I saw this film at the BIFFF. A film festival in Brussel, the movie felt like a ripoff of the hills have eyes and the descent. The only thing that interested me was the science behind it all. That there special species evolved before the homo sapiens came. The acting is not terrible but nothing special either. The directors were make-up artists on the film A la interieur. It showed it was there first movie, because of the feeling you get you are watching a shameless copy of the above mentioned Hollywood films. The gore in the film is also not so great, after seeing the film Matyrs i know for a fact, the french film community can make something really frightening. If i can give you an advise watch it on DVD.
14 Reviews
Don't bother with this turkey
peter0730 August 2009
I saw this at the Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul in August 2009. I must say this movie deserves not a thumbs down, but the middle finger.
The way the plot just speeds up is so ridiculous and so many questions are left unanswered. It basically degenerates into a killing fest toward the end and the ending itself is great in that the movie is finally over.
What the hell were they thinking of when they made this movie? What message about Neandrathals did the makers want to send? What a waste of my life watching this stupid film.
The way the plot just speeds up is so ridiculous and so many questions are left unanswered. It basically degenerates into a killing fest toward the end and the ending itself is great in that the movie is finally over.
What the hell were they thinking of when they made this movie? What message about Neandrathals did the makers want to send? What a waste of my life watching this stupid film.
Not very good, but may be enjoyed by 10 yo retarded teens.
nicolas-17416 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I was expecting the worse after reading these reviews. I must say that the movie didn't captivate me as I expect from a survival horror movie. I've never hook on the story nor to the acting or anything else. There are some good points : some pictures of the Alps are really beautiful, even if the colors are too yellow, giving a 'Tween Peaks' visual style. The idea was good and the beginning promising. However like most French movies that want to play the Hollywood style card, it fails in most categories. The music is awful, not the composing but the orchestra sounds like played on a cheap General Midi device. No real orchestra that's for sure, sometime it is not too bad, some video games features good orchestra music made with computer but in this movie it is not the case. The special fx (there are just a few) are laughable. Usually I do not pay attention to the special Fx until they are so bad that it is shocking me. The scene with the accident is ridiculously made. Some other moments are so badly filmed that you cannot even understand what is happening (crossing the river for example, what does happen to Sara Forestier's hand?). The costumes and makeup are good. Now the acting is really bad. Sara Forestier is not natural and I must say that it is a lot because the script and the dialogs are really bad too. Her character is very superficial like most of the characters in this movie. Lorànt Deutsch (I love this actor) is the French Shia LaBeouf (he is his French voice btw) but in this movie he is just lost in the lack of consistency of the overall story and does a really bad job. Dominique Pinon is the one who is doing the best and saves some scenes. The director tries to frighten us several time and it works pretty well at the beginning, after the middle it becomes really boring and you are happy when it ends. Unrealistic, with bad actor direction and boring superficial dialogs...
Has few redeeming qualities.
Siamois20 October 2009
I strongly dislike when people try to make a statement by rating any movie they didn't like a 1 and calling it "the worse movie of all time". I must still admit that I couldn't find any reason not to rate the movie "Humains" at the lowest end of the scale. Directors Jacques-Olivier Molon and Pierre-Olivier Thevenin show a lack of experience and, much more alarming, any sense of vision, storytelling or purpose in what is an extremely boring movie.
I'll scratch the barrel and find a few positives first:
-Some of the wilderness locations, while awfully shot, are beautiful. -The basic premise of surviving prehistoric beings was interesting and holds potential.
Everything else is pretty much crap. The bunch of actors on display here play two- dimensional characters unconvincingly. The script is goddamn awful and will make anyone cringe. Nothing is lifelike (very disappointing since this is usually the strong suit of French cinema). The editing is pure crap and the amateurish film score is certainly the worse I have heard in recent years.
It seems the directors wanted to shoot a classic horror story of a group of stranded survivors facing an intelligent enemy. We've seen mutants, monsters, aliens, thugs.... this time we get a new variation with some sort of weird-looking cavemen that look more like caricatures in a children movie than anything else.
If you look at the credits of both directors, you'll see they are special effects make-up specialists. One can easily guess it was a dream for them to direct a movie that would also require their skills. I can't say I find anything there very impressive but it is better than the digital effects, which are laughable.
What really amazes me is that four (FOUR!) writers are credited for writing this snooze-fest. With two directors and four more writers, you would think there would be enough creative power to come up with something better in a single evening of brainstorming. You would also think such a group would peer-review each other, challenge themselves to something less ridiculous.
I doubt any producer will finance these two directors anytime soon after seeing the garbage that is "Humains".
I'll scratch the barrel and find a few positives first:
-Some of the wilderness locations, while awfully shot, are beautiful. -The basic premise of surviving prehistoric beings was interesting and holds potential.
Everything else is pretty much crap. The bunch of actors on display here play two- dimensional characters unconvincingly. The script is goddamn awful and will make anyone cringe. Nothing is lifelike (very disappointing since this is usually the strong suit of French cinema). The editing is pure crap and the amateurish film score is certainly the worse I have heard in recent years.
It seems the directors wanted to shoot a classic horror story of a group of stranded survivors facing an intelligent enemy. We've seen mutants, monsters, aliens, thugs.... this time we get a new variation with some sort of weird-looking cavemen that look more like caricatures in a children movie than anything else.
If you look at the credits of both directors, you'll see they are special effects make-up specialists. One can easily guess it was a dream for them to direct a movie that would also require their skills. I can't say I find anything there very impressive but it is better than the digital effects, which are laughable.
What really amazes me is that four (FOUR!) writers are credited for writing this snooze-fest. With two directors and four more writers, you would think there would be enough creative power to come up with something better in a single evening of brainstorming. You would also think such a group would peer-review each other, challenge themselves to something less ridiculous.
I doubt any producer will finance these two directors anytime soon after seeing the garbage that is "Humains".
Just utter crap. (Contains Spoilers)
Shizuka200826 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Crap.
It's the same old story again that has been used in dozens of horror flicks before: Some city folk stranded in the wild outdoors are being hunted and killed by something or someone really bad.
This time it's Neandertals who survived their own extinction somehow in the swiss alps and now are hunting down some city guys.
Yeah, you heard right: in Switzerland where there is a hotel or ski lift on every corner and there is nothing more left of the big scary wild.
And if that doesn't sound funny enough - throw in some really bad masks the actors who play the Neandertals have to wear.
Not even unintentionally funny.
Just utter crap.
It's the same old story again that has been used in dozens of horror flicks before: Some city folk stranded in the wild outdoors are being hunted and killed by something or someone really bad.
This time it's Neandertals who survived their own extinction somehow in the swiss alps and now are hunting down some city guys.
Yeah, you heard right: in Switzerland where there is a hotel or ski lift on every corner and there is nothing more left of the big scary wild.
And if that doesn't sound funny enough - throw in some really bad masks the actors who play the Neandertals have to wear.
Not even unintentionally funny.
Just utter crap.
A not so good feature, but ...
searchanddestroy-127 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I always go to see french horror films, even if they are badly done, as this one. But I love it. I am going to explain why, if you please...
The beginning and the first hour are totally dumb. I nearly left the theatre. I told to myself that I was going to see another frenchy, froggy crap. And I AM FRENCH!!. But the settings were beautiful, I love mountains and wilderness, so I stayed. And looking afterwards, I don't regret it. The topic is the usual one. If you hate survivals, avoid this film. I like survivals, I stayed. The story is unbelievable, totally unbelievable. But besides that, the last half hour is very interesting.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
None of the lead survive, in this story. And I love that. The very ending is also delightful, when the camera focuses on one character who have not a great importance in the movie. I find that rather unusual.
But, I repeat, that does not make a good movie.
I only hate super heroes who ALWAYS win at the end of a feature.
Period.
The beginning and the first hour are totally dumb. I nearly left the theatre. I told to myself that I was going to see another frenchy, froggy crap. And I AM FRENCH!!. But the settings were beautiful, I love mountains and wilderness, so I stayed. And looking afterwards, I don't regret it. The topic is the usual one. If you hate survivals, avoid this film. I like survivals, I stayed. The story is unbelievable, totally unbelievable. But besides that, the last half hour is very interesting.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
None of the lead survive, in this story. And I love that. The very ending is also delightful, when the camera focuses on one character who have not a great importance in the movie. I find that rather unusual.
But, I repeat, that does not make a good movie.
I only hate super heroes who ALWAYS win at the end of a feature.
Period.
No classic, but it is unfairly maligned
Leofwine_draca10 February 2016
HUMAINS seems to be gathering a lot of bad reviews here on the IMDb, but I have to confess and say it wasn't all that bad. Certainly it's no classic and indeed it feels slightly below average for the genre, but it's a lot more entertaining than your usual braindead American slasher or the like.
The French setting immediately gives it a level of quality that's atypical for the genre. The format of the main characters going on a hike to the Alps to search for the missing link is an interesting one, and although the set-up turns out to be more effective than the denouement, at least HUMAINS has plenty of action and incident to keep the viewer watching.
On the bad side: it's rather cheesy and the prosthetic make-up effects look silly and like something you'd expect to see from the 1960s rather than now. On the plus side, HUMAINS has something of the foreboding of a film like THE DESCENT, with which it shares more than a few similarities, and the character actor Dominique Pinon is always a pleasure to see up on screen. You could do worse, in other words...
The French setting immediately gives it a level of quality that's atypical for the genre. The format of the main characters going on a hike to the Alps to search for the missing link is an interesting one, and although the set-up turns out to be more effective than the denouement, at least HUMAINS has plenty of action and incident to keep the viewer watching.
On the bad side: it's rather cheesy and the prosthetic make-up effects look silly and like something you'd expect to see from the 1960s rather than now. On the plus side, HUMAINS has something of the foreboding of a film like THE DESCENT, with which it shares more than a few similarities, and the character actor Dominique Pinon is always a pleasure to see up on screen. You could do worse, in other words...
What did the caveman do at the weekend? He went out clubbing!
elijaprice30 November 2011
I watched this movie because I'm learning French, and because I am pathetically in love with Sara Forestier after watching 'Le Nom de Gens'.
Unfortunately, this film is bobbins. Total bobbins. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder, at what point did ANYONE think this was a good idea?
If you wish to experience how bad this movie is, simply imagine the worst episode of the X Files possible. Then have someone kick you in the balls.
Despite this movie's suckiness, I'm still in love with Sara Forestier. And I still think that Dominique Pinon has a brilliant face. I want to make a movie in which Dominique Pinon and Toby Jones play gay lovers.
Unfortunately, this film is bobbins. Total bobbins. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder, at what point did ANYONE think this was a good idea?
If you wish to experience how bad this movie is, simply imagine the worst episode of the X Files possible. Then have someone kick you in the balls.
Despite this movie's suckiness, I'm still in love with Sara Forestier. And I still think that Dominique Pinon has a brilliant face. I want to make a movie in which Dominique Pinon and Toby Jones play gay lovers.
Back to the ... Past
kosmasp8 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A movie about genes and an expedition to an area where something was found, reminded me a bit of Congo. As you know (if you've seen the movie, which I guess you have or at least read enough about it already) it stirs away from that. Still we have the fact, that quite a few things go wrong. The dad that they take with them to their expedition is a well know french actor. And all in all this isn't as bad as it is rated here. But of course it never really get that good either.
You have the kid and though I love kids and would get furious if anyone was to harm one in real life, you just know that in movies like this, there is no chance that the kid will get harmed. Which gets a bit of the edge off the whole thing, in a bad way. But of course that's not the baddest or "lowest" point (no pun intended) this sinks. The story as it is, is quite a bit incoherent. But on the other hand, it tries at certain points to get some value in. And therefor (and for the actors) I thought it wasn't complete garbage.
You have the kid and though I love kids and would get furious if anyone was to harm one in real life, you just know that in movies like this, there is no chance that the kid will get harmed. Which gets a bit of the edge off the whole thing, in a bad way. But of course that's not the baddest or "lowest" point (no pun intended) this sinks. The story as it is, is quite a bit incoherent. But on the other hand, it tries at certain points to get some value in. And therefor (and for the actors) I thought it wasn't complete garbage.
Who's that creeping through the bushes ?
myriamlenys10 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
"Humains" is a fairly recent horror movie. The basic premise of the movie is this : there's a remote part of Switzerland where the last representatives of a very old species (Neanderthalers ?) cling on to life. When a small party of modern humans wanders into their territory, bloody havoc ensues.
To begin with the good, "Humains" is set in a most beautiful part of the world. The ancient humans (or proto-humans or whatever) look pretty convincing, too. However, the general impression left by the movie is obnoxious. It contains seriously unrealistic events, such as the fearsome crash of a minibus which, somehow, fails to blind / cripple / dismember / kill all or most of the passengers. It also contains a number of stupid and/or obnoxious characters, chief among them young Elodie, who seems to have developed a degree of foul-mouthed aggression rarely seen outside of a jail for juvenile offenders. This girl has problems, and then some... Finally the movie tells a violent and unpleasant story about the last members of some ancient population needing modern females in order to reproduce. (I think the correct French expression here is "glauque".)
Unsurprisingly "Humains" cares nothing about the question of what makes us humans human. Neither is it interested in the nature of our ancestor or brother species.
I don't recommend it, but if you do watch it, prepare yourself for some heavy-duty screaming.
To begin with the good, "Humains" is set in a most beautiful part of the world. The ancient humans (or proto-humans or whatever) look pretty convincing, too. However, the general impression left by the movie is obnoxious. It contains seriously unrealistic events, such as the fearsome crash of a minibus which, somehow, fails to blind / cripple / dismember / kill all or most of the passengers. It also contains a number of stupid and/or obnoxious characters, chief among them young Elodie, who seems to have developed a degree of foul-mouthed aggression rarely seen outside of a jail for juvenile offenders. This girl has problems, and then some... Finally the movie tells a violent and unpleasant story about the last members of some ancient population needing modern females in order to reproduce. (I think the correct French expression here is "glauque".)
Unsurprisingly "Humains" cares nothing about the question of what makes us humans human. Neither is it interested in the nature of our ancestor or brother species.
I don't recommend it, but if you do watch it, prepare yourself for some heavy-duty screaming.
I could actually find something positive from the disappointment.
SpannersGerm66910 July 2012
A team of researches travel to the Swiss Alps to investigate a scientific discovery on human evolution. However the trip soon turns into a deadly fight for survival when the team crash into a gully and find themselves falling prey to someone, something or somekind!
Now I am not prepared to bash this film as much as a lot of people out there will. Yes, as far as production is concerned, this film is lacking. Some tidying up of loose editing and some brushing up on the acting, would have made the film a lot better, but considering the budget, I was prepared to overlook that. Considering that some of the crew worked on the brilliant "Inside" I expected this one to be a nasty little piece. However it was extremely tame in comparison. Having said that, looking past the obvious faults, I actually thought it had some purpose, as there were one or two scenes with genuine suspense and the ending, which I wont give away, was quite a pleasant surprise as well. Once again, Phillipe Nahon was not utilised to full capacity in this one and I thought it was a waste of talent, however he lit up the screen, like he always does, for the run time that he appeared in. Some of the costume designs for the cavemen, were quite good and some were quite shoddy. It is in no way a great film, but you could do a lot worse. Go into it with limited expectation and you never know ... you could find yourself enjoying it.
Now I am not prepared to bash this film as much as a lot of people out there will. Yes, as far as production is concerned, this film is lacking. Some tidying up of loose editing and some brushing up on the acting, would have made the film a lot better, but considering the budget, I was prepared to overlook that. Considering that some of the crew worked on the brilliant "Inside" I expected this one to be a nasty little piece. However it was extremely tame in comparison. Having said that, looking past the obvious faults, I actually thought it had some purpose, as there were one or two scenes with genuine suspense and the ending, which I wont give away, was quite a pleasant surprise as well. Once again, Phillipe Nahon was not utilised to full capacity in this one and I thought it was a waste of talent, however he lit up the screen, like he always does, for the run time that he appeared in. Some of the costume designs for the cavemen, were quite good and some were quite shoddy. It is in no way a great film, but you could do a lot worse. Go into it with limited expectation and you never know ... you could find yourself enjoying it.
Gritty Survival horror with marvelous filming locations.
Coventry13 April 2009
With France undoubtedly being THE best horror-producing country at the moment (points of reference include: "Inside", "Frontier(s)", "Them" and "High Tension"), this brand new movie was high on my must-see priority list as soon as I noticed it was programmed at the annual Fantastic Film Festival in my home country. I was even more confident upon learning that the directors of "Humains" are the same guys responsible for the genuinely masterful make-up art in the aforementioned "Inside". This is the debut feature of the duo Jacques-Olivier Molon and Pierre-Olivier Thevenin, and they opted for a gritty survival horror concept with solemn anthropological undertones and a consecutively bitter ambiance. The plot is too absurd to label the film as an instant classic and it takes slightly too long before the pace properly picks up, but "Humains" is nevertheless a professionally made and highly compelling shock-adventure with truly stupendous filming locations and a fantastic, unremittingly barbaric last half hour that will cause you to leave the theater speechless and in a moderate state of shock! Professor Schneider and his two closest assistants travel to a remote Alps valley region in Switzerland for an essential anthropology expedition, as they found strong evidence about the origin of the human race that could actually alter all existing evolution theories as we know them. Shortly after their arrival, and after picking up a stranded and constantly bickering family of three, their minivan dramatically crashes down a mountain. The survivors are first subjected to a devastating showdown with nature itself before facing a rough and deadly confrontation with the greatest anthropological discovery in history. The cinematography is stunning the suspense gradually builds up towards a few very intense climaxes, but the major plot twist halfway the film is just too implausible. Also, I'm afraid we've seen a bit too many variants on survival & backwoods horror lately and the large variety of inbred freaks, hillbillies and mutant families simply aren't that menacing anymore. Not even in this case, where we're dealing with bona fide and unhinged cavemen. Still, the acting performances are stellar (Dominique Pinon is brilliant again) and the make-up effects are obviously grandiose, with a handful of stomach-churning death sequences that are jaw-dropping cruel. "Humains" is definitely recommended to experienced fans of grim survival horror and even to admirers of National Geographic Channel; as long as they fast-forward the sickening parts.
It's hard to convince the audience nowadays
unbrokenmetal17 January 2012
'Humains' is not a pure horror movie, hence the horror movie audience is bashing it for not having enough mangled corpses. In the first half of its running time, 'Humains' is an adventure flick about people lost in the wilderness, reminds me of John Boorman's 'Deliverance', with the additional spice that they are totally unprepared to walk for miles. The 'dumb' characters are actually quite realistic, because I wouldn't expect big city folks, picked by random and put in the middle of nowhere, to behave much wiser. Compared to the silly high school kids you often find in horror movies, a good choice of actors. In the second half, it does get more violent, but interestingly, that's hardly caused by the ugly guys, and without giving anything away: I loved the ending, it's almost poetic.
The movie does not try hard to be scientific. This is the second reason why many people are bashing it. The professor didn't tell the young assistants a lot before they start exploring, and it's more like "imagine what would happen if..." than providing a plausible theory for the existence of big noses in Switzerland. There's one thing I like about monster movies of the 1950s or 60s: nobody expected you to be scientific, just put the monster on the screen and get on with it. Today it's definitely harder to convince the audience.
All in all, I think 'Humains' is treated somewhat too harsh here. It has a couple of good points and overall atmosphere, it has a few weak points, too - but if you do not expect a horror movie like 'The Descent', but rather a fantasy adventure trip in the mountains sort of thing, it is worth checking out. Actually, I think it would have sold better if they avoided the little bit of gory violence, as there isn't much, anyway, and thus made it to a censorship rating allowing a younger audience to watch it.
The movie does not try hard to be scientific. This is the second reason why many people are bashing it. The professor didn't tell the young assistants a lot before they start exploring, and it's more like "imagine what would happen if..." than providing a plausible theory for the existence of big noses in Switzerland. There's one thing I like about monster movies of the 1950s or 60s: nobody expected you to be scientific, just put the monster on the screen and get on with it. Today it's definitely harder to convince the audience.
All in all, I think 'Humains' is treated somewhat too harsh here. It has a couple of good points and overall atmosphere, it has a few weak points, too - but if you do not expect a horror movie like 'The Descent', but rather a fantasy adventure trip in the mountains sort of thing, it is worth checking out. Actually, I think it would have sold better if they avoided the little bit of gory violence, as there isn't much, anyway, and thus made it to a censorship rating allowing a younger audience to watch it.
Inhuman!
dbdumonteil12 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
French are not good at fantasy and horror movies ;this is another proof positive The carnival in the village with the (rather) scary masks and the first sequences in the gorges of the Devil might arouse our curiosity:they may be in Hell ,after all!Another strong point is not to show the "enemy" too soon.
But as soon as "they" appear,it's all over ,the plot becomes really silly , a parboiled cross between Conan Doyle 's "lost world " and the abduction of the Sabine women,with interventions of the "wild" "wicked" country people we have seen in too many movies since " 2,000 maniacs"
Dominique Pinon's sinister-looking face is not even fully exploited.
But as soon as "they" appear,it's all over ,the plot becomes really silly , a parboiled cross between Conan Doyle 's "lost world " and the abduction of the Sabine women,with interventions of the "wild" "wicked" country people we have seen in too many movies since " 2,000 maniacs"
Dominique Pinon's sinister-looking face is not even fully exploited.
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