Adorable Humans – Review (3/5)

ADORABLE HUMANS is a new horror anthology based on stories from the famous Danish fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen. Solid practical effects and a wonderful overall production, you’ll want to watch. Read our overall Adorable Humans movie review here!

ADORABLE HUMANS is a Danish horror anthology (org. title: Yndige mennesker) with four short films that ultimately tie into one another. I am a sucker for an overall connection in place of a wrap-around segment that doesn’t really relate to any of the shorts.

For this anthology, all the segments are based on stories from the iconic fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen. I preferred some more than others, but none of them were bad, which is already a great starting point.

Continue reading our Adorable Humans movie review below.

Four stories about human nature

At its core, Adorable Humans is about human nature. Particularly, these stories show the darker sides of human nature.

With the first story, THE DEAD MAN, it’s mostly about everything from care and sacrifice to almost diabolical want. The second, THE STORY OF A MOTHER, is mostly about death and grief.

Then comes the third, THE SNOW QUEEN, about shame and desire, while finally, the fourth, AUNTIE TOOTHACHE, could be described as desperation.

What all of them have in common is asking oneself the question: What am I ready to do or give in order to get what I want?

Am I oversimplifying the stories right now? Oh yeah, absolutely. Fairy tales have always been about getting to the moral of the story. The same goes for the segments of this horror anthology.

The horror of fairytales and poems

I have always loved fairytales and adventures, which do tend to often have some elements of horror or something supernatural to them, so it makes perfect sense to me that stories and poems by Hans Christian Andersen could be adapted in that direction.

And yes, poems can also be very horror-fueled. I mean, ever heard of Edgar Allen Poe?!

With Adorable Humans, it truly is all about human nature and how we respond to things like death, desire, and greed. With lots of practical effects to amp up the horror, this horror anthology worked much better than I dared hope!

Actors in these four segments (several characters overlap in some ways) include Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt, Frederik Carlsen, Mie Gren, Nadia Nouamani, Lisa Otto, Anna Reumert, Michael Worthman, Adam Ild Rohweder, Iben Skau, Peter Høgsbro, and Sus Wilkins.

Watch Adorable Humans when you get the chance

The four writer-directors behind the four short films in the anthology are Anders Jon Petersen, Kasper Juhl, Michael Kunov, and Michael Panduro. As contemporary horror adaptations based on his work, Hans Christian Andersen is obviously also credited as a writer.

This horror anthology is a classic indie production made with heart and passion. Yes, despite being based on one of the most well-known Danish authors ever, the Danish Film Institute (DFI) was not involved with the production.

The movie was produced for around 500,000 Danish kroner, which is less than 80,000 US dollars. It’s an extremely small budget with four writer-directors plus a cast that includes actors who have starred in Netflix productions.

Adorable Humans is currently screening at film festivals worldwide.

Details

THE DEAD MAN
Written and directed by Anders Jon, starring Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt and Sus Wilkins

THE STORY OF A MOTHER
Written and directed by Michael Kunov, starring Mille Maria Dalsgaard and Marinus Refnov

THE SNOW QUEEN
Written and directed by Kasper Juhl, starring Mie Gren and Adam Ild Rohweder

AUNTIE TOOTHACHE
Written and directed by Michael Panduro, starring Peter Høgsbro and Iben Skau