BLU-RAY REVIEW

The Humans

Featured In Issue 260, March/April 2022

Picture3.5
Sound3.5
WSR Score3
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
59689
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Some sexual material and language
(Retail Price):
$21.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
106
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
4/19/2022
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Stephen Karam
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(Subtitles):

In "The Humans," Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group's deepest fears are laid bare. The movie explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentry with Writer-Diirector Stephen Karam, the making-of featurette "Our Ruffled Spirits" (HD 21:01), outtakes (HD 06:19) and a digital code.

The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa XT camera system and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. This feels like a home video of a family get together in a daughter's unfurnished apartment for celebratory meal. Color fidelity is natural and well balanced in terms of realism. Flesh tones are perfectly natural. Contrast is naturally dynamic with realistic black and shadow levels, as well as whites. Resolution can be quite good overall. The choice of camera perspective is often feels amateurish. Overall, this is a rather boring visual outing that will not be for everyone. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack is for the most part virtually monaural in essence with minimal nuances of surround dimension. Some of the spooky sound effects create energy in the soundfield with discrete dimensionality. Occasionally, bass becomes a prominent element in the .1 LFE channel. Dialogue is intelligible with excellent spatial integration. Music is limited and when present delivers strong bass and surround energy. This is a generally slow-moving soundtrack that does a decent job of capturing the dialogue-focused nature of the movie. (Gary Reber)