Dystopia, end of the world, movies and TV shows are a dime a dozen - you could probably find an iteration of the genre that would suit your tastes down to the ground. Most though are marked by extreme violence and edge of your seat kinda horror. But The Dog Stars is a different kind of beast altogether. Slow without being tedious, The Dog Stars is an introspective journey into the dystopian genre with a heart warming tale to boot. 

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After a devastating flu pandemic wipes out most of civilization, Hig (Jacob Elordi) lives at an abandoned Colorado airfield with his loyal dog Jasper and his only neighbour, Bangley (Josh Brolin), a heavily armed former Marine focused entirely on survival. Still grieving his pregnant wife, Hig refuses to give up on human connection, flying his old Cessna into the ruins of Denver, gathering supplies and maintaining contact with a nearby Mennonite community. When he hears a mysterious radio transmission suggesting a safe enclave may exist near Grand Junction, he sets out to find it as violent bands of scavengers known as “Reapers” threaten the remaining survivors.

For a runtime of two hours, The Dog Stars doesn’t pack a heck of a lot in. That’s not a criticism but merely an observation at how introspective the film is. It takes its time establishing Hig’s life and rhythms from his supply scavenging runs to his visits to an isolated Mennonite community. It’s a different dystopian film in that it takes time for the seemingly mundane parts of everyday survival.

Narratively the film doesn’t always have the strongest arc from start to finish, but it feels the strongest with the blossoming relationship between Hig and Cima at its heart. Their relationship feels earnest and earned, with great chemistry between Elordi and Qualley. 

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That being said, it's in the small details where The Dog Stars feels at its most strained. For a cinematic world builder of Sir Ridley Scott’s quality, an ever ending supply of cigars and Coke a Cola nearly a decade after a plague event seems to be a little bit of a stretch. And while Elordi may have proven his leading man chops in other work, here, when all the weight is on his shoulders he doesn’t quite give a commanding performance as what is required of the role.

Slow without being tedious, The Dog Stars is an introspective journey into the dystopian genre with a heart warming tale to boot.