Handling the Undead isn’t your typical zombie movie, and that’s exactly how writer/director Thea Hvistendahl wanted it. Sure, the living dead walk the Earth, but the film isn’t about hordes of them attacking people and eating their brains. Instead, the story is a somber one, about the loved ones who must deal with the emotional impact of their return. If someone you loved and lost returned from the dead as a zombie, how would you treat them? As if they had never left? Or would you be able to let go, and recognize they are not the people you knew them to be?
These questions and many more linger over Hvistendahl’s Handling the Undead, a film she directed based on the book by Let The Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist. I had the pleasure of speaking with Hvistendahl about the film, her adaptation of the novel, and Lindqvist’s reaction to her minimalist take on the material. We also spoke about the choice in casting, specifically The Worst Person in the World actress Renate Reinsve and whether she was always in mind for the lead role.
Handling the Undead is in theaters now. Check out my interview with Hvistendal below.
