Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Ridley Scott, ‘The Dog Stars’ follows Hig, a civilian pilot and mechanic in a post-apocalyptic world where little beyond food and safety matters. Hig, however, keeps looking for contact with anyone who might give them a way out of this situation. The faint signals from Grand Junction are his only hope, even though there has been no sign of communication ever. So when desperation finally drives Hig to his last leg, he decides to throw caution to the wind and chase the signal come what may. As he begins his journey, his resolve is tested by the uncertainty and dangers that lie in wait for him. But when an unexpected turn of events ultimately pushes him to take the final step, he comes face to face with a reality he would never have imagined. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Hig’s Odyssey to Grand Junction Ends Up Becoming a Death Trap
After fighting tooth and nail to make it to the gates of the Grand Junction airport, Hig and company are met with rather terrible news: the entire place is far from the human paradise it is meant to be. On the contrary, the people living at Grand Junction seem to be using the place for a rather twisted cannibalistic ritual, inviting people solely to devour them. Though the power of this revelation lies in just how out of the blue it is, there are some foreshadowings that lie hidden in the early scenes. Most notably, Darlene, the former air hostess who seems to be the leader of the group, has a very unique, low-key voice resembling the one in the radio signals. This is likely an intentional creative choice, as it resembles how sirens are known to tantalizingly call out their prey.
Much like the classical depictions of Sirens, in this case Hig is hopelessly drawn to the idea of comfort and community, and eventually reaches there with Cima and her father, only to find things strange from the get-go. While the entire group there seemingly leads a luxury life, Hig and co themselves aren’t allowed to be a part of it. On the contrary, only Cima is welcomed into the community as a potential medic, that too with a ridiculous condition: marrying a soldier present on base. It soon becomes apparent that this place functions more like a cult with strange rules of coexistence and kinship. Perhaps the strangest of all, though, is what they do with the newcomers who aren’t inculcated into the group.
The Grand Junction Cannibals Represent a Different Kind of Evil Than the Reapers
While attempting to escape the group, Hig and company end up in a room full of bags of cut-up human bodies and rows of polaroids showing past victims displayed on the wall. This cold room is all the proof Hig needs about the bullet he’s just dodged, and it is also symbolically relevant. Having chased a sense of belonging this entire time, he seems to have walked on the same path as many of these people, except for perhaps their ending. This contextualizes his journey as one we are already familiar with, while also revealing how the emotional foundations of such a journey can so easily be exploited by malicious actors.
In the end, however, Hig makes the correct choice in escaping early, going on to bomb the entire place to end this cycle, but also send off the remains of those who died. If Darlene isn’t already dead due to the burn injuries inflicted on her by Cima’s father, the explosion is implied to take her out for good. The cult is already described as being in its final stages; this becomes the proverbial nail in the coffin. It also serves as Chekhov’s gun, as the explosives introduced by Bangley aren’t used to take out the Reapers, who perform acts of evil out in the open, but this strange cult, who wear social masks and elegant personas while committing crimes just as harrowing.
Read More: Does Jasper the Dog Die in The Dog Stars?
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