Les Revenants: Considering Genre - Cover Lesson

 

Les Revenants is extremely unconventional in terms of generic conventions 

Les revenants has an unconventional, confusing and mysterious storyline

Les Revenants displays a range of generic conventions from different genres such as:

• Horror (Subgenres: psychological horror, zombie, supernatural horror, folk horror)

Examples of how the horror genre is conventionally displayed in Les Revenants:

-The show is a psychological horror: themes of madness and confusion are encoded through the use of long takes, and through the isolated and nightmarish setting.

- The character Camille arises back from the dead in the form of a zombie, after many years of being dead (Zombies are typically seen within the horror genre) along side with the young boy who was tragically hit by the bus in the accident. Both make audiences feel creepiness and fear, typical feelings after viewing a horror.

- The creepy soundtrack that is frequently played, is fitting alongside with what is typically featured in a horror film/show

-Show panning shots of characters along side creepy music 

- Frequent long shots of darkness (characters walking in darkness) , lowkey lighting which is typical with what is expected in the horror genre.

Examples of how the horror genre is unconventionally displayed in Les Revenants:

- The zombies in Les Revenants are not how we would expect them to look. In horror films they are presented as being horrifying, scary, repulsive, deadly and disturbing and cannot function as humans. Instead in the show this is not the case at all. The zombies come in the form as normal humans, making it very hard to establish the difference between the two, they are able to function as normal humans and are not dangerous and scary at all. This is very unconventional with what zombies are typically displayed as in general horror films, which may be seen as confusing for the audience.

 

• Drama (Subgenres: thriller, psychological thriller, soap opera, romantic tragedy, paranormal romance)

Examples with how the drama genre is conventionally displayed in Les Revenants:

- The use of over the top performances, particularly in the scene when Lena is reunited with Camille emphasise the intense psychological trauma experienced by the main characters. This is further anchored through the close up shot Lena's face as she cries, leaving the audience with the ability see her expressions close up, further exaggerating them. As their parents rush towards the room, this enforces the fact that this is an extremely dramatic moment to the audience, making them feel confused and disturbed as they watch the two parents comfort the crying girls, as at this point they are unaware what is going on. 

- Dramatized scenes of crying and anger - Scene where the character is shouting and screaming 'Leave me alone!' whilst a man is banging at her door typically scene in drama shows

- Family drama is seen in the show