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The Returned is a Canadian / Spanish post-zombie thriller film completed in July 2013. Produced by Ramaco Media (Canada) and Castelao Pictures (Spain) the film was directed by Manuel Carballo, written by Hatem Khraiche, stars Emily Hampshire, Kris Holden-Reid, Shawn Doyle and Claudia Bassols and produced by George Ayoub, Gary Howsam, Bill Marks and Julio Fernandez.

Plot

Neither zombies, nor humans... the returned...live amongst us. The Returned inhabits a world where humans live with a new threat, a deadly and highly contagious virus which transforms the infected into zombies. Two serious outbreaks in the past have seen many deaths and many people irreversibly infected by the zombie virus; the only way to contain the zombie epidemic is to eliminate or treat the infected if caught in time.

The synthetic vaccine that researchers have been working on remains elusive and thus far the closest treatment found is a natural vaccine, the "return" protein, produced from zombie blood which if injected within a few hours of infection can stop the spread of the virus but will not cure it. Only very few fortunate patients have been able to receive the return protein. The infected remain carriers but they are not zombies...

Aside from being subject to strict medical controls, those who have returned are able to live relatively normal lives. Returns must inject the return protein daily to prevent the zombie virus taking over. Any lapse of the daily injections would be irreversible and the zombification process would take hold with horrifying consequences.

Rumors of the return protein stock running low are plentiful and panic is starting. Public opinion on how to deal with the problem is divided, every day more and more people believe that the only way to control the situation is to isolate or even to eliminate the returned. Many returned choose to hide their identity from the government and vigilante groups.

From an ethical point of view, the controversy is inflammatory. If they are neither normal people nor zombies, what exactly are the returned!!!

Kate and Alex are an enviable couple, they are young, smart and very much in love. Kate is a doctor stationed in an urban hospital in the returned unit, helping those who have become infected with the rogue zombie virus. Kate’s dedication to her work is absolute but very few people know that it is also a personal matter, her own husband Alex is infected.

After various attacks at the hands of an anti-returned group and rumours that the vital “protein” stock, necessary for their survival, is running dangerously low, Kate fears for Alex’s safety. Suspicious of the government’s order that all those infected should report to a secure medical facility for their own safety, the couple decides to flee to the country taking with them all the doses of protein they can lay their hands on.

Kate has a contact inside the hospital and is certain she can get hold of more doses until the situation calms down; for now they are truly in a race against the clock. What if Alex runs out of doses? And what will happen if Alex, now a fugitive, is discovered by the military or a vigilante group?

Never did the couple imagine that the real threat is much closer than they thought...

Genre

This film is more a thriller than a zombie genre. It explorers the psyche of a world after several zombie outbreaks and the paranoia that people face when an impending outbreak is about to face them. The SARS outbreak is similar where SARS victims were isolated from family and friends into isolation wards not knowing what would happen to them. While the zombie themes in films usually deal with infected zombies or the avoidance of them, THE RETURNED is set in the real world.

Development & Production

The project was developed from an original treatment by Hatem Khraiche Ruiz-Zorrila with Filmax, who paired the director Manuel Carballo to collaborate on the script. Two years after the start of development the Canadian producers were approached by Filmax to coproduce the film with Canada. Casting was the first order of things and the three principals were all Canadian actors. Preproduction began in July 2012 with many trips to Sudbury to make certain the film's could be shot there, and with a good solid cast and crew the film shot during the months of September and October 2012. Shooting took place in Sudbury, Ontario and Toronto representing a non-descript varied and interesting modern city as well as rural areas which were an integral part of the story. The CN tower is seen in several shots, as well as the Inco superstacks of Sudbury. Post-production took place primarily in Barcelona, Spain with a dramatic view of the Sagrada Familia from the edit suite. Cast

Kris Holden-Ried as ALEX Alex is one of those thirty-something men who has animal attractiveness. He is bohemian, idealistic, creative, sensitive... and a musician. He is lucky enough to have found a partner who not only admires his talents, but also compliments him perfectly. The secret they share threatens to turn their life upside down.

Emily Hampshire as KATE Kate's professional record and work at the Alex Jordan Memorial Hospital’s Returned Unit has earned her an enviable reputation. She is lucky in her personal life too - she has good friends and is happily married to Alex, they are a perfect couple. From the outside it seems Kate has everything she could ask for, but Kate and Alex have a secret that casts a long shadow over their seemingly perfect life. Kate is convinced that together they can get through anything – it is what she needs to believe.

Shawn Doyle as JACOB Jacob is a serious and honourable person. He is Alex’s best friend, they have known each other for years and although they are very different, their friendship is unbreakable. Jacob and his wife Amber, are polar opposites, and that’s exactly why they complement each other so well. Jacob would do anything for Amber...even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Claudia Bassols is AMBER Amber is a young writer and a trophy wife to Jacob. It is not her writing talent that placed her at the top of bestseller lists, but rather her ambitions and an explosive nature. Being married to Jacob gives Amber a sense of balance. She and Shawn have a secret which will destroy the lives of their best friends.

Director

The Returned is Manuel Carballo’s third feature film. With an original screenplay by Hatem Khraiche Ruiz-Zorrilla (THE HIDDEN FACE), this terrifying and romantic thriller is Manuel Carballo’s most ambitious and complex project to date.

References

1. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

2. http://www.filmaxinternational.com/

3. www.screendaily.com/news/production/buyers-bite.../5046228.article

Request review at WP:AFC
The Returned is a Canadian / Spanish post-zombie thriller film completed in July 2013. Produced by Ramaco Media (Canada) and Castelao Pictures (Spain) the film was directed by Manuel Carballo, written by Hatem Khraiche, stars Emily Hampshire, Kris Holden-Reid, Shawn Doyle and Claudia Bassols and produced by George Ayoub, Gary Howsam, Bill Marks and Julio Fernandez.

Plot Neither zombies, nor humans... the returned...live amongst us. The Returned inhabits a world where humans live with a new threat, a deadly and highly contagious virus which transforms the infected into zombies. Two serious outbreaks in the past have seen many deaths and many people irreversibly infected by the zombie virus; the only way to contain the zombie epidemic is to eliminate or treat the infected if caught in time.

The synthetic vaccine that researchers have been working on remains elusive and thus far the closest treatment found is a natural vaccine, the "return" protein, produced from zombie blood which if injected within a few hours of infection can stop the spread of the virus but will not cure it. Only very few fortunate patients have been able to receive the return protein. The infected remain carriers but they are not zombies...

Aside from being subject to strict medical controls, those who have returned are able to live relatively normal lives. Returns must inject the return protein daily to prevent the zombie virus taking over. Any lapse of the daily injections would be irreversible and the zombification process would take hold with horrifying consequences.

Rumors of the return protein stock running low are plentiful and panic is starting. Public opinion on how to deal with the problem is divided, every day more and more people believe that the only way to control the situation is to isolate or even to eliminate the returned. Many returned choose to hide their identity from the government and vigilante groups.

From an ethical point of view, the controversy is inflammatory. If they are neither normal people nor zombies, what exactly are the returned!!!

Kate and Alex are an enviable couple, they are young, smart and very much in love. Kate is a doctor stationed in an urban hospital in the returned unit, helping those who have become infected with the rogue zombie virus. Kate’s dedication to her work is absolute but very few people know that it is also a personal matter, her own husband Alex is infected.

After various attacks at the hands of an anti-returned group and rumours that the vital “protein” stock, necessary for their survival, is running dangerously low, Kate fears for Alex’s safety. Suspicious of the government’s order that all those infected should report to a secure medical facility for their own safety, the couple decides to flee to the country taking with them all the doses of protein they can lay their hands on.

Kate has a contact inside the hospital and is certain she can get hold of more doses until the situation calms down; for now they are truly in a race against the clock. What if Alex runs out of doses? And what will happen if Alex, now a fugitive, is discovered by the military or a vigilante group?

Never did the couple imagine that the real threat is much closer than they thought...

Genre This film is more a thriller than a zombie genre. It explorers the psyche of a world after several zombie outbreaks and the paranoia that people face when an impending outbreak is about to face them. The SARS outbreak is similar where SARS victims were isolated from family and friends into isolation wards not knowing what would happen to them. While the zombie themes in films usually deal with infected zombies or the avoidance of them, THE RETURNED is set in the real world.

Development & Production The project was developed from an original treatment by Hatem Khraiche Ruiz-Zorrila with Filmax, who paired the director Manuel Carballo to collaborate on the script. Two years after the start of development the Canadian producers were approached by Filmax to coproduce the film with Canada. Casting was the first order of things and the three principals were all Canadian actors. Preproduction began in July 2012 with many trips to Sudbury to make certain the film's could be shot there, and with a good solid cast and crew the film shot during the months of September and October 2012. Shooting took place in Sudbury, Ontario and Toronto representing a non-descript varied and interesting modern city as well as rural areas which were an integral part of the story. The CN tower is seen in several shots, as well as the Inco superstacks of Sudbury. Post-production took place primarily in Barcelona, Spain with a dramatic view of the Sagrada Familia from the edit suite.

Cast Kris Holden-Ried as ALEX Alex is one of those thirty-something men who has animal attractiveness. He is bohemian, idealistic, creative, sensitive... and a musician. He is lucky enough to have found a partner who not only admires his talents, but also compliments him perfectly. The secret they share threatens to turn their life upside down.

Emily Hampshire as KATE Kate's professional record and work at the Alex Jordan Memorial Hospital’s Returned Unit has earned her an enviable reputation. She is lucky in her personal life too - she has good friends and is happily married to Alex, they are a perfect couple. From the outside it seems Kate has everything she could ask for, but Kate and Alex have a secret that casts a long shadow over their seemingly perfect life. Kate is convinced that together they can get through anything – it is what she needs to believe.

Shawn Doyle as JACOB Jacob is a serious and honourable person. He is Alex’s best friend, they have known each other for years and although they are very different, their friendship is unbreakable. Jacob and his wife Amber, are polar opposites, and that’s exactly why they complement each other so well. Jacob would do anything for Amber...even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Claudia Bassols is AMBER Amber is a young writer and a trophy wife to Jacob. It is not her writing talent that placed her at the top of bestseller lists, but rather her ambitions and an explosive nature. Being married to Jacob gives Amber a sense of balance. She and Shawn have a secret which will destroy the lives of their best friends.

Director The Returned is Manuel Carballo’s third feature film. With an original screenplay by Hatem Khraiche Ruiz-Zorrilla (THE HIDDEN FACE), this terrifying and romantic thriller is Manuel Carballo’s most ambitious and complex project to date.

References 1. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) 2. http://www.filmaxinternational.com/ 3. www.screendaily.com/news/production/buyers-bite.../5046228.article