This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

During the first zombie outbreak that we don't get to see, over 100 million people died. A drug was found to control the disease. There is a catch. The drug must be injected every 36 hours or the person reverts. There is a short supply of the drug as it is derived from the spinal column of dead zombies. Kate (Emily Hampshire) is a doctor who treats "the Returned" and has a boyfriend Alex ( Kris Holden-Ried) who is a music teacher and one of them.Kate buys treatments under the table. She has to battle against the societal prejudice against "zombies" which has become a politically incorrect word. It takes about 40 minutes to develop the plot and character.The film has parallels to homophobia and various prejudices, after all who wants their sister to marry a zombie? There are anti-return groups and killings.The main problem is when the movie picks up it still moves slow. I kept waiting for something to catch and hold my interest. The ending was a yawn in spite of the attempt at being a dramatic twist. Not exactly a zombie film.Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity

Manuel Carballo's new zombie movie plenty of thrills , chills , gore and blood . This zombie thriller stars a good cast such as Kris Holden-Reid , Emily Hampshire , Claudia Bassols , Melina Matthews , Barry Flatman and Shawn Doyle . It is set in a post-zombie world , a place where a deadly zombie virus has infected mankind , but a single cure has been found . As a treatment called the "Return Protein" can stop the spread of the virus if injected quickly after infection, but cannot cure it . With injections every 36 hours, the "Returned" are able to live as though they were never bit, despite the virus still coursing through their veins . When it is discovered that the protein stock is running low , chaos hits the streets. Returned who run out of the protein turn to zombies and disasters , protesters turn to killers as they try to rid the streets of the returned, and right in the middle of it all are Alex and Kate . With daily injections, the "Returned" are able to live relatively normal lives, but with brutal attacks at the hands of Anti-Return groups and rumors that protein stock is running low, the world is again on the brink of chaos . In the midst of this turmoil are Alex (Kris Holden-Ried) and Kate (Emily Hampshire), a young , successful and enviable couple that are hiding a long held secret – Alex is Returned . As death and fear run rampant , Alex's secret becomes known and when the retroviral drug is running out , then chaos and destruction burst .This zombie thriller ¨The Returned¨ from Spanish genre hub Filmax and being professionally shot by director Manuel Carballo . The film utilizes the opening credits sequence to address the conventions of the genre , only to completely move away from them for the rest of the movie . A mostly unnecessary flashback sequence—that is never returned to again until it's required to do some third act heavy lifting—gives horror fans what they come to expect from anything zombie related : blood , guts , screaming , gore , guns , more blood and horror as the dead become fearsomely undead . The Returned takes this idea , blows it up a bit, and then does something fairly intriguing . It decides not to be a zombie terror movie at all , in fact it is more a thriller than a horror flick . The main premise results to be the following : the viral outbreak that led to a zombie apocalypse has come and gone , and society is attempting to move forward . A cure of sorts was discovered that brings the recently infected back to normal, but the injections are needed on a daily basis . Nice acting from Emily Hampshire as Kate a leading doctor in the field of zombie virus' and Kris Holden Reid as Alex , a musician with a dark secret, he is a Returned ; both of whom must fight for a chance to live before he becomes a zombie . Javier Salmones cinematography is excellent , creating a frightening and scary atmosphere , he's expert on sombre photography . Atmospheric musical score by Jonathan Goldsmith fitted perfectly to suspense , action and terror . This is a Canadian-Spanish co-production between Ramaco Media and Filmax or Fantastic Factory . Filmax is run by the Catalan producers Julio Fernandez along with his brother Carlos Fernández , being a successful company in charge of production horror/SF movies such as ¨The machinist¨, ¨Darkness¨ ,¨Stranded¨ , ¨Faust¨ and ¨The nameless¨, among others . The filmmaker Manuel Carballo is a fine Spanish director , he began as a camera assistant for Filmax/Julio Fernández in ¨Rottweiler¨, ¨Romasanta¨ , ¨Beyond Re-Animator¨ and ¨Dagon¨ . Manuel Carballo has directed a few films as ¨El Ultimo Justo¨ (2007) , ¨La Posesión De Emma Evans or Exorcismus¨ (2007) and TV Series as ¨Trece Miedos¨ . Furthermore , he directed Shorts : ¨Diminutos del Calvario¨ and ¨Seiken¨ .

After a zombie outbreak, the infected people survive due to a vaccine made of the the spinal fluid of dead zombies and they are called "Returned". Dr. Kate (Emily Hampshire) works in a hospital and is responsible for the wing of Returned". There is a rumor that the vaccine is running out and Kate secretly buys vaccines from Eve (Melina Matthews), who is the responsible for the storeroom. Kate's beloved husband, the musician Alex (Kris Holden-Ried), was infected and only Kate and Alex's brother Jacob (Shawn Doyle) and his wife Amber (Claudia Bassols) knows. When the vaccine runs out, the government brings the infected people to quarantine centers while research a synthetic vaccine. However, Alex and Kate flee to Jacob's house in the countryside expecting that Alex survives until the synthetic vaccine becomes reality. But when Alex's wallet is stolen, Kate's last hope is to get some vaccines from the director of the hospital where she works. Will she succeed?"The Returned" is among the best zombie movies with a dramatic and credible story and outstanding direction and performances. The behavior of the human beings feeling despair for the situation with beloved ones is impressive and realistic. The dark conclusion is predictable but also perfect. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Retornados" ("Returned")

I really forced myself to like this film because people generally rate science fiction or horror films pretty hardcore. So when I picked this movie, I decided to grade it with a grain of salt. The beginning plot actually makes for an interesting movie. There have been two zombie outbreaks before the start of the film that forced a vaccine to be developed in order to save those temporarily if they had been bitten but not completely turned.This at first made a good start to the film. However, the film made a very basic contrary argument in form of a rude fat slob who questioned about what difference this would make considering the fact that the vaccine only worked for 24 hours. The Zombie outbreaks were considered CATASTROPHIC, and yet essentially the main character ignores any sense to the realistic possibility of another outbreak by essentially making him look like some kind of jerk who wants to kill people. I mean... is it really terrible to think at a point where the world suffered two major zombie apocalypses, that the infected should be quarantined? I suppose its what makes the movie's conflict. However, there remains the total illogical stance about treating the infected like normal people. It seems a bit far-fetched considering she has a sexual relationship with someone who is infected. Here in lies the problem of the film. Again, the world has almost collapsed from to world wide zombie outbreaks and yet the social structure is still much intact, and as viewers we are suppose to assume that protecting those infected and not yet turned as a rational aspect. They fail to see the many issues with having unmonitored infected people walking around normally around society that play, eat, and have normal relationships with those that are none infected... If you don't see any danger in this... then you'll probably hate this review. The film even shows how close it was when one didn't take his dosage for whatever reason and infected 5 people before being brought down. In normal society there are so many circumstances in which the infection could spread without knowledge and a pandemic arising right when a normal person realizes in their bedroom that they have been infected. Yet there are virtually no one turning. I'm glad that the people of the world are very responsible in taking their daily dose and being careful at their interactions with others.... not. The main character has sex with someone who is infected... so... Another and more central problem is the people are actually not getting their daily dose because the vaccine has run out. In fact, the major characters in this film that need it, are only able to get it illegally. The rest of the people are ignored and I just don't see how this can be ignored by the viewer. This is a major plot hole! It doesn't work at all! Yet there are virtually no zombies in the film. The film shows one, that is assumed to have turned... and yet... the rest of the world it has not. The ending of the film is a complete bust. You'd have to see it with your own eyes, but its like a message where the main character should have trusted in humanity and the good will of what they are capable of doing. Because the world is saved out of thin air!!! I believe there are naive concepts in the film that are supposed to be seen as instead, compassionate and rational. Yet, the real trouble is hidden away completely in this film. I mean, society still looks the same. They are still worried about money, instead of the tools, food, shelter, water, protection, that I'm sure they used during both the outbreaks. I almost really want to give this a lower rating. However, I will give credit where credit was due. Good beginning, bad prosecution of the film and horrible ending. I guess, I really hope things turn up the way they do if they ever arise like the ending of this film.