THE DOG STARS : Tuesday 1st September 2026.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE DOG STARS' earlier this week, and this post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi film is Co-Produced and Directed by Ridley Scott, who I'm sure needs no introduction. Suffice to say some of his more acclaimed prior feature film making credits take in the likes of 'Alien' in 1979, 'Blade Runner' in 1982, 'Thelma & Louise' in 1992, 'Gladiator' in 2000, 'Black Hawk Down' in 2002, 'American Gangster' in 2007, 'Prometheus' in 2012, 'The Martian' in 2015, 'House of Gucci' in 2021, 'Napoleon' in 2023, and 'Gladiator II' in 2024. This film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Peter Heller, was released last week too in the USA, has so far recovered US$21M at the Box Office from its US$70M production budget and has generated mixed or average critical reviews. 

Set in 2035 many years after a devastating flu pandemic almost wiped out all of the human race, Hig (Jacob Elordi), a former mechanic, lives in a self contained heavily fortified compound in Erie, Colorado, with his dog named Jasper, and Bangley (Josh Brolin), a hardened former Marine turned survivalist. Hig from time to time pilots a small single prop Cesna light aircraft into an abandoned and desolate Denver to gather supplies of fuel, food and medical stores. To Bangley's chagrin, Hig also supplies a nearby Mennonite community, led by Aaron (Benedict Wong) with food and occasional mechanical repairs.

When two opportunistic teenage strangers approach uninvited (referred to affectionately as 'roaches') Bangley shoots them dead in quick succession from his distance look-out point, creating a conflict with the more sympathetic Hig. They douse the bodies with petrol and burn them. 

While out flying his plane one day with Jasper, Hig picks up a distorted radio signal originating from Grand Junction, Colorado, that suggests human life there. Hig has picked up this signal on various occasions over recent years, but always quickly lost contact.

While sleeping outside one night under the stars Hig and Jasper are awakened by a larger group trying to ambush their home. The pair fight them off until Bangley appears and finishes them off. The next morning they douse the bodies with fuel and burn them. Jasper, however dies in the attack, spurring Hig to visit Denver to bury him next to his deceased wife Melissa (Sai Bennett) at their former home. 

Heartbroken and distraught, Hig decides he must find the source of the Grand Junction radio signal, believing there to be more to life out there than the confines of their compound. Bangley, who does not approve of the journey, stays behind in Erie, seemingly bringing an end to their five years partnership. After experiencing a mechanical failure, Hig lands his Cesna in a valley bringing the plane to an abrupt halt within inches of a stand of trees. Within a few minutes there is a stampede of wild buffalo that causes minor damage to the plane while Hig takes cover under the fuselage. Dusting himslef off he spies a donkey in the distance with a bell around its neck. He follows the donkey and comes to a remote farmstead where a father and daughter, Pops (Guy Pearce) and Cima (Margaret Qualley), live. The two form an uneasy alliance with Hig, as he repairs his plane and cuts down trees to make a runway, using the donkey to pull out the tree stumps. Hig starts a romantic relationship with Cima, who asks him to stay with them.

After their farm is raided in an attack by a marauding group of roaches on horseback Hig, Cima, and Pops flee on Hig's plane. They make it to Grand Junction Regional Airport, where the radio operator hesitantly allows them to land and enter their community unarmed. Upon arrival, they feel a sense of unease. Darlene (Allison Janney), a former flight attendant who is the leader of the community, orders Cima to marry a soldier, due to her previous medical education, making her a most welcome catch. Hig, Cima and Pops escape, having discovered the community's cannibalism, as evidenced by the dismembered corpses hanging in plastic bags in a walk-in freezer through which they make their escape. As they fly away, they bomb Grand Junction with grenades from the air, which Bangley had handed to Hig when he left, as a precautionary measure in the event that he ran into any trouble.

The three fly back to Erie to check on Bangley, where they discover a major attack occurred at the compound and much of it had been wiped out. There is no sign of Bangley but there are plenty of dead roaches strewn around the place, which are already being picked on by carrion birds. Bangley is found injured but alive, and welcomes the group with fresh brewed coffee, after which nurse Cima stitches up his wounds. He then reluctantly joins them at the Mennonite (which he refers to as Mormons) community in the mountains to establish a new settlement there.

'The Dog Stars' is hardly going to go down as Ridley Scott's finest film in his fifty or so year long film making career, or his best entry into the Sci-Fi canon for that matter too, but there are some moments nonetheless when the Ridley Scott magic shines through. Such as the sweeping vistas of river valleys and looming mountain terrain, the snow capped peaks, the desolate cityscape that once was Denver, and the Grand Junction airport terminal that looks as though it was lifted straight out of 'Blade Runner'. That said there's nothing new here in the story that we haven't seen before in other post apocalyptic dystopian thrillers such as '28 Days Later', 'The Last of Us', 'I Am Legend' and countless others. The performances of Josh Brolin and Allison Janney (as brief as her screen time is) are on point, but I found Jacob Elordi and Margaret Qualley's undercooked and too sugar coated. And to cap it off there are a couple of glaring plot holes that I will not expand on here, but see if you can spot them for yourselves.

'The Dog Stars' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-