As David Cronenberg fans wait to see if the director returns to Cannes with “The Shrouds” this May, his daughter Caitlin’s feature debut hits theaters next month. And “Humane” sounds like a story fit for a member of the Cronenberg family, an end-days tale about ecological collapse, euthanasia, and the lengths one will go to maintain normalcy. That’s not quite body horror, but close enough.
And IFC Films has a new trailer ready for Caitlin’s film as its April 26 theatrical release approaches. Set in an enclave after global collapse, a rich patriarch agrees that he wants his family to follow their nation’s newly prescribed euthanasia program. But things quickly go sideways, and the end of the world for his family only gets worse.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Humane,” courtesy of IFC Films:
HUMANE takes 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.
“Humane” stars Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagaher, an Enrico Colantoni. Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale, and Sirena Gulamgaus also star.
Cronenberg directs a script from Michael Sparaga, who also produces the film. Cronenberg shot “Humane” in Hamilton, Ontario last year. While IFC Films handles the film’s US distribution, Elevation Pictures handles its Canadian release.
So will Caitlin Cronenberg make her father proud with “Humane” or at least make something on par with Brandon Cronenberg‘s “Possessor” and “Infinity Pool“? Check out the first trailer for the movie below for a preview. After “Humane” bows in theaters on April 26, it streams exclusively on Shudder starting on July 26.