Paul Hough’s The Human Race is an American answer to Battle Royale with more balls, character development, and blood than the over hyped Hunger Games films. While similar to BR, this film manages to be its own completely unique entity.
Starting off with 80 contestants and a set of rules — 1. If You are lapped twice, you die. 2. If you step off the path, you die. 3. If you touch the grass, you die. 4. Race or die. No explanation is needed. The contestants begin scrambling to take the lead by any means necessary. Some fight, some form small “teams,” and others try to escape the race… the only problem is, you lose your head.
The cast is phenomenal in The Human Race. Every character is their own person and among the 80 contestants are some striking personalities. Everything from a priest, a paraplegic, a school teacher, and a marathon runner are present.
This film is a strange, violent, and somewhat uncomfortable look at the human race and who is willing to do what to survive. Paul Hough certainly did his homework on films like Cube, The Running Man, and Exam.
XLrator Macabre seems to never let me down and this film is no exception. I was very impressed with it despite some rather cheap CGI that happens very late in the final act. I truly think this film is worth checking out.
I personally give it 3 exploding heads out of 5.
