For the longest time, we’ve gotten used to zombies being considered one of two sorts: The shambolic, brain-hungry walkers of “Evening of the Dwelling Useless” or the lightning-fast runners of “28 Days Later.” However Syfy’s new sequence “Revival,” primarily based on the comedian ebook of the similar identify, hearkens again to a different temporary flirtation we had in the 2010s with a unique form of undead: Those that simply come again, reminiscences and our bodies (largely) intact. “Les Revenants,” “The Returned,” “Torchwood: Miracle Day” and even “iZombie” all function individuals or communities coping with the sudden reappearance of the lifeless, and the way that shakes up interpersonal dynamics and reorders complete civilizations.

“Revival”‘s ambitions are a bit extra modest, though its small-town auspices enable it room to play like a suitably macabre riff on “Fargo.” Like the comedian on which it’s primarily based, “Revival” begins in the small city of Wausau, Wisconsin, the place the just lately deceased out of the blue sprout again up out of their graves (a few of them nude—I assume that is the place Corncob TV will need to have shot “Coffin Flop”) like nothing occurred. After a grotesque intro that includes screaming males climbing out of incinerators, “Revival” cuts to 35 days later, the place Wausau is lastly lifting its lockdown (although the city remains to be quarantined) and permitting the “revivers” to slowly reenter society. Belief remains to be low, and questions stay as to why these persons are out of the blue alive once more, and what could be carried out with them.

At the heart of all that is police officer Dana Cypress (Melanie Scrofano, who proved she will be able to capably lead a Syfy present like this in “Wynonna Earp”), who’s one foot out of this one-horse city (and away from her police chief father, Wayne, performed by David James Elliott) to begin a brand new life together with her younger son, when a sequence of mysterious mutilations put her again on the case. Not solely that, she should contend together with her little sister Em (Romy Weltman), a highschool pupil coping with drug habit and no small variety of Revival Day secrets and techniques. Along with a newly-arrived CDC scientist (Andy McQueen) with whom she has a will-they-won’t-they friction, Dana carries the weight of a whole city out of the blue pressured to reckon with the supernatural and the divine, in methods none of them are ready for.

Creators Aaron B. Koontz (“Scare Bundle”) and Luke Boyce (“Revealer”) take a slow-burn method to all of this, taking their time over the six episodes supplied to critics to flesh out (sorry) the residents of Wausau and the methods wherein Revival Day impacts all of them. “Revivers” are handled as second-class residents, topic to suspicion and discrimination, if not outright violence. (That their wounds heal to efficient invulnerability is used to grotesque impact, whether or not it’s grieving grandmas who climb into their son’s coffins or punk-rock musicians who slice themselves open on stage for sheer stagecraft.)

However the city’s issues begin to develop extra religious, as a sleazy preacher’s son and AM radio jockey (Canadian horror professional Steven Ogg) begins to construct a coalition of apocalyptic-minded townspeople decided to do one thing about the “demons” residing amongst them. In the center of all of it is Em, who has her personal noir-esque thriller to piece collectively about the place she was the evening of Revival Day.

The present appears flashy sufficient on a cable price range, albeit suffering from the dimly-lit muck most streaming exhibits should endure. (The lens flares are a welcome try to boost the present’s visible look, however in any other case the present feels washed out in a means that obscures reasonably than imposes temper.) It’s actually the forged that helps elevate “Revival,” significantly Scrofano, who carries the complete piece on her resolute shoulders.

The spookiest factor about “Revival,” actually, is the ease with which the residents of Wausau settle right into a form of normalcy regardless of the outrageousness of their scenario. There’s an uncanniness to the premise that evokes “The Leftovers” and “Twin Peaks,” tales of on a regular basis individuals staring glassy-eyed in the face of the inconceivable. No dying means no penalties, however it additionally means no escape from the stuff you’ve carried out; one hopes that the present’s remaining episodes will proceed to construct on the strong basis the first stretch serves up. And, in fact, let’s hope the present (not like its supply materials, which lasted a mere 47 points) doesn’t get smothered in its personal crib.

Six episodes screened for overview. Premieres June twelfth and airs Thursdays on Syfy.