Eight-year old Jacob Langston (Landon Gimenez) wakes up in a Chinese field. With the help of immigration agent J. Martin (“Marty”) Bellamy (Omar Epps), he returns to his hometown of Arcadia, Missouri. Jacob’s parents, Henry (Kurtwood Smith) and Lucille (Frances Fisher) are understandably shocked given that he drowned back in 1982. While Henry and Lucille have aged, Jacob is still eight. Though, it’s soon clear that Jacob has changed in some ways.
It’s not long before more “returned” individuals begin to migrate to Arcadia, slowly at first but increasing steadily. Agent Bellamy works with Dr. Maggie Langston (Devin Kelley)—whose mother died trying to rescue Jacob—to try and find out why this is happening, but there are no satisfying answers. Maggie and her father, Sheriff Fred Langston (Matt Craven) are stunned to discover there may be a darker truth behind the long-accepted explanation for the drowning.
As more and more loved ones show up, there is happiness but also fear of the unknown. Some of the townspeople believe these people need to leave, while others will do anything to protect them. This divide leads to a stunning finale that will leave you asking yourself, what would you do if a loved one suddenly came back?
Resurrection wisely focuses on the characters and their emotional reactions, keeping the supernatural elements of the story rather subtle. Landon Gimenez does a great job, regularly hinting that Jacob knows more about what’s going on than he willing to talk about it. Matt Craven delivers perhaps the most complex performance as the sheriff. Not a bad guy, he constantly making the switch from suspicious to paranoid. It’s understandable; Jacob is his nephew, and he’s turned up again, but why? On top of that, his wife died trying to rescue the boy. Determined to figure out if these “new” versions are, in fact, truly who they claim to be (and not some sort of “Body Snatchers” scenario) Agent Bellamy and Dr. Langston make an intriguing pair.
The first season of Resurrection is just eight episodes and it leaves you wanting more. Since the series has been renewed for a second season, it will be interesting to see where the writers take the show. There are all kinds of fascinating possibilities!
It’s not the HD transfers seen on TV, but these anamorphic widescreen transfers look great. The muted palette is strong and the image is clean. It’s pretty much all you can ask of a DVD transfer.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track does a nice job of reproducing the way the show sounds when it airs, with the dialogue sounding clear from the fronts, while the surround speakers have plenty of action, with sound effects and music filling the sides and rear.
French, Spanish, and English subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Deleted Scenes (6:37) Three in total, included with the indicated episode. A play-all feature is available.
- Bloopers (2:33) Nothing particularly funny, and very typical.
- On Location in Georgia (3:14) The cast and crew discusses filming in Georgia, and having it stand in for Missouri.
- Resurrection: Building a Mystery (3:02) The cast discusses their relationship, and thoughts on the afterlife.
