NEON is set to release horror drama Handling the Undead, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In), later this month. A brand new trailer unveiled this morning introduces a haunting examination of grief when the dead mysteriously resurrect.

Handling the Undead releases exclusively at the IFC Center in New York City on May 31 before expanding in select cities on June 7, 2024.

In the film, “On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? A family is faced with the mother’s reawakening before they have even mourned her death after a car accident; an elderly woman gets the love of her life back the same day she has buried her; a grandfather rescues his grandchild from the gravesite in a desperate attempt to get his daughter out of her depression. Handling the Undead is a drama with elements of horror about three families, a story about grief and loss, but also about hope and understanding of what we can’t comprehend or control.”

Thea Hvistendahl (Adjø Montebello) directed the film, with script by John Ajvide Lindqvist in collaboration with Thea Hvistendahl.

Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Bjørn Sundquis, Bente Børsum, Bahar Pars, and Inesa Dauksta star.

Trace Thurman wrote in his review out of Sundance, “With Handling the Undead, Hvistendahl establishes herself as a filmmaker with a keen interest in the human condition and a remarkable visual eye. With a surprisingly minimal amount of dialogue and a handful of emotionally charged performances, the film feels especially unique in its execution, Big questions are asked and few answers are given, but such is life (and death).”

Watch the trailer below to get a feel for the emotionally charged portrait of grief, along with a few tense zombie moments.