by Public Service Associate Juliana
Based on the Tony-award winning play, The Humans is heavy on dialogue and works to build complex, authentically flawed characters. It’s a dimly lit family drama that takes place on Thanksgiving night at the daughter’s lower Manhattan apartment. The synopsis reveals that “as darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare.” This leads you to think it’s a horror movie.
While The Humans is not without haunted house aspects – creaky floorboards, strange noises, light bulbs that suddenly burn out – there’s nothing gorey or hard to look at except for water damaged walls and a pretty awful bathroom.
The true horror that materializes is that which is inherent to family gatherings. All the insecurities and baggage. Drinking paired with underlying issues. The chaos of cooking. Stress and pressure of expectations. For the entirety of the film, the viewer is waiting for something terrible to happen, for the tensions to implode.
Certain scenes stayed with me long after the film ended, including the brightest part of the film which is what I want to leave you with. The pig smash.
After the dinner plates are cleared the family places a peppermint pig into a red velvet bag and sends it around the table with a small hammer. Each person shares something they are thankful for and takes a whack at it. Afterward, the broken pig pieces are shared in hopes of good fortune to come.
The film is dark and evocative overall, but it’s not without twinkles of optimism.