OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

As both a fan of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s horror novels and the film adaptation of his incredible Let the Right One In, I was excited to watch Handling the Undead. However, there are few similarities.

Both are international films with English subtitles, filmed and directed with great care and attention to detail. Both films offer a unique take on familiar monsters: one with vampires and the other with zombies. That’s where the commonalities end, however.

Handling the Undead is not a horror film in the sense of jump scares or gore. This is a slow, beautifully shot art film that focuses more on the internal horrors of grief and carrying on with normal, everyday life in the face of enormous loss. 

The cinematography is beautiful, yet so subdued and colorless that it almost comes across as a black and white film. There are occasional faint hues that make themselves known, as in the green stuffed frog toy in a little boy’s silent and still bedroom. 

The soundtrack of beautifully sad music - mostly classical, but also the heart-rending French song “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (literally “Don’t leave me”) sets a somber and heartbroken tone that continues throughout Handling the Undead. The overall mood of the film is achingly sad and desolate, with imagery and music punctuated by moments of stillness that verge on creepy and set a tone of unease and discomfort. 

The story progresses ever so slowly and may bore some viewers, especially those who came in hoping for action or horror. But for those who stick with it, director Thea Hvistendahl rewards the viewer with both beautiful moments and some devastatingly creepy horror elements as the film builds to its slow, unrelenting and methodical climax. 

At its dark, barely-beating heart, Handling the Undead is a story about grief and a cautionary tale about not holding on too tight to loved ones we have lost. Although the film provides few answers to the questions it raises, one crystal clear answer is to let our dearly departed go and try to move on with what’s left of our own lives.