PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Horror is often at its best when it can move outside the world of basic tropes and jump scares and examine the most frightening traits of real people. When the genre puts seemingly normal humans in dark circumstances and lets their evil protrude, that shows truly terrifying results. Such is the case in Humane, the directorial debut from Caitlin Cronenberg. Caitlin is the daughter of horror legend David Cronenberg (The Fly 1986, read our retro review here) and the sister of the emerging Brandon Cronenberg (Infinity Pool 2023). She was previously known for still photography, but let’s see how her opening salvo in the director’s chair went.
Humane was written by Michael Sparaga (United We Fan 2018) and stars Jay Baruchel (Random Acts of Violence 2019) Emily Hampshire (Mom 2024) and Peter Gallagher (American Beauty 1999). The story follows the upper crust York family in a dystopian world, where the government requires volunteers to be killed to control the population. Those that volunteer have their families rewarded with tons of money upon their death. The heads of the York family gather their children to tell them the news, and all hell breaks loose.
Only one of the Yorks sticks to the death pact, so the government must collect a second body. Trapped in the desolate mansion, the family must now either work together or fall apart, as secrets and tension mount.
Humane hits a home run in terms of the chemistry and clear delineation of its characters. Every member of the York family has a rocky history, clear motivation, and can be seen for who they are, very quickly. The brother and sister dynamic and family toxicity feels real and is worn on each of their faces. This dialogue-heavy success is well paced, and leads to some genuinely funny dark comedy, without ever killing the tension that it builds.
Humane also uses its rooms to isolate the characters and peel back the curtain on their relationships. Cronenberg clearly thrives in the chaotic world she builds, just like her father. But unlike David’s body-horror, Caitlin weaves societal statements into her work. Themes of classism, racism, governmental divide, and greed are woven expertly into this game of survival. With all of the subtext it provides, it would feel dystopian not to have this movie in the upper crust of your horror lists by year’s end.
Humane is currently streaming on Shudder.
