directed by Caitlin Cronenberg
Like father, like daughter? Perhaps. Although I have a feeling the daughter’s style might be much closer to my preferences. I’m obviously speaking about the Cronenbergs. Today’s film was directed by Caitlin Cronenberg, the daughter of David Cronenberg, probably the most famous Canadian horror filmmaker. I’ve seen lots of his films and he’s really passionate about disgusting viewers, which he does perfectly. However, there’s only one horror made by him that I actually liked very much, so I cannot really say I’m a big fan. When I was watching “Humane”, I didn’t know it’s made by David’s daughter, yet I felt a pinch of Cronenberg’s filmmaking style. It’s Caitlin’s first feature film, but I have a feeling we might like each other if she continues this directional path. Anyway, what’s happening in the film? We get to know a family that meets for a dinner at the parents’ house. During the meal, the father (Peter Gallagher) announces that he and his wife (Uni Park) are about to be voluntarily euthanised. Why? Well, in the world presented in the film, humanity has reached the point where authorities have to get rid of people as there are too many of them. That is why they create a special program, whose goal is to euthanise 20% of the world population. They may either randomly choose you or you can sign up yourself. If you sign up yourself, your family will be safe (one person per family is enough). Obviously, the adult children are against their parents’ idea, but the father believes it’s not only for the sake of their protection, but also for the glory. He used to be a famous TV personality, so volunteering would be appreciated by his fans and he would die a hero. When the euthanising crew arrives, the wife is gone, which means only the father may undergo the procedure. And he does. However, that’s not the end, because the crew came to euthanise 2 people and they need to leave the house with 2 bodies. So now, the 4 siblings have to decide who of them will volunteer instead of their missing step-mother. And the game begins! First of all, I love the fact that the director addressed the problem of global warming and she presented that in the future we may actually face such programs and make such decisions. Building horrors on potential true stories? Perfection. Second of all, the real horror here is not the fact that people euthanise themselves, but the choice that those 4 characters have to make. They need to question everything and kind of rate the usefulness of each person staying alive. That’s creepy and fascinating at the same time. And lastly, there’s a pinch of humour to make the experience even more disturbing. I cannot spoil you the ending, but I can say it’s both surprising and disappointing. Perhaps I expected something else, but it’s still quite unique. So I’m curious about your opinion. And I hope that Caitlin will continue to make films because I see a lot of potential there!
My rating: 6/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 