“Revival” by identify, revival by nature. Syfy’s newest unique harks again to the mid-2010s when a glut of dramas offered zombies not as rabid, Romero-esque monsters hellbent on devouring flesh, however solely civilized, regular-looking people able to reentering society. Effectively, at first anyway.
Australia’s “Glitch” plucked seven people out of the grave, the American “Resurrection” and France’s “Les Revenants” (and pointless English-language remake “The Returned”) resuscitated complete small-town cemeteries, whereas the UK’s “Within the Flesh” explored the aftermath of a zombie rebellion through which the “surviving” undead might be scientifically restored to their regular state.
In fact, based mostly on the acclaimed same-named comedian guide collection launched by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton in 2012, “Revival” basically predates this mini-phenomenon. And as you’d anticipate from its house community, its tone is grimier, gorier, and, at occasions, unashamedly goofier.
Created by low-budget horror favorites Aaron B. Koontz (“Scare Bundle”) and Luke Boyce (“Revealer”), the eight-part collection wastes little time bringing the useless again to life. Inside 5 minutes, an on-fire cadaver has sprung out of an incinerator, a mortuary’s newly deceased have awoken from their physique baggage, and a complete host of long-gone souls who fortunately opted for burial fairly than cremation have risen past their tombstones.
This supernatural prevalence is later coined “Revival Day,” a phenomena the place everybody who not too long ago died throughout the rural Wisconsin city of Wausau will get an unexplained reprieve. Not solely do they keep their prior characters, recollections, and appearances (together with any scars or blemishes brought on by their deaths), they arrive geared up with a self-healing physique tissue which virtually makes them immortal.
Skipping ahead 35 days, when the city remains to be below quarantine however now not restricted by lockdowns, “Revival” introduces main girl Dana Cypress (Melanie Scrofano), a worn-down single mom detective simply two weeks away from leaving for pastures new along with her younger son. As is custom for any display cop about to give up their badge, nonetheless, she’s about to (actually) stare loss of life within the face.
Certainly, whereas the resurrected initially seem placid, the invention of a fatally mauled horse suggests their presence could also be extra malevolent. And following a violent barn home showdown through which a diminutive, but utterly feral, octogenarian visibly grows new fangs, such suspicions are confirmed.
Alongside impossibly sturdy grannies, Dana should additionally deal with a harmful prisoner now having fun with some posthumous freedom and a gun-toting drug dynasty with one almighty grudge. In the meantime, pressures from her sheriff father Wayne (David James Elliott), a will they/received’t they with new arrival scientist Andy (Ibrahim Ramin), and a combative relationship along with her brittle-boned recovering junkie sister guarantee her private life is as messy as her skilled.
Having beforehand battled extra conventional zombies because the lead in “Wynonna Earp,” Scrofano was at all times going to make for a convincing heroine. Certainly, whether or not tackling crazed convicts within the useless of the night time or attempting to maintain troubled sibling Em (Romy Weltman) on the straight and slim, Dana stays the glue that holds the apocalyptic drama collectively.
It’s the opposite members of her dysfunctional clan, nonetheless, who’re given extra to chew on. Her cantankerous dad undoubtedly will get the very best zingers. “We lower off her head, baked her to a crisp, and she or he’s nonetheless kicking, does that sound like an individual to you,” he barks throughout a tense operational assembly concerning the undead’s human rights. His advocacy for segregation over integration and normal skepticism of science additionally suggests a spot within the Trump administration awaits.
In the meantime, Em is on the coronary heart of a way more grounded thriller which forces the present to veer from fantastical horror to gritty crime noir. It definitely pulls each off way more successfully than her star-crossed romance with Rhodey (Kaleb Horn), a revived rock singer who capitalizes on his unlucky demise to provide Alice Cooper’s stage antics a run for his or her cash. “The irony for me is that I needed to die to really feel alive,” is only one of a number of groanworthy strains which threatens to show “Revival” right into a navel-gazing sub-“Twilight” mopefest.
Fortunately, the present largely acknowledges the broader image is infinitely extra attention-grabbing, exploring themes — albeit on a floor degree — of political unrest, grief, and, most notably, the ability and hypocrisies of religion. In a single heartbreaking scene, a returned younger lady is brutally dismissed by her religious Christian dad and mom as an unwelcome deviation from God’s plan (“She got here again fallacious”). Then there’s Steven Ogg’s Blaine, an evangelical pastor’s son who gleefully exploits the scenario for his personal nefarious cultish positive aspects. Though comparatively quiet within the 4 episodes accessible for overview, his malignant affect will certainly additional pervade.
Splatter followers is perhaps barely dissatisfied that there’s way more discuss than motion which, as you’d anticipate from a Syfy unique, is of a budget CGI selection. Nonetheless, there are at the very least a couple of memorable set-pieces, most notably a funeral interrupted by the deceased’s rejuvenated, murderous mother who subsequently climbs into the coffin for one flamable household reunion.
Time will inform whether or not “Revival” can proceed to maintain balancing its many plates. Syfy’s tendency to prematurely cull its personal suggests it at the very least received’t undergo the identical gradual loss of life as its supply materials (whose readership had fallen 78 p.c from its first challenge to its 2017 final). However for now, its quirky spin on the strolling useless exhibits encouraging important indicators.
“Revival” premieres Thursday, June 12 on Syfy, with new episodes airing weekly.