Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #173. Thea Hvistendahl’s Handling the Undead

Handling the Undead (Håndtering av udøde)

A directorial debut that reunites thesps Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie for a third occasion, Norwegian helmer Thea Hvistendahl got a major boost from the Neon folks swooping in and grabbing the title back in September. Described as a character-driven horror/drama dealing with fundamental emotions around grief and mortality. The cast also includes Bjørn Sundquist and Bente Børsum. Einar Film’s Kristin Emblem and Guri Neby are producing.

Gist: On an abnormally hot summer day in Oslo, a strange electric field surrounds the city as a collective migraine spreads across town. TVs, lightbulbs, and electronics go haywire, the chaos reaching a debilitating crescendo when suddenly, it’s over. The battle of accepting what we can’t control which weaves together three families through their loss.

Release Date/Prediction: We could see this land in the Critics’ Week in Cannes.