Humane – A One-Dimensional Thriller

Few figures have made as large of an impact on the film industry as David Cronenberg. The godfather of body horror has crafted several timeless classics including The Fly and Videodrome, and has influenced an entire new generation of filmmakers who have worked to evolve the sub-genre he pioneered. Among this new generation are Cronenberg’s own children. Brandon Cronenberg has begun to make a name for himself with Possessor and Infinity Pool, putting his own unique spin on the genre. Now David Cronenberg’s daughter Caitlyn is trying her hand at filmmaking with Humane.

Caitlyn Cronenberg’s directorial debut, Humane continues the rein the Cronenberg family have over the body horror genre. Set months after a global ecological disaster has forced world leaders to take extreme measures, one member of each family is encouraged (and with lower class families, often forced) to enlist in a euthanasia program set up to reduce the earth’s population considerably. Peter Gallagher portrays Charles York, a former journalist and wealthy patriarch who enlists in this program with his new wife Dawn (Uni Park) and calls his somewhat estranged family together to reveal the news. Charles’ children, Jared (Baruchel), Rachel (Hampshire), Noah (Sebastian Chacon), and Ashley (Alanna Bale), tried to talk their father out of it, but before they had a chance, a government worker named Bob (Enrico Colantoni) arrives to collect the bodies and start the process. When Dawn gets cold feet and suddenly disappears, Bob informs the siblings that one of them has to take her place and gives them one hour to make a decision. Stuck in their father’s mansion with seemingly no route to escape, the siblings are pitted against each other as their greed and hatred is on full display.

Humane is tense and has a high concept premise for a relatively minimalistic and contained thriller. The idea that the world is not capable of holding 7 billion people with families being forced to choose one member to self sacrifice is undeniably fascinating and not as far fetched as many would like to hope. The premise alone is enough to evoke thoughtful conversation. Unfortunately, the film boils down its well thought out concept to its most simplistic and shallow form, refusing to explore with any depth whatsoever.

Cronenberg makes the rookie mistake of relying too heavily on exposition to create the world that her characters inhabit. She explains the world she’s created through dialogue and exposition dumps. The film keeps its attention entirely focused on the Yorks instead of spending any time exploring why the world is in a crisis and why the government are forcing individuals to enlist in this program. This wouldn’t be an issue if the dynamics between the family members weren’t completely cliche and if the characters weren’t so one dimensional. Ultimately, the film puts its bigger ideas on the back-burner in favour of exploring family dynamics and class issues in a blatantly obvious and uninspiring fashion.

While is ultimately a disappointment, Cronenberg does prove she has the potential to grow as a filmmaker and has inherited her father and brother’s ability to capture the attention of audiences through violent and unsettling imagery. There are some genuinely tense scenes, especially when the siblings are weighing their options while determining who must sacrifice themselves for the sake of the others. The film doesn’t necessarily go in the direction that most audiences expect and likely hope it will go on in, which is a welcome surprise.

In the end, that is not enough to save Humane from being just another uninspired and one-dimensional thriller. Despite showing some potential as a filmmaker, it is a relatively weak first outing from Caitlyn Cronenberg.

*still courtesy of Elevation Pictures*

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Tristan French