The Cronenberg directors all found an affinity with horror, with David Cronenberg, dubbed the “Baron of Blood” or the “King of Venereal Horror,” paving the bloody and provocative path his children would soon follow. With the likes of Shivers (1975) and The Fly (1986), David is often credited with helping invent the genre of body horror, using grotesque physical transformations, viral outbreaks or sci-fi to coax these brutal moments out. Brandon Cronenberg follows in his father’s footsteps with films that also dip into the sub-genre of body horror like a sledgehammer, including in Possessor (2020) or Infinity Pool (2023), living up to his legendary surname.
Caitlin Cronenberg, on the other hand, makes her directorial debut in 2024 with a domestic thriller that meets horror, side-stepping the body horror road her family opted for. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Humane still shares the intrinsic Cronenberg quality of “I dare you to not look away” extremism. Unlike her father and brother, Caitlin captures our morbid attention, not through gruesome, eye-trapping visuals, but through a tense, aggressive and ready-to-ignite atmosphere.
What Is ‘Humane’ About?
In Humane, voluntary euthanasia is used to cull the human population of each country in order to save the planet, but each nation must fulfill their requirements before they are allowed to join the world again. We follow a wealthy family whose patriarch (Peter Gallagher) and his wife (Uni Park) organize a family dinner to announce that they are going to participate. In fact, they are scheduled to die that very night. But when one person evades their contractual obligations, the family is forced to sacrifice one of their siblings to take the deserter’s place. With no one willing to be the sacrificial lamb, the dinner party systematically devolves into a scene of Succession if it were a bloodfest.
Each sibling in Humane is deeply unlikable, ranging from cowards to hypocrites that we are reluctant to invest in. However, they ironically demand our attention anyway, as the estranged family members gather for a dinner from hell. What draws us to them is captured by a remark from Jared (Jay Baruchel), who is a public advocate for euthanasia, saying that the program is not for families “like them.” Which comes to the crux of the thematic matter: the majority of these family members are public figures of some sort, essentially making them untouchable to these obligations. But now that the tables are turned, their detestable personalities are suddenly alluring, as we witness the boundaries of the elite and the general masses break down.
Caitlin Cronenberg Creates an Atmosphere We Can’t Look Away From
The dinner itself already builds up the buzzing tension in the atmosphere, as passive-aggressive words are hurled across appetizers. When the compulsory death creeps around, grief further thickens the air, making it insufferable when the siblings realize it is their turn to make a decision. Acerbic performances make the uncomfortable discourse of who deserves to live profoundly unsettling. Baruchel in particular makes Jared’s bizarrely matter-of-fact attitude eerie, especially with all the infuriating political references he makes to justify turning on his family. In comparison, the technician Bob (Enrico Colantoni) has a sickly smile and slimy satisfaction about the proceedings, uncanny since he is essentially the bloodthirsty representation of the working class.
Though the bloody mayhem doesn’t strike until halfway through the film, Caitlin curdles up an anticipation that makes the first half feel fast-paced and plunging, with rapid back-and-forth dialogue and an unfolding dread in the air as we await the inevitable death. It dips into uneasy morality questions and makes our skin crawl through how organically some defend the (in)humane program that inflicts the world. Yet, the tension also has a white-knuckle effect that leaves our eyes entrapped by the performances, apprehension and themes, cementing the viscera of the Cronenberg style. While the legacy of the surname has been affiliated with horror that particularly attacks the eyes, Caitlin seems to gravitate toward the other side of her father’s filmography, instead capturing the psychological arrest evoked by his thrillers like A History of Violence or Eastern Promises. As such, the newest Cronenberg filmmaker is definitely worth looking out for, managing to create her own distinct flair in Humane while ensuring we cannot tear our eyes away from the screen.
Humane is available to stream on Shudder in the U.S.
Humane
- Release Date
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April 26, 2024
- Runtime
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93 Minutes
- Director
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Caitlin Cronenberg
- Writers
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Michael Sparaga