The Human Race

I know there are a lot of reviews on here that magnify the negative points in this film. So, to get some stuff out of the way, the acting and sets used in this film are awful. Pure terrible. Additionally, the start of the film is awfully jarring.

However, there are some really interesting ideas to be found here. I wont be giving anything away by saying that there are two deaf characters in this film. The way the film makers have used these two characters sign conversations are quite clever, I don't think I have seen an interaction like this before (but then I am fairly ignorant).

The development of the characters as individuals is also done in timed manner. I don't think there was a moment in the film where I asked myself "what about so and so...".

I am not sure that this is the right format for the material though. As I was watching, I felt that it could have been better conveyed as a mini series etc.

Essentially, if you don't mind losing an hour and a half out of your life and want to see something different, give it a watch.

I'm just writing this review to counter some of the other obviously faked reviews written here. I was tricked to watch this movie too, because it had a rating of 7.3 with over a 1000 ratings. So I thought this could be a solid piece of horror/splatter. But it's not. I assure you, it's not. You will be disappointed after watching it, because it's painfully bad. And I don't mean bad as in "The Tourist" bad, it's just cheap filmmaking by people who don't know what they're doing. This can't be the work of professionals. Bad acting, bad dialog, bad lightning, bad camera, bad cinematography, bad special effects... complete senseless directing, conclusion, story(telling).... It's just a piece of trash. Yes it's that bad. And I'm writing this only to save you from losing over 1hour of your life. And to restore justice to the rating/review system of IMDb. You're welcome.

Here is another film that takes the idea of Battle Royale or Hunger Games and tries to spin its own twist on things. Here the twist is running to survive, keep off the grass and don't get lapped. This premise wasn't too bad, but while the previous films I mentioned are all set in reality, this one takes a step back from reality with the people being magically transported to this running location (which still looks like an average neighbourhood location), you spend the film wondering, is it magic, is it supernatural, is it alien, do I really care? And why if the powers behind this race had such ability would they choose all the people from a small city block area rather than individuals from a variety of places? And why this area specifically? The cast are passable, and the writing definitely attempts to give depth and diversity to the characters, but there are as many bad characters as good which leaves you struggling to relate to most of them. Apparently the film was made of many years and perhaps this is why it feels a bit disjointed and lacks a cohesive flow. It's not terrible but it would definitely be very low on your watch list and there are much better films you could be seeing.

So yes, this movie is made to a budget, the actors aren't convincing, the special effects are cheap and the storyline is a little lacking.

However, overall it's a curiously enjoyable romp. The story develops the characters just enough for the viewer to connect to them and take an interest in their eventual fate.

Also of note is the use of non-stereotypical characters. The main characters involve a deaf couple, a cripple, a priest, a pregnant woman, and it goes on, the variety and effort to stick away from typical archetypal heroes is well noticed and appreciated.

It is a movie that most people can happily bypass, but by no means is it a waste of time... enjoyable. :)

I surprised that this movie turned out so divisive, while certainly not everyones cup of tea it is certainly very memorable and interesting. I like simple set-ups like this, classic battle royal setup, clearly communicated rules for the audience and participants to understand and a diverse range of characters from all ranges of life.

The Human Race cleverly avoids offering a clear protagonist to root for allowing you to pick your own champion or play the "what would I do" game in your head. All of that achieves one thing: it makes the movie more engaging, if you are willing to engage with it. It helps that the pacing, editing and cinematography move things along quickly without much downtime.

The performances are a bit hit and miss, some are terrible (cyclist guy) some are okay (one legged guy) and some are really good (especially the deaf girl). The effects are serviceable, some digital blood effects look better than others, but overall a good production for its budget level. So even without going into the aspect of potentially pretentious commentary on the human condition, the movie works fine just on a surface level, if you want to interpret it deeper, that's okay, there are some interesting observations sprinkled in.

Without spoiling it, the ending did not work for me, the movie should have ended 3 minutes earlier and it would have been better. Despite that, I recommend it, it's better than Circle or The Belko Experiment which had a similar setup...