NEON released the official trailer and poster for Handling the Undead. Heralded as a unique zombie film, the trailer lives up to that claim. There’s less focus on horror and more on people reconnecting with loved ones who passed away.
Directed by Thea Hvistendahl (Children of Satan, Virgins4lyfe) and written by Hvistendahl and John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let The Right One In, Border) and based upon Lindqvist’s book, the movie takes place in Oslo, Norway. Handling the Undead stars Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World, Another End) and Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World, Personal Shopper).
As the dead rise, three families’ lives upend as their deceased loved ones return. So, the families try to figure out if they are who they are and what they want. One returnee is a child. As for another family, they deal with the return of their mother. She just passed away in a car accident before they even had a moment to mourn her death. The third in Handling the Undead is an older woman who gets her love back the same day she buried her.
The trailer for Handling the Undead is haunting and emotionally driven. Still, there are horror elements briefly displayed, as one zombie clutches an animal in a death grip. While one can only guess the film’s trajectory, it brings to mind the scene from 1978’s Dawn of the Dead as some in that zombie world sought to shield their zombie kin from the police. Plus, there’s a Pet Semetary feel, with a mother clutching her zombie child in the trailer and the official poster.
What do you think of the trailer?
Handling the Undead releases in theaters on May 31st.
