Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (“Crimes of The Future“) has fathered some talented children; his son Brandon Cronenberg already making a name for himself with blood-soaked mature projects like “Possessor” and “Infinity Pool.” Now, his artist daughter Caitlin Cronenberg is also getting into the moviemaking business with her feature film debut, “Humane.” The film was just acquired by IFC Films and Shudder from XYZ Films with a plan to hit the big screen before becoming an exclusive on the streaming service. Elevation Pictures is also set to distribute the directorial debut in Canada.
The new hybrid genre pic coming to theaters on April 26, 2024, was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario (a location used for the hit Amazon Prime Video series “Reacher“), directed by Cronenberg, written and produced by Victory Man Productions’ Michael Sparaga, and stars Jay Baruchel (“Blackberry”), Emily Hampshire (“Schitt’s Creek), and Peter Gallagher (“Grace & Frankie”).
The studio has sent over a first-look still from “Humane” alongside the logline that you can see below:
“Humane” is a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, mere months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to take extreme measures to reduce the earth’s population. In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare, and chaos erupts among his children.
Filmmaker Caitlin Cronenberg said, “It’s thrilling that my directorial debut is being released by IFC Films and Shudder, two of the most fearless and supportive distributors out there. Scott Shooman and his team have such a keen understanding of horror films and are the perfect partners to bring this genre-bending film to audiences.”
Now we’ll just have to wait for a trailer for “Humane” to wet out genre beaks.