In their newest purchase, Neon is reuniting with two familiar faces. Handling the Undead, directed by Thea Hvistendahl and starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie of “The Worst Person in the World” fame, has been acquired by the independent film distributor for release in North America and the United Kingdom. In addition to Bahars Pars, an Oscar contender, the picture also features Bjrn Sundquist (Witch Hunters) and Bente Brsum (Exit) (A Man Called Ove). John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of the novel and screenplay for the Neon-distributed Border, and Let the Right One In, which has been adapted into two films and will soon be a series on Showtime, is the inspiration for Handling the Undead.
The events in Handling the Undead occur on a single, extremely hot day in Oslo. Even as people seek refuge from the heat indoors, a strange electrical field begins to envelop the city, giving everyone a headache and wreaking havoc on the city’s electrical infrastructure. The dead come back to life among the commotion, forcing their grieving loved ones to confront the horror of their loved ones’ resurrected bodies. Lindqvist’s narrative is a more character-focused take on the zombie genre, uniting three families in a fight against loss and the things they can’t control. Reactions of the world to the return of their lost family members and the efforts of authorities to keep everything under control are depicted, rather than the dead being made blatantly menacing.
As part of the announcement that Neon had purchased the rights to adapt the film, a still from the film was released, showing a corpse lazily lounging on a couch. Hvistendahl, who is making her film debut with this project, co-wrote the screenplay with veteran screenwriter Lindqvist. Most of her earlier work has been in the domain of short films, however, she did direct the documentary The Monkey and the Mouth. Her previous short film, Virgins4Lyfe, was in competition for the Grand Jury Award at SXSW. Produced by Kristin Emblem and Guri Neby under their Einar Film label, with assistance from the Norwegian Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, Film I Väst, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, and the Oslo Film Fond.
After the critically acclaimed run of The Worst Person in the World, Neon is placing its faith in the talents of Reinsve, Lie, and the rest of the cast to bring in new customers and make the distributor a profit. The film and its two leads received several accolades, including two Oscar nominations, a British Academy Film Award nomination, and audience appreciation. Reinsve received the Best Actress award at Cannes for her performance, and she, Lie, and renowned director Joachim Trier all took home many prizes at Norway’s Amanda Awards.
Handling the Dead is presently under production.