Movie review: 'Dog Stars' validates fears of social collapse

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The Dog Stars, in theaters Friday, is a familiar but effective post-apocalyptic thriller. Both natural and human threats create excitement and danger.

In 2035, after a virus has wiped out much of mankind, Hig (Jacob Elordi) lives in Erie, Ind. with Bangley (Josh Brolin). Hig flies a Cessna over overgrown Denver and lands to gather supplies.

Bangley advises Hig against pursuing a radio signal from Grand Junction, Colo., but Hig wouldn't be much of a loner hero and there wouldn't be much of a movie if he didn't.

The setting explains a lot of history between 2026 and 2035. Hig explores overgrown cities and stadiums with dead Christmas trees still standing. He passes burn piles and leftover IVs that suggest how the crisis was handled.

Flashbacks show that Hig had a pregnant wife (Sai Bennett), whom he lost. A former mechanic, Hig also visits a nearby Mennonite community he helps with repairs, against which Bangley also advises.

Before Grand Junction, Hig is forced to land near the farm of Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (Guy Pearce). After repairing his plane, he has to clear enough brush to take off again, which takes several days.

Not only does this reflect the process required to navigate this world, but it gives Hig time to spend with new people. Cima seems welcoming of a new stranger while Pops is understandably apprehensive of an intruder, let alone a single young man his daughter's age.

Set in the Midwest, The Dog Stars distinguishes itself from the desert, the usual setting of a post-apocalyptic movie. Director Ridley Scott filmed in Italy, so those are the Dolomites, not the Rocky Mountains, but they're still lush and forested.

At least the Dolomites are still real mountains. A CGI buffalo stampede is not a very convincing visual effect.

The film, based on Peter Heller's book, does check in with Bangley periodically so the viewer gets to see how he's managing in Erie without Hig.

The groups of survivors Hig and Bangley face increase steadily throughout the movie. Hig encounters one in Denver, then a handful intrude upon his and Bangley's compound.

The groups soon become overwhelming to individuals, or even the trio of Hig, Cima and Pops, suggesting there are likely more violent survivors than peaceful ones. In one harrowing sequence, a mob hangs on Hig's plane trying to keep it from taking off.

The Dog Stars can be episodic as Hig encounters different groups, which is the nature of post-apocalyptic stories. The hero either travels to find out what's left or holes up and deals with strangers who come to them.

The survivor encampments only get creepier the closer Hig gets to Grand Junction. The film suggests multiple societies, from the primitive to those trying a bit too hard to recreate modern comfort in a crumbling world.

Dialogue between characters rarely digs below the surface. Bangley's isolationist views prove largely correct, while Hig and Cima discuss grief like they just found out when they read the script pages.

While not as relentless as the Mad Max saga nor as bleak as The Road or Children of Men, The Dog Stars earns its place in the post-apocalyptic genre. It offers a plausible scenario for the end of society and a compelling depiction of those left to navigate it.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.