{"id":54668,"date":"2026-08-26T11:38:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T15:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=54668"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T15:38:44","slug":"the-dog-stars-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/26\/the-dog-stars-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dog Stars [2026]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In a post-apocalyptic Colorado, a man searches for hope and community. Ridley Scott\u2019s THE DOG STARS is steadily engaging, yet also dull.<\/span><\/p>\n

TW: Animal trauma and death.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dog Stars\u2019 greatest strengths are also its biggest weaknesses. It\u2019s grounded and well-mannered, calmer even, but for that same reason is a little shallow and, dare I say, dull. Not bad, not boring, just dull. But yet, there\u2019s a spark within that comes from the hand of a well-seasoned filmmaker, a spark that occasionally lights the briefest of fires. Thus, The Dog Stars, written by Mark L. Smith from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, is a hard film to parse.\u00a0 Honestly, I\u2019m on the fence about how I feel about it. I didn\u2019t dislike the film, but I can’t fully recommend it either. But I appreciate the Ridley Scott film<\/a>, and I do feel it\u2019ll strike that right chord with many viewers who aren\u2019t me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic film of a different breed, mostly, as it hits familiar beats but with an alternate tone. Overall, it\u2019s a slower, more melancholy take on people living their rebuilt lives around Denver ten years or so after a superflu (with Colorado, feels like I should make a The Stand<\/a> reference here) kills all but a handful of stragglers. It\u2019s purposely more grounded, and refreshingly more optimistic and community-focused, following Jacob Elordi\u2019s Hig as he keeps things safe and stocked for himself and Josh Brolin\u2019s Bangley at a Colorado airfield, and for an enclave of Mennonites run by Benedict Wong<\/a>. He flies into Denver in his Cessna on occasion, making sure all is clear of raiders and visiting old haunts. Circumstances break the pattern, and he meets with Margaret Qualley<\/a> and Guy Pierce as Cima and her father Pops, respectively, on a farm, and Allison Janney as.. well, I\u2019ll leave that out for\u2026 reasons.\u00a0 All these performers are very good, buoying the film and capturing a soul under Scott’s helm. Elordi has a natural charm, as seen in Frankenstein<\/a>, Saltburn<\/a>, and Priscilla<\/a>, that makes Hig interesting enough to follow, and he pairs well with both Brolin<\/a>, doing his best Grizzled Grump, and Qualley<\/a> in Haunted Ingenue mode, in different ways of approaching this post-flu life. Pierce has a spirit, and Janney steals her few scenes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within, it purposely avoids getting overly sentimental, presenting a reality the audience can slide into without being bogged down by false emotions and forced character moments. It revels in the isolated beauty of various Italian mountains standing in the Rockies. However, leaving so much off-screen lends a sense of shallowness to the character sketches. But I\u2019m for leaving it where it is, too… mostly… As an unnatural exposition or emotion, it could sink the film. Yes, I keep using mostly for The Dog Stars doesn\u2019t fully subscribe to its notations, often skimming the surface, with a few aspects that don\u2019t mesh fully. \u00a0 But it\u2019s also dull. Not boring, not bad. Just dull. \u2026 mostly\u2026\u00a0 The Dog Stars is a film that hums along at a purposeful pace.<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Having a master like Ridley Scott (as uneven as his overall filmography is, to be honest; but that’ll happen across 31 feature films) at the helm makes this work. A lesser or newer director\u2019s version of The Dog Stars could easily fall on its face, be relegated to a streaming original. But with Scott, there\u2019s an added life.\u00a0 He knows how to keep it going, exactly what to do to keep interest up, but rarely taking more than needed. In some ways, it coasts, rolling steadily, a little lackadaisically downhill, occasionally gaining speed and careening, but also hitting flatter patches. Never flat enough to come to a stop, but to steady the ride.\u00a0 In keeping it grounded and personal, the film lacks drive. It has a heart in its chest, again appreciated, and a steady heartbeat, but rarely raises the heart rate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m not complaining about the lack of direct action, outside of a few moments. <\/span>I will note for those wanting the more action-oriented plague flick. There are marauders and dangers. But these encroaching enemies, who will no doubt be referred to as Temu Warboys<\/a> by others, but I\u2019m using it to, are nameless and near-faceless plot devices. There\u2019s a moment early in the film where it seems like a noted organization of villainy and destruction, but ultimately proves a bust, merely a visual representation of the danger that I would guess is more spread out and would be noted by Hig in a scouting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SEMI VAGUE BUT MAY BE TOO MUCH FOR SOME SPOILER TO FOLLOW<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, here\u2019s a bit I\u2019d normally not mention at all because of where it falls in the film, but I HAVE to talk about it\u2026 \u00a0 And then there\u2019s about ten minutes where the ghost of David Lynch<\/a> inhabited Ridley Scott<\/a>. This sequence, apparently not in the book in his manner, is so strange, so silly, it feels pulled from an entirely different film. It does enliven the proceedings and shook me out of the slight malaise and silent sighs of \u201cis this going somewhere?\u201d Whatever Allison Janney is on for this scene, I want it. It\u2019s so off-putting, it could be ripped from the creepy sequences in Fallout or Bioshock. Ooh, David Lynch\u2019s Bioshock. Mmm. I\u2019m all for it. Now there are plenty of films that are this to a degree, but feature-length (and Walking Dead dealt with it in zombie form), so they can have it. How this culminates is a highlight separate from the remainder of the film. My audience uncomfortably shifted or laughed during it, silly and surreal.<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BACK TO THE SPOILER-FREE SHOW<\/span><\/p>\n

As I was watching, I could see why this was a well-discussed book. I kept thinking, \u201cIf I didn\u2019t know this was a book, it would work really well as a book\u201d, although I\u2019ve heard mixed things about it. But that doesn\u2019t mean it translates, and I couldn\u2019t quite connect. I get it, and I can appreciate teh artistry. Scott makes a crafty film.<\/span><\/p>\n

All in all, The Dog Stars is a movie I can\u2019t fully put a finger on. As we discussed the film after the screening, I told my friend, \u201cI think this is one where when I sit down to write the review, my thoughts will come more in focus, and I\u2019ll find myself liking it more.\u201d\u00a0 And that\u2019s true to a degree. I am feeling Ridley Scott\u2019s film more now than I did twelve hours ago. But it\u2019s not there yet. The Dog Stars isn\u2019t a bad movie. Nowhere near bad. It has a lot going for it. A steady, easy story, a tad familiar but more positive. Heck, I think I might be more positive on a rewatch, which I am totally open to. Sometimes things take a moment, a settling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As it is, The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott, is a steady but unexceptional film. It has solid performances from very capable actors (I\u2019m really enjoying Elordi\u2019s trajectory), a different take on things, and truly gorgeous cinematography. To use the plane metaphor, as the film heavily features a Cessna: it doesn\u2019t soar, but it doesn\u2019t crash either. Some brief turbulence on a calm flight, but mostly a steady glide to a smooth landing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a post-apocalyptic Colorado, a man searches for hope and community. Ridley Scott\u2019s THE DOG STARS is steadily engaging, yet also dull.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[58,302,477],"class_list":["post-54668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-action","tag-drama","tag-horror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54672,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54668\/revisions\/54672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}