Review: The Human Race / Cert: 18 / Director: Paul Hough / Screenplay: Paul Hough / Starring: Paul McCarthy-Boyington. Eddie McGee, Trista Robinson, T. Arthur Cottam / Release Date: Out Now
When 80 people are abducted by an unknown entity in a blinding light and are forced to participate in a brutal race with only one winner allowed, the battle of self-preservation begins.
The Human Race is Richard Bachman’s The Long Walk meets Battle Royale and what a fast-paced, roller coaster ride it is. The rules are simple: step on the grass or gravitate away from the course and you die. Get lapped twice, you die. As people panic, try to escape or ever break the rules by accident, they are eliminated one by one in a grisly, head-exploding fashion with plenty of bloodshed to go around.
Hough has crafted an intelligent script with complex characters who change in drastic yet thoroughly believable ways when it comes down to dog-eat-dog survival. Justin (McCarthy-Boyington) and his war veteran buddy, Eddie (McGee), are the rational ones of the surviving group. Justin begins to figure out that there might be a way to beat their captors at their own game when an unexpected event alters everything.
The Human Race is brilliant on all levels, especially when you consider what Hough has done with his limited budget. Every actor turns in a solid performance, but the one who shines the most is Eddie McGee. He’s a charismatic, thinking man’s hero excelling at surmising situations and taking action where need be. Expect McGee’s acting career to go far after this film.
Well-written with unexpected twists and turns complemented by outstanding performances, The Human Race is a refreshing movie that deserves to be on the radar of SF fans.
Extras: None
