Handling the Undead Reviews - Metacritic (original) (raw)
SummaryOn a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? A family is faced with the mother’s reawakening before they have even mourned her death after a car accident; an elderly woman gets the love of her life back the... Read More
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65% Positive
11 Reviews
35% Mixed
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
Jan 26, 2024
The devastatingly bleak story of Handling the Undead is a wrenching but beautiful exploration of grief and human connection in the face of something horrific.
May 29, 2024
There aren’t zombies rampaging through Norwegian director Thea Hvistendahl’s quiet film. Instead, the spare, slow-paced, thoughtful film is an affecting story about coping with grief.
32% Positive
6 Ratings
58% Mixed
11 Ratings
11% Negative
2 Ratings
Apr 26, 2025
This movie needs a new title. It really isn't a traditional zombie movie, so don't go into it expecting that. It's much more of a sad and disturbing drama. It starts very slowly, but things really start to pick up when the family members start to come back. Most powerfully, the mother-son interactions are haunting and disturbing. The tension builds as you constantly wonder what the undead are going to do next. It certainly won't be for everyone, but it was great for me.
Feb 26, 2026
Handling the Undead (2024) A Dramatic Zombie Movie (12,012 – 24 Oct 2025– by Claudio Carvalho) In Oslo, there is a blackout and a strange noise in the city. Out of the blue, the dead rise from their tombs. Mahler (Bjørn Sundquist) and his daughter Anna (Renate Reinsve) miss their grandson and son Elias (Dennis Østby Ruud). When Mahler grieves Elias on his grave, he overhears the boy knocking the casket, he digs and brings the boy home. The elder lesbian Tora (Bente Børsum) misses her old companion and mate Elisabet (Olga Damani), who recently died. Suddenly, Elisabet returns home. The comedian David (Anders Danielsen Lie) is presenting his show, when he receives a phone call informing that his wife Eva (Bahar Pars) died in a car accident. He heads to the hospital and when he sees Eva, she is alive. The doctors and nurses submit her to several examinations and David returns later with his children Flora (Inesa Dauksta) and Kian (Kian Hansen), who bring his rabbit to show his mother. All the three families discover that their beloved ones have returned as zombies. “Håndtering av udøde”, a.k.a. “Handling the Undead” (2024), is a dramatic zombie movie with a sad story of grieve and hope. Like many European movies, “Handling the Undead” is slow paced and the viewer “feels” the feelings of the lead characters. The stories are heartbreaking when people discover what their beloved ones have turned into zombies. However, this is not a conventional zombie movie: therefore, only recommended for very specific audiences. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): “Descanse em Paz” (“Rest In Peace”) My Blog: ****/
Feb 5, 2024
In making its characters physically confront their heartbreak, Handling the Undead becomes one of the saddest, most contemplative zombie movies ever made.
Feb 2, 2024
Handling the Under is not an effective horror movie, but its zombie-drama formula allows for a portrait of pain that settles in and stays like an infection.
Jan 30, 2024
It's a deliberately-paced drama with some decent performances and a gorgeously dark aesthetic, but lacks the time or effort to give these stories what they need.
Jan 29, 2024
Despite some devoted performances and interesting formal choices, its endgame is rather rote. That the film is quieter and more deliberate in getting there doesn’t make it any less cliche.
Jan 30, 2024
Unfortunately, the 99-minute run time on Norwegian zombie drama Handling the Undead feels infinitely longer, and lands more as a meditation on grief than an intriguing entry into zombie cinema.
Jul 3, 2024
I will never understand why I watch someone's teeth brushing at all. I can say many things, but as a wanna-be filmmaker, I don't want to be disrespectful, so I will **** and just say the movie is not my cup of tea.
Production Company:
- Anonymous Content Nordic
- Einar Film
- Film i Väst
- Filmiki Etairia
- Nordisk Film
- Oslo Filmfond
- Zentropa International Sweden
Release Date:May 31, 2024
Duration:1 h 37 m
Amanda Awards, Norway
• 4 Wins & 6 Nominations
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations