The Human Race (2013)
Written and Directed by Paul Hough

A good friend of mine told me about this movie when he had seen it at a film festival, which sounded interesting because the fact that it is about a race and the main actor is really missing a leg. Plus, it was directed by the son of John Hough, who directed Legend of Hell House and Twins of Evil, two of my favorite films. So I knew I was going to want to give this film a look when it came out. Of course, like a lot of movies these days, they get lost in the numbers with so many other titles. But I recently got it from Netflix and figured now was the time to check this flick out. And so glad I did.

A group of people suddenly appear at a strange location with messages coming to them in their head, in their own voices, giving them instructions on what to do and what not to do, and lastly….to race or die. They are told that they need to move along the path pointed out by almost weapon looking arrows, and if they are lapped twice, they will die. So right away we get the name of the title, The Human Race. Of course, we learn later the brilliant play on it. Because they are scared and not understanding what is going on, some don’t follow the instructions and end up dying in very gruesome way, which in turns makes the crowd even more afraid.

Eddie McGee plays a war vet who lost his leg during his service. McGee really is missing one of his legs, and gives a stellar performance as the lead, who along with his friend and fellow vet, are trying to figure out what is going on, as well as trying to get people to realize that they will kill each other if they keep moving. The rest of the cast is filled with believable characters that make the movie much more compelling and interesting.

I think the best part about this movie was that it was so nice to see something so damn original, in a time of sequels, remakes, and re-imaginings. It shows that there are some new and interesting ideas that can make good movies if someone just gives them the chance. Sure, this movie might not have made a fortune at the box office, but to me it will be remembered much longer and much more fondly than the countless other titles that flood the market. Yeah, I know that doesn’t help the producer and the filmmakers who made this, but I just wanted to let them know that they achieved something great with this picture. And to impress this bitter old film fan these days, that says a lot.