Today brings us the first trailer for Thea Hvistendahl’s Handling the Undead, a freaky-looking new nightmare based on a novel by Let The Right One In scribe John Ajvide Lindqvist. From the looks of things, Hvistendahl’s debut feature will slap a fresh coat of paint on the increasingly played-out zombie genre.
Let’s take a look…
Yes, we’ve all seen the dead come back to life onscreen before, and yeah, we’ve certainly seen the “My spouse/child/orthodontist has come back to life and while that might present an immediate danger to me, I will attempt to normalize it” bit in other movies. But what’s here looks weighty, substantial, maybe a cut above the typical zombie joint. If John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel was the starting point (he also co-wrote the script), well, that certainly tracks!
Here’s an official plot synopsis:
“On a hot summer day in Oslo, the newly dead awaken. Three families faced with loss try to figure out what this resurrection means and if their loved ones really are back.”
We’re imagining it doesn’t mean anything great, but hey, these characters will have to figure that out for themselves. Speaking of characters, Handling the Undead‘s cast includes Renate Reinsve, Bjørn Sundquist, Bente Børsum, Anders Danielsen Lie, and Bahar Pars.
Hvistendahl’s Handling the Undead will premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. No word on when distributor Neon might have it in theaters beyond that, but you can rest assured we’ll be keeping our collective ear to the ground for further updates. Stay tuned for those, folks, and remember: sometimes dead is better.
