Peter Heller’s 2012 book The Dog Stars may read like a work of science fiction, but the post-COVID film adaptation plays unnervingly real. This slow-burn survival thriller from Ridley Scott (House of Gucci) finds itself in odd terrain. What once was post-apocalyptic speculation now plays like daily life. Or the 2035 setting doesn’t seem that far off from 2026 news footage of contemporary America.
A sense of déjà vu lingers over The Dog Stars as Hig (Jacob Elordi) roughs out an existence in what remains of a world ravaged by a virus. He lives alone with his trusty dog Jasper and his cantankerously reliable comrade Bangley (Josh Brolin). They survive in isolation near Erie, Colorado. Nobody else remains from their former lives.
Hig flies his Cessna into the ruins of the city for supplies and as he navigates hooligans and bandits, it looks like little endures of life as he knew it aside from some dry goods that have yet to hit their expiry date. Thieves roam the forest, too, eager to ambush Hig and Bangley’s camp for provisions. As Bangley reminds Hig, this is a “shoot first and ask later” zone. Intruders may be carrying weapons or, worse, the virus they’ve long evaded.
The loneliness and unease of eking it out daily weighs on Hig, though. He lost his wife to the virus and life with Bangley, safe as it is, boils down to a routine of waiting to die. However, a message from the sky brings hope. It’s a signal over the Cessna’s radio. The woman’s voice suggests that people—or at least someone—can be found in Grand Junction. As Bangley observes, it’s a far flight for what amounts to a wing and a prayer, but Hig finds himself drawn by the prospect of strength in numbers.
As Hig lifts off in search of the mystery woman, however, his plan goes sideways. He, like Bangley, finds himself in survival mode among the elements and the gangs that lurk in the forest.
Drawing a bit from The Road with a dash of The Midnight Sky, The Dog Stars delivers a serviceable survival thriller. Scott ensures that the uncorrupted beauty of the Colorado landscape (played by Italy!) provides a homely backdrop that’s as calming as it is threatening. The rugged mountainside, beautifully shot by cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, merely hides the evils of humankind that creeps under the canopy, but it also provides a cover for the kindness that endures. Scott smartly draws audiences into the isolationist mindset that comes with survival mode as Hig escapes high in the clouds, seemingly only safe when he flies above the mountains.
Hig finds himself relying on that memory of human charity, however, as he encounters Cima (Margaret Qualley) and her father (Guy Pearce) at their family ranch. As with his former set-up with Bangley, they do a dance between liking safety in numbers and being cautious of any outsiders and the threat they may bring. As Hig builds the trust of these two ranchers, The Dog Stars reflects an eerily familiar pandemic-era tension: learning to trust people again after growing comfortable with the safety bubble of isolation.
Elordi provides a rugged screen presence that plays well into Hig’s manner as the strong and silent type. He carries the burden of survival on his shoulders, but also a certain humility that believes in keeping the faith in humanity, otherwise endurance seems beyond the point.
However, Elordi’s canine companion steals the show and audiences’ investment in Jasper really gives the film its heart. The dog’s reassuring innocence provides a welcome presence amid the bleak and convincing world-building. A few showy set-pieces offset some sluggish pacing as Scott creates this near-future so convincingly that it sometimes comes at the expense of the story’s forward motion. A few too many scenes of daily chores, plus folks enjoying comforts like coffee and cigarettes that have now become luxuries, might have some viewers questioning Hig and Cima’s fight or flight mode.
While The Dog Stars competently creates the atmosphere and setting, it often finds itself caught in a struggle between cliché and originality. The “others” that threaten Hig and his fellow survivors play a bit too uncomfortably into old cowboys and Indians tropes as nameless ruffians ride in from the hills hooting and hollering whilst adorned with war paint and tattoos. Alternatively, a late-act touchdown in a surreal oasis of “civilization” completely surprises—in large part thanks to a truly deliciously over-the-top, if borderline strange, turn by Allison Janney. Her jovial stewardess evokes that all-too-familiar creepiness and malice that hides behind a smile.
Beyond that toothy smile, however, The Dog Stars asks audiences what kind of civilization they’d like to return to. It’s a welcome question a few years into “the new normal”, but one that still feels a bit too real tucked within big screen escapism. The sense of familiarity that sets in early provides a comfort by the end.
