‘The Dog Stars’ is visually stunning, but lacking in plot

By Danielle Cherry 

A man and man’s best friend wandering through life, seeking the next place for shelter, food and gasoline—what could possibly go wrong. What starts as a hopeful dystopian storyline quickly falls into horror and psychological thriller, leaving viewers wondering if staring at the stars was really a better use of their time. 

“The Dog Stars” boasts a star-studded cast with Jacob Elordi, fresh off his success in Frankenstein as the main protagonist: Hig. With other big names, like Josh Brolin and Guy Pearce joining the ensemble, it seemed like nothing could go wrong on the acting front. 

While the acting is tasteful to the story, the script makes it incredibly hard for the actors to have anything to work with. Somehow “The Dog Stars” said a lot without actually saying anything of any meaning.

With a movie titled “The Dog Stars” you would think there would be a large plot line surrounding Hig’s dog Jasper who, by the way, is genuinely the most profound actor of the whole bunch. 

Yet despite the title, Jasper plays a very small role in moving the story along. In fact the only service Jasper has is causing the audience to feel remorse for Hig and his horrible life situation. 

In this dystopian world, most of the population was taken out by a mysterious virus. Now everyone lives mostly in isolation due to fear of getting sick. In an effort to maintain this isolation, anyone who gets close gets shot. 

Hig is different. While he basically lives alone, he shares property with his “friend” Bangley (Josh Brolin). Hig’s heart is to help others and he goes out of his way to gather supplies and give to other families in the area. 

The story could have stayed wholesome like the beginning moments of the movie, but the confusion about the genre in the writing room is clearly evident on screen. 

Marketed as an action movie, the plot begins with no action. The movie opens on a gorgeous mountain aerial with Hozier’s “Like Real People Do” playing in the background. For a little bit I thought I stepped into the wrong theater, because Hozier is not the right music choice for an action movie. 

The biggest problem with “The Dog Stars” is its genres. Yes, the plural is there on purpose. The tone changes drastically from a wholesome dialogue to tribal people randomly attacking the characters, with no explanation of who they are or where they come from. These changes happen like a light switching on and off, with no connection between them beyond creating some action in a very slow moving movie. 

For those moments the movie truly deserves the R rating, with graphic violence paired with eerie music and a whole lot of shooting. These moments do nothing to progress the plot, other than add some action to the very slow moving storyline of Hig flying across the country. 

On top of everything else, the major twist in the movie is so out of left field that it didn’t make sense whatsoever. The atmosphere of the movie changes, and suddenly viewers are faced with a horror movie instead of a dystopian one. 

If you asked me what the plot of this movie is, I couldn’t tell you. It is trying to do too many things at once. While it follows Hig’s story, there is nothing special about him. The only outstanding feature is that his personality does not fit with a stereotypical dystopian character. 

To the detriment of the movie, there is no underlying theme or message. There are ample opportunities to dig deeper into the why of this movie—none are taken. After two hours of sitting there is no payoff. 

Despite all of this, “The Dog Stars” does boast stunning flight visuals of gorgeous mountain scapes and true fall aesthetic moments. There are also some truly wholesome moments between Jasper and Hig, and later on Hig and Cima, a country girl he picks up along the way. 

Cima (Margaret Qualley) brings out a joy in Hig that was lost from the beginning of the movie. Viewers watch as he starts to open up about his past and begins to feel once again. But because there is really no character growth, all of these moments happen in a vacuum, not moving the plot forward throughout the rest of the movie. 

“The Dog Stars” is a classic example of a movie that is doomed from the start, trying to be too many things at once. The best movies stay true to their marketing and the genre they present at the beginning. 

So what did I learn? I learned that Jasper is a great dog, and that if I had to be stuck in any dystopian plot line I wouldn’t want it to be this one…because there isn’t even any plot to be stuck in. 

“The Dog Stars” is currently playing in theaters 

Danielle Cherry is a junior communication major and writer for Cedars Sports and Assistant Editor and writer for A&E. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and thinks that, as an amateur, she might have been able to write this script a lot better. 

Images Courtesy of  20th Century Studios and Scott Free Productions