The Humans

This movie is based upon a book and a stage play. This movie has only got one small setting: a rundown house in New York City, with broken electricity, cockroaches and extremely noisy neigbours.

And exactly this rundown house is the place where a Thanksgiving dinner is taking place with a family, of whom everybody is crumbling under emotional, financial and health problems.

This doesnt sound attractive to watch. And it definitely is not a cheery Christmas movie. But it is still a decent picture. Here is why:

The good: it's so rewarding and refreshing to see actors concentrating on plain acting. And nothing else. Just that. Long scenes, totally uninterrupted by editing. I see a family get together, who are eating and drinking and talking together. Nothing much happens. But because the acting is top notch, it is still fascinating to watch this family chemistry during a Thanksgiving dinner.

The mood of this movie is (purposely) directed in such a way that I as a viewer get the sense that this place and this family is somehow cursed or haunted in some way. There is a really dark undercurrent. It is definitely NOT horror, but there is an intense depressing, gloomy undercurrent present all the time...which makes for an uncomfortable watch.

Any bad? This is NOT the movie you wanna see at the holidays with your family. Because it's quite depressing, sad and bleak. But it is still definitely worth a watch, although it is probably only suited for the die hard arthouse movie fans, who can stumach a depressing family get together in a cockroach infested house...

. . . is that we're ALL annoying. Every one of us and this movie lays bare that fact. It's about family and all of the good, bad and annoying that comes with our loved ones. It's a DRAMA, not horror, not action, not a thriller so I don't know why people are complaining that "nothing happens". If you pay attention, you'll see everything that does happen within a dysfunctional family. And for the people saying that "Amy Shumer ruined this movie" - they just hate Amy Shumer. Her acting was fine, as was the entire casts.

"The Humans" is just a creepy movie. It is about three generations of the Blake family coming together for Thanksgiving. The entire story takes place inside a Manhattan duplex and tells the stories of the family members and their fears and secrets, like in every family. I was surprised to see Amy Schumer (Aimee) in the cast. But she delivered. And where would we be without the acting of Richard Jenkins (Erik)? He always delivers! This role is scripted for him. Nobody could play Erik better. Constantly hearing all the weird sounds and the way the movie was filmed, that was outrageously well done. A spooky and borderline musical score adds to the impact. Also the filming of all the small details, like the rusty pipes, the weird bulges in the walls and the stains on the ceiling. This was all very well highlighted. However, to put it simple, I was not blown away by this movie. It still needs to sink in. Honestly I don´t know for sure if I saw a masterpiece. I just did not like the ending at all.

I'm one of those people that really likes talky type dramas with a haunting atmosphere. This is one of those movies. Think of "The Nest" or "The Assistant". This movie is equally as talky and unnerving as those movies.

This is a story about an American family spending Thanksgiving together in a New York flat. While we only see from the inside out, you can feel the liveliness of the city outside. This family is at a breaking point even if most family members are unaware of this. The father, played by Richard Jenkins in an amazing performance, is at the core here and everything seems to be caused, yet held upon the shoulders of this man. A man with a wife of 30 to 40 years and two daughters, now grown. Seeing them maturing and becoming the women they will forever be, he seems scared about the rest of his own life and theirs as he seemingly slowly crumbles before our very eyes.. he is the only male in the family and he consistantly is there as a pillar for his family. Strong and tender.. wavered and weathered. He feverishly is fixated on the sounds within and surrounding the dingy yet spacious apartment. The crumbling apartment symbolizes the emotional crumbling within this family even if not at face value. This is a movie unlike anything that has ever been seen before. There is something lurking deep within. A mysterious sense of strangeness. The human condition at its most frightening.

The people this film really resonates with will call it a horror movie. People with no sense of artistic approach will call it a drama. People that are easily amused will call it a comedy. Non thinkers will call it all of the above and people with no patience will call it a waste of time. I call it a masterpiece for the ages.

This father has something to tell his beloved daughters. It's a doozy.

This is my type of cinema as thus was easily one of the best movies of 2022 yet.

Probably not the most ideal movie to watch on Thanksgiving Day as it focuses on a dysfunctional family unraveling their individual frailties during a desultory Thanksgiving dinner filled with personal confessions. It plays almost like a horror movie, but it's really an acting showcase for a strong cast including Amy Schumer in a non-comic role.