Becoming The Muse

Revival TV Series Review

Revival is a supernatural horror television series based on the American comic book series of the same name published by Image Comics. The 10 episode series created by Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce premiered on the 12^th of June 2025.

In the quiet, semi-rural town of Wausau, Wisconsin, a bizarre phenomenon which becomes known as “Revival Day” brings the recently deceased back to life, triggering a cascade of emotional, socio-political, and supernatural consequences.

The Good

It’s a mystery box show that feels like a cross between From TV Series and The Leftovers and very much quite unlike The Walking Dead… Revival brings a bit of a twist to the Zombie genre in that the Revivers arent of the eat-your-brains variety but are pretty much as they were before, with all their memories intact, perfectly ordinary humans with some unexpected changes, its not everyday someone is buried and comes back…

The show nails its eerie and haunting vibe, building up an air of tension and mystery with each episode that ends on a cliff hanger moment, leaving you trying to puzzle out where the story is heading..

Melanie Scrofano shines as Dana Cypress, a police deputy, mother and sister balancing her character’s roles in a grounded, gritty, and emotionally resonant performance.

The immersive cinematography and its austere visuals captures the rustic isolation of a semi-rural town perched precariously on the edge…

Ultimately Revival is a thoughtful allegory on marginalised communities, identity, prejudice and consequences.

The Bad

While its going for a horror-noir aesthetic, the setting is giving made on a modest budget filter with B-Grade undertones and some of the CGI effects… not quite convincing.

The series feels like it hasn’t quite decided on its endgame and stringing things along, until it finds its feet which gives it a jarring tonal shifts and pacing as it jumps from a trippy action thriller to horror and from quirky humour to a dramedy with a hint of a summer romance..

And like most mystery box shows, getting answers simply means having more questions. Revival ends on such an unsatisfying conclusion that one would be forgiven for looking for the next episode after watching the season finale which hints at a second season.

The Ugly

It’s a horror show, so yes it has disturbing and graphic imagery but it is neither gratuitous and nor of the jump scare variety.

As a reflection of society, the show echoes the age old sentiment that the real monster arent the monsters but the regular people when fuelled by hatred, greed and fear of that which they do not understand…

Final Thoughts

Revival is a thought-provoking, genre-bending drama with a moody aesthetic that rewards those patients enough to allow the story to draw them in.

Fun Fact Show Runner Aaron B. Koontz is in no way related to author Dean Koontz despite similar surnames and a penchant for the horror genre.

Have you watched Revival is it something you would watch?