I have reviewed a criminally low amount of the “gruesome transformation” subgenre throughout my time with Netflix Dumpster Dive. Sure, I’ve done horror aplenty. But, there is something interesting about someone losing their humanity for the greater good. It’s a tale as old as genetics. Playing God, inciting evolution (not how that works), advancing the human race (also not how that works). Some of these movies are awful, to be sure, but some are awesome.

This month, I had a sci-fi itch. Not sure why, honestly. Nonetheless, I poked into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy tab of Netflix and I found a Netflix Original called The Titan. From 2018, so it’s a recent movie, and one I never heard anything about until now. It had an interesting sounding premise, the one I described above, and so, here we are.

The Titan certainly scratched my itch for sci-fi. It delivers on a great number of my desires for this type of film, though it fails to deliver in others. What it does do well it does exceedingly well. Domestic life in this semi-apocalyptic landscape is portrayed more believably than any I’ve seen before. Rick and Abi, our protagonists, have such genuine onscreen chemistry that this could be footage of a real family. That makes the “horrific transformation” part of the film leagues more dramatic, especially since that aspect is also handled spectacularly. The science, while vague, is grounded, and I found myself nodding along with the lines of reasoning and concepts rather than scratching my head. The movie is never too exposition-heavy, but also explains just enough for me to suspend any skepticism.

Further down the list of The Titan’s strengths are its practical effects. The final version of the evolved human looks uncomfortably real, and it’s a transformation that isn’t too farfetched. It’s not scary, exactly, but it’s off-putting and eerie, to say the least. Another solid factor of the movie is its pacing, up to nearly the end of the film. So much tension and mystery, knowing that something has to go wrong, seeing the signs and hoping they’re flukes. It works better than most movies of its kind.

Where the movie lacks is ultimately a confused third act. We should be seeing more of these “homo-titanus” interacting with each other, or doing anything really that isn’t staring emotionlessly. We have sympathy because of the journey we’ve been on, but there’s a clear implication that these once-people have become something dark and instinctual, killing loved ones, and then nothing becomes of that. Quickly our monster is the misunderstood beast. It feels like it’s trying to say something that this movie doesn’t need to be saying, although a killing spree would be a tad cliche, so I can’t complain too hard. What was done was subverting my expectation, but in all honesty it subverted it to a place I wasn’t too interested in going.

The Titan, while suffering toward the end from some narrative and message stumbles, is a strong and entertaining movie. It walks a road that we’ve been down before, but takes steps that lead us down a fresh path. For sci-fi and drama lovers, this movie is a treat, never boring or too slow, and I highly recommend it.

Overall Personal Rating: 7.5/10

 

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-Vincent

 

© 2019 Vincent C. Russo. All Rights Reserved. This post is intended for review and constitutes fair use. These films and any images used belong to their respective owners.