If you knew nothing about “The Humans” aside from the title and the first 30 seconds of its just-released official trailer, you might think it’s a horror film.
“I keep seeing these ads for that zombie show on TV,” a woman’s voice says. “It’s awful. I can’t believe people want to watch that kind of stuff at night. There’s enough going on in the real world to give me the creeps.”
Cut to Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) telling her dad, Erik (Richard Jenkins), to lean closer to the window because he can’t get cellphone reception.
Seems ominous, right?
Even the official description of the film, based on Stephen Karam’s Tony-winning 2015 play, hints at some supernatural situations: 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.
But don’t expect to see any ravenous undead in this adaptation of Karam’s play, on which Karam makes his feature directing debut. The “zombie TV show” comment, seemingly made by Blake matriarch Deidre (Jane Houdyshell) seems to be a nod to former “Walking Dead” actor Steven Yeun, who plays Brigid’s boyfriend Richard.
And the cellphone issues seem to be a device that forces that Blakes to confront their family demons, including Richard’s depression, a struggling Aimee (Amy Schumer), and an infirmed Momo (June Squib).
The A24 drama is produced by Karam and Louise Lovegrove and comes out in theaters and Showtime on November 24, 2021.
Check out the trailer for “The Humans” above.