Brigid Blake (Beanie Feldstein) just moved into a Chinatown apartment in lower Manhattan
with her partner Richard (Steven Yeun). The’ve invited her family over for Thanksgiving
dinner but as night falls and certain revelations are made, the atmosphere gradually
intensifies.
While the Blakes obviously have genuine love and affection for one another, their respective
fears and frustrations soon come bubbling up – as they typically do during these kinds of
family gatherings. Her parents (portrayed wonderfully by Jayne Houdyshell and Richard
Jenkins) are not overly enthusiastic about her living in the city and don’t hesitate to share
their reservations towards her subpar living conditions. It’s done in a teasing fashion, but with
a tone of voice that is more often than not bordering on uneasy. Completing the party are
Momo (June Squibb), the senile grandmother who doesnt say much apart from some
occasional mumbling and Brigid’s sister Aimee (Amy Schumer) who’s dealing with health
issues and recently got dumped by her long-time girlfriend as well as fired from her job.
All of these wonderfully flawed characters are dealing with existential crises of their own as
life seems to be kicking everyone in the bullocks resulting in discussions about anxiety,
disappointment and loneliness. In addition to the general cynicism of it all, the decrepit
apartment’s thin walls and creaky floors frequently inject their own level of tension through
unsettling noises and other peculiarities. The eery feeling is amplified in many shots by
filming through a narrow corridor or a doorframe partially obscuring the action (and often
times the speaker) with a piece of wall. At times, the editing even causes some (minor) jump
scares and particularly towards the end of the film (especially when revisiting certain scenes
in your head after the credits have rolled), one could argue that this drama is in fact a horror
film in disguise.
Lest I paint too bleak a picture, I should clarify that The Humans (writer-director Stephen
Karam’s feature length debut) is actually a real blast. It’s quite funny and touching for the
most part, but the aforementioned elements certainly give the film a unique darkness which
might take some viewers by surprise.
