With BBC 4 having a stranglehold on Nordic Noir, Channel Four have decided to enter the European drama fray by giving us Gallic Ghosts in the shape of French supernatural thriller The Returned. And a welcome subtitled addition to the fad it is too.
The basic premise is that the dead are returning to a secluded town, but this is not zombies reeking havoc and eating entrails, but normal people, unaware they have died resuming their normal lives as if nothing has happened. A situation which, quite naturally, traumatizes the town no end. But The Returned is subtly eerie and spooky, with neat twists and turns, there is none of the sledgehammer shenanigans that made the last season of American Horror Story so dull and unwatchable. There is genuine fear by just a knock on the door and the turning of a handle. The pace is slow and you just know the tension will build week by week. There are also other things going on, as if the dead coming back isn't enough. A pinned butterfly bursts out of its cabinet and water levels in the local reservoir have dropped, plus there is a very unnerving kid wandering around.
All good signs for the coming episodes, that's if The Returned doesn't get all Lost on us. Let's not forget Lost had a good, intriguing opening episode before the show became a byword for utter tosh. But, fingers crossed, The Returned certainly looks like it could be a winner. Someone at BBC4 definitely missed a trick.
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