The Cronenberg family is royalty within the horror genre, specifically in the body horror subgenre featuring imagery of visceral body transformations and the intertwining of the physical and the psychological. Director and screenwriter David is the patriarch, known for films such as The Fly (1986), Scanners (1981) and Videodrome (1983). If I were to create a Body Horror 101 class, these films would be first on the required viewing list.

The Fly, starring Jeff Goldblum, is the most well-known and was a box office hit when it debuted, making $60 million. His films were among the first to really challenge the viewer and make them question reality. David Cronenberg must have strong genes, because now his children are following in his footsteps.

His son, Brandon, is a writer-director whose movies lean more into science fiction, but you can tell they are heavily influenced by his father with the trippy sequences and disturbing imagery. Brandon has released three feature films so far: Antiviral (2012), Possessor (2020) and Infinity Pool (2023). I describe all of these movies as fever dreams: They are vivid, intense and bizarre with a nightmarish dreamlike quality. Infinity Pool, starring Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth, was really well received by audiences and horror fans look forward to what he’ll do next because of it.

That brings us to today’s director of our feature film and daughter of David Cronenberg: Caitlin Cronenberg. Another member joins the family business, but this wasn’t her original plan. She’s actually a very talented photographer, best known for shooting the cover of Drake’s album, Views. She shot a one-minute short film in 2021 that led her to be recognized by agents in Los Angeles, who encouraged her to direct a feature film. Thus, the IFC Films-distributed horror-thriller and dark comedy, Humane was born.

Taking place in the not-so-far-off future, world leaders decide in order for the human race to thrive and prevent overpopulation, a service called the Department of Citizen Strategy (D.O.C.S) will be offered where a person can “enlist” to be euthanized. In return, the person’s family will receive $250,000 or, if they aren’t a United States citizen, their family will receive full citizenship. If you couldn’t tell, this is designed to target the lower and middle-class citizens.

Former news broadcaster Charles York (Peter Gallagher) and his celebrity chef wife, Dawn (Uni Park), have decided to enlist in order to provide a good example for others, given their status in society. We learn about each of their four adult children as the movie opens and that all of these people have an intolerable quality or trait. Jared (Jay Baruchel) is a controversial anthropologist, Rachel (Emily Hampshire) is a two-faced pharmaceutical CEO, Ashley (Alanna Bale) is a struggling actress who can’t hardly get commercial work and adopted son, Noah (Sebastian Chacon), is a recovering addict who has recently found love with another recovering addict, named Grace.

Charles and Dawn have their children over for dinner to break the news and inform them that the euthanizing is happening that same evening. Dawn flees without a word and Charles is left to be euthanized alone. Bob from D.O.C.S. arrives with government agents to perform the procedure and since Dawn has fled, he gives the four York children two hours to decide who will be enlisted, since his contract is for two bodies. Bob is a great character who is a true believer of the system, who enjoys his job a little too much. He mentions an Instagram account, which is an actual active account for the movie!

The real action starts when the York children are left to fight to the death. The movie gives me vibes of You’re Next meets Ready or Not, because it becomes a real cat-and-mouse game when the siblings turn on each other. Who knew seeing four entitled adults who don’t know anything about using weapons or possibly killing each other would be wildly entertaining?

While there is a decent amount of gore and just a little of that Cronenberg body horror, it still shocks the viewer and will make you squirm in your seat. The addition of dark comedy alongside the chaos works very well, too. Jay Baruchel is a naturally funny actor known for his roles in Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder and This Is the End. He has some oneliners that are hysterical! But despite the humor, the viewer will be invested in how this battle to stay alive plays out in order to satisfy the governmental constraints.

Another element of interest is the power play for the money, because this is a family that is well off and not hurting financially, so why is the money so important? Maybe this is in part to the film wanting to display a social commentary about the rich and how no matter how damaged we may be, most of us still have the will to live. The horrors of climate change are also mentioned in the beginning; people are carrying umbrellas and driving around with film in the windows of their cars to protect themselves from the sun. This element gets lost after the first act but is definitely an interesting idea that could be built upon.

Overall, it’s safe to say that with the last name of Cronenberg, one could possibly enter this movie expecting a certain amount of horror, professionalism and suspension of belief. Humane is not the same caliber as that of Caitlin’s father or brother, but that adds to the charm of the film. Unfortunately, anyone familiar with her family’s work may have expectations too high and be disappointed in this one. I recommend approaching this as you would with any director’s first feature film and just enjoy seeing the mayhem of the rich destroying the rich.

Streaming now on Shudder.