Caitlin Cronenberg – daughter of David, sister of Brandon – makes her feature directing debut with this dystopian horror movie.
When is Humane being released in New Zealand?
Humane is streaming in New Zealand exclusively on Apple TV+ from July 10.
What is Humane about?
In a bleak near future ravaged by environmental catastrophe (not too far-fetched, to be honest) a family dinner turns chaotic when patriarch Charles York announces that he and his second wife, celebrity Dawn Kim, have signed up for Department of Citizen Strategy’s euthanasia program, with their end scheduled for this very evening (yep, that’s bleak).
After Dawn bolts and Charles gets the chop, DOCS agent Bob informs Charles’ adult children that he still needs to collect another body – so who’s it going to be? As the family fall to vicious infighting – and plain old-fashioned fighting, old wounds are opened, simmering grudges boil over, and it all gets very nasty very quickly. It’s more of that dark, allegorical sci-fi/horror the kids are into these days. And it feels like there’s a hint of Succession here, too, with the dynastic squabbling around the dinner table.
The cast of Humane
Peter Gallagher is former newscaster Charles; Uni Park is Dawn; his wife; horror frequent flyer Jay Baruchel and Sebastian Chacon are sons Jared and Noah, respectively; Emily Hampshire and Alanna Bale are daughters Rachel and Ashley; and Enrico Colantoni is agent Bob.
Humane trailer
Why we’re excited about Humane
Look, we’d never go so far as to say that talent is in anyway genetic, but it’s plainly obvious that Clan Cronenberg have a real knack for sombre, cerebral, deeply unsettling thrillers that often devolve into squick-inducing body horror. It’s just their thing.
While Caitlin Cronenberg first came to prominence as a photographer, reviews so far suggest the Cronindottir’s debut feature mark her as a filmmaker to watch – if you have the stomach for this sort of thing.
