought fulfillment when disengages observational tendencies beyond the humane gist of needed closures and why peace is imperative under mutual spiritual acceptance. (B-) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/01/24 Full Review Craig B If nothing else, Handling The Undead is an interesting take on the Zombie genre. Penned by the writer of the exceptional classic Let The Right One In, this film certainly has its moments, with its ever evolving sense of dread and creepiness. Well acted and reasonably paced, the biggest issue with a movie like this revolves around the following question: In the real world, would you really want your loved ones to come back from the dead, particularly in the state in which they return to the land of the living? It's worth watching just to answer that question for yourself. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/30/24 Full Review Avindu G Life is many different things of course the vital signs detect your existence but is just a fluctuating wave on a screen ? Is it just the heart that beats ? Well the dead comes back to tell us otherwise and ones who take longer to grasp that ends up in tragedy. Great cinematography to capture the worlds of live and dead clashing. The pain of loss and the consumerist notions that envelopes all logic is sharply critisized even if it's between a mother and a kid. Strong emotional performances by the cast. Audio sits well with the emotions. Movie might be mislabeled yet it's unique story make it all worth. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Handling the Undead

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Movie Info

Synopsis On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? A family is faced with the mother's reawakening before they have even mourned her death after a car accident; an elderly woman gets the love of her life back the same day she has buried her; a grandfather rescues his grandchild from the gravesite in a desperate attempt to get his daughter out of her depression. Handling the Undead is a drama with elements of horror about three families, a story about grief and loss, but also about hope and understanding of what we can't comprehend or control.
Director
Thea Hvistendahl
Producer
Kristin Emblem, Guri Neby
Screenwriter
John Ajvide Lindqvist, Thea Hvistendahl
Distributor
NEON
Production Co
Einar Film
Rating
R
Genre
Horror, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Norwegian
Release Date (Theaters)
May 31, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 18, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA)
$19.7K
Runtime
1h 37m
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