When it comes to the filmmakers of the Great White North, few are capable of challenging body horror maestro David Cronenberg for the crown. And as if the Canadian auteur wasn’t already powerful enough on his own, his children seem to be following in his footsteps with a deliciously deft confidence.
Last year saw the third feature from David’s son Brandon Cronenberg—the intelligently rich sci-fi horror Infinity Pool—hit theaters, and now his sister Caitlin Cronenberg is gearing up for her directorial bow with Humane, which just released its first trailer today.
Firmly sticking to darker genre stylings that the Cronenberg name is known for, Humane follows the dire straits faced by a family in a world where an unprecedented ecological disaster forces humanity to reduce their population by 20 percent. As you can imagine, the volunteers are few and far between.
The patriarch of that family is one such volunteer, but when he abruptly disappears prior to the arrival of the military agents who have come to collect him, the burden of his decision gets passed down to his three adult children. As tensions broil between the siblings, the agents begin to get a bit impatient in their own right, and things only escalate from there.
By all appearances thus far, it looks like a sharp, steady debut from Caitlin Cronenberg, directing material that appears to have been destined for the hands of the dystopia-happy Cronenberg family. Given that Humane seems anything but shy about its political overtones, you have to wonder what sort of subtextual commentary will be in store for this one. By this sole trailer, it’s clear that we’re in for a true-to-type Cronenberg movie, and that’s cause for excitement.
Humane stars Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, and Peter Gallagher with a script from Michael Sparaga, and is due out on Shudder on April 26, 2024.
(featured image: Steve Wilkie / Shudder)
