‘The Returned’
A
“The Returned,” which premiered on A&E Tuesday night, creates a new sort of supernatural setting in a small, sleepy town, in a ?quiet way.
The show begins by immediately introducing us to Camille, a teenage girl who wakes up in a mountain range and begins to ?walk home.
Meanwhile, at a city council meeting in what appears to be a Mayberry-like town, the group discusses making a monument to commemorate the students pronounced dead in a bus accident.
Re-enter Camille, who finally made it home. Her mother discovers her rummaging through her refrigerator and is shocked and thrown into disarray.
Can you guess why?
Camille died in the school bus accident.
I immediately felt I was watching an old episode of “The Twilight Zone.” The difference is that “The Returned” is a serial series, telling the same story, week by week, rather a new story each episode. I’m intrigued and quite possibly in love.
In “The Returned,” less is so much more.
There is no loud background music, but rather a low, haunting soundtrack that adds a special element of suspense. The dialogue is scant and soft. It forces you to rely on observation, rather than simply spelling it all out in the script. Combined, these two qualities seem to be the formula for a riveting production.
In a society where we want most of our entertainment delivered quickly and effortlessly, it was refreshing to watch a show that required so much energy on the part of the viewer. “The Returned” turns the viewer into an active participant who must watch carefully, build suspicions and make his or her own conclusions.
As more of the dead students return, they speak less and less, if at all. They have a wicked, chilling presence that commands attention and gives them surprising depth for a pilot episode.
Pilot episodes often make the mistake of trying to pack in too much information or too much character development in one sitting. “The Returned” has created an investment, one that is sure to see a return.
I do not know if I should be scared, confused, captivated or shocked by “The Returned,” but I do know one thing: I want more.
