I’ve fallen under the spell of the Sundance Channel’s ‘The Returned’ (Fr. Les Revanants).

What started as a slow-paced introduction to a small city in the mountains of France dominated by a large dam on the outskirts of town that provides power to the city and appears to be hiding some secrets.

What separates The Returned from other thrillers like it is that it introduces us to the Living Dead in a way that is entirely new, these aren’t horrors that are out to sate their appetite for human flesh, instead, they are just like the rest of us. Perhaps a little more confused and alienated, but really just trying to find meaning.

Why am I here?

The Returned don’t seem to know any more than we do. They once lived in the city, they died and now – they’ve returned. In the first episode we are introduced to Camille, a girl who died when her bus swerved to miss a little boy and left the road to plunge off a precipice killing all aboard. Camille walks back into town remembering nothing of the accident and thinking that it just happened, when in fact she had been dead seven years.

Why Can’t I Leave?

I expected the rest of the bus’ occupants to make up the remainder of the returned, but I was mistaken. The rest come from a number of walks of life and they’ve died at various times. None seem connected at first, but some similarities do appear as the season progresses.

I’ve watched all but the finale, which I look forward to eagerly. Recently, the last several episodes have altered my expectations and given hints of a variety of influences. Apparently no one can leave, and a horde is amassing…