Dystopia continues to be the bread and butter of the Trump Era. For obvious reason. I wish I had the patience and the time to test my thesis; I truly believe that since Trump first became President in 2017, there has been a dramatic increase in both the dystopia and horror film genres.
There’s gotta be a way to test this thesis, right?
Well … whether my thesis holds or not, today we have yet another example from the dystopia pile. (And, quite frankly, all dystopia is horror if you really think about it; nobody ever makes a movie about how cool the future is and leaves it at that, do they?) The Dog Stars follows life after pandemic, where the population of the Earth has been reduced 99.99% and now consists entirely of survivalists and assholes. And, you know what? That Venn diagram has plenty of intersection.
Hig (a really terrible name, even for the apocalypse) is a pilot and a scavenger. Living in the two-man settlement of Erie, Colorado, Hig often flies to the desiccated remains of what Denver once was to collect food, gas, and hospital supplies. His backstory is tragic, but -let’s face it- it’s the apocalypse; there are no fun backstories. I don’t even know what that would look like. Hig is obsessed with a radio signal he keeps getting from Grand Junction, but his survivalist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin) warns against. Besides, these roaming bands of mosh pit extras won’t kill themselves, now, will they?
I never get why there is such demand for supplies in the dystopian world – most of the population is gone; there should be plenty of food left for whomever survived, and if there isn’t, well, that’s gonna take care of itself sooner than later, no? I also never get how 90% of the remaining population is male. Women outlive men, people. Check any data source you care to. Why would one think that would be any different after major shit went down, huh?
I guess I will just have to accept the standard Mad Max tropes will exist whether
the population is in a desert or in the mountains.
Hig (Jacob Elordi) seems like a nice guy, but his sorta lonely life is clearly wasted on his pal and his dog; he wants a new connection. Look, Frankenstein; be careful what you ask for. Dystopia ain’t a “friend” genre, even if you find Margaret Qualley or Guy Pearce. [I had to do a double take before I realized Pearce was playing an old coot. Is this what Oscar gets ya? I guess so.]
The Dog Stars plays a lot like I Am Legend. The film finds similar loneliness, wistfulness, and danger as in the urban horror world of Will Smith. Unfortunately, it kinda devolves from there into The Postman, the rural horror world of Kevin Costner. I cared enough about Hig -despite his stupid name- to want to know how this story evolved, but I don’t think The Dog Stars had anything magical to say about dystopia or loneliness or the pandemic we just went through. It was, however, mildly better than any of the last four films Ridley Scott made: Gladiator II, Napoleon, House of Gucci, and The Last Duel. But then, I didn’t like any of those.
There once was a survivor named Hig
Who had his own post-apocalypse gig
But the dude wanted more
A return, to be sure
And this is what you get for thinking big
Rated R, 118 Minutes
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Mark L. Smith, Peter Heller
Genre: Our screwed future
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Survivalists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Zombies
