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Rated: 5.00/5 | Votes: 1 | Views: 161 |Submitted: 10/26/09

THE REVENANT Review

by Heather Wixson

Starring David Anders, Chris Wylde, Louise Griffiths, Jacy King
Directed by D. Kerry Prior

In THE REVENANT, we meet Bart (Anders), a soldier killed in Iraq whose friends and family gather to mourn the loss of him.  Those in mourning include Janet (Griffiths), Joey (Wylde), and Mathilda (King) who are in for a big surprise.  The night after he's laid to rest, Bart gets up out of his grave and seeks out his best friend Joey in the midst of his confusion.

Joey himself cannot believe that Bart has returned, only to figure out that Bart is a "revenant"- a sort of zombie/vampire that needs to drink blood to arrest the decomposition of his body. Every morning, Bart is left lifeless until dusk when he rises again.  Joey decides that this news isn't alarming (despite the fact that his best friend is one of the undead), and both Bart and Joey decide to take advantage of Bart's new undead state and act as vigilantes around the Los Angeles-area while satisfying Bart's need for blood.

However, things start to get tricky as Bart's need for blood spawns more revenants, including Joey, and the pair walk a fine line between right and wrong as more of Bart's victims start to re-animate.

Writer/director Prior, who has worked mostly behind the scenes before THE REVENANT, brings a good balance of humor and gore to his script.  What I really enjoyed about the film was that it wasn't really a retread of recent zombie comedy films but rather a different take on this horror subgenre.  Bart isn't necessarily just a zombie, he's not really a vampire- he's something a bit beyond which means there are dark implications for anyone in Bart's life.

Anders, who I enjoyed immensely on the TV show "Alias," was a perfect casting choice for Bart-- a character that is not only dealing with the idea that he died but also the conundrum that he's alive again and can't really die.  What should he do with that power? How can he justify drinking other people's blood to selfishly keeping his corpse from decomposing?  Anders' balance of humor and inner turmoil displays that the actor is finally ready to make the leap from the small screen to the big screen.

The true revelation of THE REVENANT is Wylde.  As a comedic actor only known for bit parts before or his talk show, he was an untested talent and a risk for Prior.  But Wylde proves in the film that he's ready to be more than the requisite "That Guy" of comedy.  He can handle material that's both dramatic and humorous and doesn't chew the scenery while doing either.

My only issue with THE REVENANT is that the movie runs about 20 minutes too long.  A few parts towards the end definitely could have been shortened and even a few of the initial Bart/Joey scenes when they were reunited could have used a trip to the editing suite.

Overall, I really enjoyed THE REVENANT's new take on the zombie subgenre, especially since it's getting rather close to being overplayed these days (much like vampires).  I am keeping my fingers crossed that THE REVENANT finds its way to theaters, because it definitely deserves a theatrical run, even if it just gets a limited release.

Rating: 3.5/5

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