2009 (USA)
Contains
spoilers.
There are many myths
of animated corpses terrorising the living. Scandinavia has the Draugr, undead
liches guarding treasure and Western Europe, especially Medieval Britain has
tales of the Revenant; personal tales of loved ones rising from the grave to
spread disease and bring terror to the living. The traditional western zombie
originates from Haitian origins where they were often under the control of a
master and were portrayed as brainless automatons. Later Romero replaced the
puppet master with primal instincts and drives but the premise that the
personality and soul of the deceased was gone remained. Revenants are
different. They're still reanimated dead with some new quite nefarious desires
but they're still the person they used to be. They conscious, autonomous,
caring and have the same whims and desires as before; it's just they now
require a constant supply of fresh human blood to stop themselves decomposing.
The Revenant written
and directed by D. Kerry Prior takes the idea of these revenants for a quirky
spin. On patrol in Iraq, Second Lieutenant Bart Gregory (David Anders) is
killed after an ambush where he disobeys protocol and stops his truck believing
he's run over a child. Finding himself awake and very much alive in his coffin
he breaks out and turns to the only person he feels he can trust, his best
friend Joey Leubner (Chris Wylde). Coming to terms with his new un-life and not sure whether Bart is a zombie
or a vampire Joey concludes that he's actually a revenant.
After Bart and Joey
disturb an armed robbery of a local drug store killing the assailant, Bart
takes the opportunity to satiate his hunger for blood and the pair not only become over-night vigilante
heroes but they find moral justification for what they need to do and the pair
embark on a new life.
The Revenant is a
brooding dark comedy with plenty of gore but more importantly it's a buddy
film. Two quite different characters Joey and Bart trade humour, blows and
blood as they try to make sense and take control of their new found situation.
Soon in, Joey willingly joins his buddy as a revenant after a vigilante attack
goes wrong and this sees their attacks, reputation and their confidence
escalate. After Bart's ex-girlfriend, Janet (Louise Griffiths), discovers he is
still alive and what he is, from her friend Mathilda (Jacy King), she offers
her blood in return for being let back in to his life. Things go wrong and Bart
accidently kills her. The reality of the situation kicks in, Janet's head is
cut off before she becomes one of them, Bart and Joey fall out and things
rapidly decline to a bleak unforgiving ending for all involved.
Throughout The
Revenant there are constant reference to both zombies and vampires and it's
hard to pin down exactly what they are. Unlike zombies they aren't killed with
massive trauma to the brain. They can be killed if their head is cut off before
they reanimate but after their heads survive. They require a constant source of
fresh human blood for sustenance but can survive a stake to the heart and can
make their way in the day even if they prefer to sleep in the dark. Ever since
Matheson's I Am Legend there's always been a bit of ambiguity and in truth
revenants are really just another branch of the same dark story. They are what
they are and the film works in portraying these undead creatures in a
plausible way staying true to their unique origins. It's probably best not to
try and shoe horn this film into either category. It's both a zombie film a
vampire one and yet it's neither.
Whilst there are
many comedic moments the film doesn't go out of its way to be funny. Laughter
is born from the absurdity of many of the situation the friends find themselves
in and the constant banter between them. Prior paints a moody eerie atmosphere employing
a monochromatic filter, reminiscent of Sleepy Hollow to proceedings and this
subdues the film helping to make it a close and personal experience. The
special effects are subdued and realistic, and Prior maintains this stylised
look and feel through to the end which is remarkable given some of extremely
graphic and disturbing scenes later in the film.
The Revenant
gathered itself quite the cult following on release and picked up many awards
for its bleak and different spin across multiple genres. It certainly throws
something new into the mix and for the most part works. Andres and Wylde have
great onscreen chemistry and Prior captures all the facets of what makes a
great buddy relationship tick. The story is interesting and coherent though I
found the final subway scenes a little out of place and jarring when contrasted
with the personal feel of the rest of the film; but it's a small nitpick. A
great addition to any zombie/vampire/revenant collection, 7/10.
Steven@WTD.
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