Summary
When it comes to epic zombie shows,The Walking Deadtops the list of many fans' best post-apocalyptic TV series', but it’s far from being the only one to sethorrorlovers' hearts racing, as a fairly unknown French show calledLes Revenants(The Returned)has better Rotten Tomatoes ratings than the popular AMC series, and it’s a favorite of Stephen King.
As fans know, King loves to give mini-reviews of the movies and shows he watches on social media. While many might have thought that since he created so many iconic horror stories, he mightn’t be so easily scared but according to “The Master of Horror” himself, that couldn’t be further from the truth, asThe Changeling, a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by Peter Medak,scared the daylights out of him due to its terrifying atmosphere. Previously,Stephen King said that his number one scariest filmas an adult was watching George A. Romero’s low-budget creation,Night of the Living Dead,while also mentioning that when he was 16 years old, Robert Wise’s 1963 movieThe Hauntingwas the scariest film at the time. For those who love their zombie watching sessions with a touch of supernatural spookiness, and are missingThe Walking Dead’s focus on human survival, King’s recommendation for your next watch could bea great weekend or after-work binge.
Stephen King Loved The Returned’s Supernatural Zombie Atmosphere
Even thoughzombie TV showsand movies have been around for many years, likeNight of the Living Dead,Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead,andiZombietapping into viewers' fear factor of the world they live in, some inevitably slip through the net. However, thanks to Stephen King’s usually stellar recommendations, a lesser-known French series,which he called “scary and sexy” on Twitter, has had the spotlight placed on it recently.Les Revenants(The Returned),a French supernatural drama television series created by Fabrice Gobert, was released in 2012 and is based on the 2004 French filmThey Came Back.The show’s first season was a hit among viewers and even won an International Emmy for Best Drama Series. Not only that, butLes Revenantshas a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoescompared toThe Walking Dead’s 79% Tomatometer.
“Watching THE RETURNED. Scary and sexy. Fun to see a foreign TV show that hasn’t been Americanized. That kid Victor’s giving me nightmares.”
Les Revenantsfollows the story of people who died in disturbing circumstances, who then reappear in a French village alive and well again. In a bid to get on with their lives again, strange supernatural occurrences begin to happen, which include power outages and the water level subsiding at a reservoir to reveal dead animals and a church. In 2015, an adaptation of the French series was released on A&E calledThe Returned. However, unlike the original show, the U.S. version faced a multitude of challenges in capturing the same level of viewer engagement and acclaim, which saw the series get canceled after only one season.
For zombie fans who would like to check outLes Revenants, it is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime Video or Netflix.
