David Farnor | On 16, Mar 2015

How do you remake a TV show that’s special precisely because it’s so unique? The Returned, A&E’s version of the 2013 show Les Revenants, attempts to do just that.

The premise of the series is wonderfully eerie: a bunch of deceased people return to their hometown, not as zombies, just… undead. They blink, they eat, but never sleep. The original succeeded partly thanks to the variety of people coming back from the grave, each greeted differently by their loved ones.

That gut-wrenching emotion, combined with the enigma at the heart of the unsettling situation, appears to be carried over by Lost’s Carlton Cuse, who is no stranger to strange mysteries. The characters and situations are largely the same: there’s Camille, who finds her family bewildered by her arrival four years after a school bus crash; there’s Simon (Mat Vairo), whose departure left his fiance, Rowan (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), at the altar; and there’s Viktor, a freaky young boy who hangs around a well-meaning doctor, saying nothing and being freaky.

The structure of the show follows the original too. Episode 1 focuses on India Ennenga’s schoolgirl, who seems to have no awareness of her demise, wanting to slot back into her old teenage life immediately – much to the confusion of her accepting parents, and the annoyance and fear of her twin sister (Sophie Lowe), now four years older despite Camille not ageing at all.

The bus crash itself makes for an unnerving opening sequence, while Ennenga’s performance is impressively naive, failing to understand why she must be kept secret from the world. The atmosphere, though, fails to build from there, particularly when compared to the ominous original.

Things fare better in Episode 2, as the American adaptation spends more time with Simon’s past. Scenes in a bar where his band are performing – and crucial photos are taken – are present and correct, but the majority of the screen is given to Rowan. Mary Elizabeth Winstead brings real power to her moments in the church, both discovering her fiance’s death and (in the present day) planning a marriage to her new fella. The murder of one character in an alleyway at night ties Simon and Rowan to the owner of that bar – not to mention a possible serial killer from the past who could be at it again.

It’s a promising tapestry of threads, each coloured with intrigue, but the programme weaves them together with a disappointingly heavy hand.

“Just because we couldn’t prove it [seven years ago], doesn’t mean it wasn’t you,” the police tell their suspect mid-interrogation, shoe-horning in exposition wherever possible to hint at all the dramatic back-stories.

That unsubtle approach extends to the soundtrack, which signposts its characters – The heartthrob! The scary one! – as clearly as possible. That was the other key part of the French series’ success: its use of music. Provided by the band Mogwai, Les Revenants maintained an oppressive, curious air throughout, switching smoothly from scary to sexy to serious with a resonating note of dread. Here, things feel more spelled out, while the dialogue seems clunkier said aloud rather than read from subtitles.

It’s hard not to compare the two, especially given how similar they are. While some remakes work, though, opening up a work to new audiences, this – perhaps inevitably – comes across as bland next to its source. The fact that both are on Netflix UK only makes the comparison harder to resist. The French Returned was uniquely stylish, uniting its striking cinematography and atmospheric music with a spectacular ensemble and array of stories. The US Returned, on the other hand, has an impressive array of landscape shots (Camille’s house is particularly jaw-dropping), but seems to be lacking style and substance.

It does boast a strong cast, though. If Mary Elizabeth Winstead is given more of a leading role, this new interpretation could turn out to be a more interesting affair. Cuse told the press earlier this year that they have plans to make the premise their own: “While we start in a similar place, the show is fairly distinctively different by the end of its first season. … This show going forward will be wholly original. There won’t be any road map beyond this season.”

For now, though, the thought of returning to The Returned week after week unfortunately leaves you feeling dead cold.

The Returned is available to watch online on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

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