Stephen Karam’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Humans is one of the most beloved plays in quite a while. So there is no surprise that a film adaptation of the play would be put into motion. The real surprise stems from the urgency and horror of Karam’s adaptation. While the film may sound all too familiar and too play-like to adapt, Karam follows suit with 2020’s The Father, adapted from the stage to screen by Academy Award winner Florian Zeller, with a tale that shifts an apartment-based family drama into a modern horror film.
Now the term modern horror can be interpreted and viewed from different lenses. What The Father and The Humans share is the horror of everyday life. The threat of unfulfillment hovers like a cloud over the Blake family’s Thanksgiving dinner. The film follows three generations of the Blake family as they get together in a mostly unfurnished New York apartment for a holiday.
In his directorial debut, Karam effectively shifts the play-like feel of the subject matter to the screen with deliberate pacing, sound, character close-ups while still evoking the claustrophobia of the apartment setting. Thanks to production designer David Gropman, the apartment becomes a seventh character in the film, and it’s one of the film’s most crucial ones.
Adapting a play to the screen requires a great ensemble, and there’s no denying that The Humans presents one of the best ensembles of the year. Jayne Houdyshell is the only crossover from the Broadway production. She’s joined by Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, and Academy Award nominees Richard Jenkins, June Squibb, and Steven Yeun. Each brings a layer to the film that effectively makes this feel like a family, through good and evil.
Beanie and Amy bring their charisma and wit to the roles and add layers of authenticity that make their portrayals as sisters believable. Yeun brings his natural charm while embracing the edgy boyfriend vibe that many of us experienced in our lives. Houdyshell is stern and shows why her original performance was beloved by the Tonys. June Squibb has difficulty incorporating her presence while offering little to no dialogue, and as June usually does, she nails it to perfection. Finally, we have Richard Jenkins. Jenkins brings unease and a judgmental feel that leaves you hanging on every word he says throughout.
Abstractly, The Humans shines a light on the city’s transformation after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The film lays that view in a yin-yang perspective as it puts a focus on small-town parents from middle America who were already fearful about their kids leaving their small town for New York and how the attacks increased those fears. Despite the attacks, their kids refused to let their dreams be derailed on account of the attacks and chose not to live in fear.
If there are any kinks to the film’s armor is despite its excellent production design, there are moments in the movie where Karam shows he’s a first-time director. From the constant cutaways to fade-away angles where we’re meant to hear what the Blakes are discussing, the continuous use of these tropes feels quite forced and distracting at times that you want to be close up in the room where it happens.
In an era where horror films tend to leave folks unsatisfied, The Humans follows in The Father’s footsteps in creating an atmospheric feel that will leave viewers unsettled and haunted. In addition, the film will leave you fearful of the true boogeyman – your everyday life.
