Final Rating: 3.5/5
It is always fascinating watching the children of artists follow in the same direction of their famous parents. David Cronenberg is an icon in both the Canadian cannon and the horror genre. Back in 2012, David’s son Brandon Cronenberg released his first film as a director in Antiviral and has since put out two other films including 2023’s Infinity Pool. All three of his films straddled the science fiction and horror genres, making it impossible to not invite comparisons to his legendary father.
Another one of David’s progeny is Caitlin Cronenberg, who has had a successful career as a portrait photographer and even publishing a book. To no one’s surprise, when she announced she would direct her debut film, it would be a horror and sci fi mashup.
In Humane, Caitlin Cronenberg takes on the environment, government overreach, pandemic response plans, familial legacies, race, ableism and much more. It is all packaged into a darkly comic, alternate present reality, science fiction/horror film. Otherwise known as typical Cronenberg fare.
Patriarch Charles York, played by Peter Gallagher, is a former evening news anchor in the vein of Peter Mansbrige, Peter Jennings or Lloyd Robertson. Handsome, distinguished and trust worthy. All adjectives that these powerful men exuded while earning the trust of their nightly viewers. Their legacy was that when you tuned in, you knew you were getting a story presented to you in an informative and honest manner.
Charles and his second wife Dawn Kim (Uni Park), have invited their four adult children over for dinner to tell them some big news. You have Jared (Jay Baruchel), an anthropologist that works with the government, Rachel (Emily Hampshire), a top flight defense attorney, Ashley (Alanna Bale) a struggling actress and Noah (Sebastian Chacon), an adopted son and prodigal musical talent who is now a recovering alcoholic.
Unfortunately these days aren’t normal. Whether this is a film that takes place in the near future or is simply an alternate timeline, the planet is fucked and dying, or rather humans are. With the sun radiating beyond dangerous UV levels due to climate change, people are required to avoid direct contact with sunlight or risk dying. The planet will purge itself of its infection if the infection doesn’t take care of itself.
In comes the D.O.C.S., the Department of Citizen Strategy, which in conjunction with the government is offering a $250,000 inheritance to anyone who willingly enlists to euthanize themselves. Countries all across the world agreed that a 20% reduction in population is the only way to save the earth. Charles and Dawn have agreed to enlist to do their part and to give their children and grandchildren a hope for the future.
Except when the D.O.C.S. show up to administer the cocktails, Dawn runs away. Bob, played by Enrico Colantoni, the lead D.O.C.S. agent tells the remaining York children that the government wants their bodies that are owed to them, one way or another. Bob is like Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglorious Basterds telling his troops “Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Nazi scalps. And I want my scalps.”
From here, predictably, we get the four York’s turning to preservation and survival mode, each declaring that they deserve to live and it must be one of the others who offers themselves up. Bob gives the group two hours to make a decision or else they must draw straws under duress of guns pointed at them to choose a donor.
While the film can be predictable, with the family quickly turning on each other, we are treated to a delicious example of rats eating their own for survival purposes, which is where both the comedy and horror aspects come into play. Before Bob turns the tables on the York children, Charles wants to back out of the contract he signed with the government, but in doing so would be published on a “coward’s list” effectively ruining his sterling reputation, and would prove right to his son Jared, who angrily accused his father of only enlisting to give him the ultimate selfless reputation. A reputation the family believes to be dubious since he was an absent and unsupportive parent. Here you have Cronenberg exploring the ideas of protecting family legacies, something she must be acutely aware of by getting into the same business her incredibly successful father is in.
From there secrets start to pour out of the York’s as they each try to make their case while denigrating their siblings. From infidelity, to inheritances already being spent, to leeching off the family with minimal ambition to making a living defending the worst of society. This group of people are all awful, with the slightest redeeming qualities. Bob is a former prison guard, who’s sadistic and cruel with his taunting of the family and encouraging them to bring the knives out. He gleefully watches Rachel’s daughter in a D.O.C.S. RV, letting her know that the elites like her family are all scum, including her own mother.
Any time you start to pity the family with the psychotic game Bob and D.O.C.S. is forcing them to play, you learn more about the York family, which keeps you getting more disgusted with their wealth and position in society. Cronenberg takes direct aim at those gaming the system for their own successes with a special bullseye for Trump-era policies. The government that Jared works with is calling the climate change induced crisis the “Asian Collapse” reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic being dubbed the “China flu”. When the York’s try to figure out if they can weasel their way out of the situation, Bob lets them know they will all be imprisoned and their children will be sent to detention centers that make the cages during the border crisis look like a good time alluding to the Trump administration separating children from families that immigrated illegally and housing them in cages.
Enrico Colantoni makes every scene sparkle with intensity as he delightfully chews the scenery. Between goading the family into killing each other to protect themselves and manically lecturing Rachel’s daughter while keeping her hostage. Colantoni is no stranger to stealing scenes as he has built a career on popping up in Hollywood productions as “that guy”.
Jay Baruchel, known as a brilliant comedic performer, struggles at some points with heavier dramatic work required and overall could have infused even more of a prickish attitude to his character Jared. His chemistry with Emily Hampshire as two bitter, battle hardened siblings is excellent. Hampshire, who is most known as Stevie in Schitt’s Creek, proves she has the range to play darker, more intense roles.
The best tension comes between Alanna Bale’s Ashley and Sebastian Chacon’s Noah, as two siblings who decided it was best to stick together as kids while their parents and siblings either ignored or discredited them. As the nightmare ramps up the two oscillate between trying to band together and if it is better to be every sibling for themselves.
With it being a Cronenberg film, the first question one might ask is if there will be body horror elements like both her father and brother are famous for. Sure enough as the comedy starts to slip away, the grotesque comes to play. We get a character pulling out a tooth, someone literally gets stabbed in the back and enough bodily harm is injected to make you squirm in your seat.
The film is funny, insightful and just scary enough to make it a very enjoyable experience. The film likely invites comparisons to other rich people getting their comeuppance like Ready or Not, The Menu and Knives Out but Caitlin Cronenberg delivers a film that adds her own touch of righteous anger and frustration that you can’t help but be excited to see where her career goes next.
Thank you to Elevation Pictures for the screener.
