It runs in the family
Caitlin Cronenberg makes directing debut with ‘Humane’
While her father David’s horror movies routinely rank among the greatest in cinematic history, Caitlin Cronenberg sees her directing debut with “Humane” as something completely different.
“Actually, I don’t see it as a horror movie at all. There are some elements that have horror associated with them. But I see it more as a thriller-satire-family drama,” Cronenberg, 39, said in a Zoom call from her home in Toronto.
“I’m pleased to not be forced to have it sit inside one single genre because I don’t think it’s possible with this film.”
Dubbed “a dark comedy,” set in an imaginary near future, “Humane” revolves around an extended family gathered for dinner who inhabit a world reeling from climate change.
As death becomes a reality, knives are drawn and four adult siblings must confront a horrifying choice.
“This does not fall into the classic tropes people may expect from me making my first film,” Cronenberg said. “That being said, I think it’s sufficiently gory, and sufficiently tense.”
Cronenberg has had, independently of her famous father, a thriving career as a portraitist with photography which led to music videos and commercials. How did she end up in filmmaking?
“To me, honestly, it just happened. It was a very organic progression. The way that I shoot photography, I like to be a storyteller with my still images. I like to create a world for my actors and give them a role to play in their sittings.
“So I felt like I was already directing, but just in my own way. The music videos and commercials really just drew me in, in such a way that I couldn’t deny that I actually had a bit of a love for it. Once you realize that you love it and then somebody sends you a script and says, ‘Hey, do you want to direct this movie?’ It’s hard to ignore.”
With its twisty storytelling, vividly drawn characters and sinister authoritarian landscape, “Humane” is a provocation. Is it asking its audience to make choices?
“I would like people to go into this movie, keeping in mind that it is a satirical look at a very unlikely situation. But also, as you watch it, to think about what could potentially happen if we were put into that situation,” she said.
“Though it is a satire, it is set in an alternate present that is not our current reality. But you just never know. People have said to me, ‘This feels like we’re about five weeks away from this actually happening.’
“And sometimes when you see the news you think, ‘I can’t believe that this is actually what’s happening in the world right now!’”
“Humane” opens Friday