The Dog Stars
The Dog Stars
Stars: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Quallery and Guy Pearce
Director: Ridley Scott
Scriptwriter: Mark L. Smith (based on “Dog Stars” by Peter Heller)
Composer: Harry Gregson Williams
Cinematography: Erik Messerschmidt
20th Century Studios
Rating: R
Running Length: 118 Minutes
Peter Heller’s book, “The Dog Stars” gives us characters who try to survive in this new world after the flu overcomes most of the population. Survival is the first thing to think of day and night, and that includes carrying weapons. One never knows who is a friend and who is the foe now. Ridley Scott has taken this plot and with a screenplay by Mark L. Smith crafted an intriguing story of trust, that must be won and not easily given. Harry Gregson-Williams does the soundtrack with Erik Messerschmidt for cinematography. Both blend well. The title “The Dog Stars” comes from the configuration in the night sky.
It has finally happened; the flu has almost killed mankind. Those left are scattered around the globe and trying to survival. The plot here is based on Hig (Jacob Elordi), his dog Jasper, and a friend, Bangley (Josh Brolin.) Hig is a pilot, and at times flies into Denver for supplies for himself and a Mennonite Group not far from his base. Guarding the premises is primary for Bangley, and he shoots whomever comes near their place. There is a skirmish and the two men realize they can’t fight from that place much longer. Grand Junction occasionally has a radio signal so they decide to go there, and Bangley stays behind. Hig picks up two passengers along the way. Who to trust in this new period of time? Is it safe to land in Grand Junction? What is happening to Bangley? What is suspicious about Grand Junction? Hmm.
“The Dog Stars” gives an eerie look at what happens when medicine no longer works and a pandemic sweep around the world. Who is alive? Where? Those who survive do so day by day, not knowing what is friend and who is foe. Jacob Elordi’s “Hig” is a man with a heart, and a dog, but has to put all under wraps. His friend he can trust, Josh Brolin as Bangley, has a gun as a friend and that’s that.
As the actors pass before them, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong, you see their existence and the characters trying to survive. A full company of day-by-day existence. If this is what a flu-death new world is like, it is not pleasant or safe and the word “trust” is non-existent. Three Tocks
Copyright 2026 Marie Asner
