IFC Films has debuted the trailer for Humane, a dystopian tale about a world ravaged by a catastrophic ecological collapse. Following in the footsteps of her father, the legendary horror filmmaker David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature debut will open in theaters on April 26.
After the film’s theatrical run, it will stream on Shudder starting July 26. Exploring the lengths a society would take to ensure humanity’s survival, the trailer promises “a chilling dystopian satire,” wherein a new program encourages 20% of the population to voluntarily die. The movie will center on one family, whose father’s grown children all refuse to participate.
“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,” the official synopsis reads.
You can watch the trailer down below:
In a statement, Cronenberg shared that Humane is more than just a film for her.
“When I read an early draft of the script in the pre-pandemic world of 2019, I couldn’t get it out of my head,” said the director. “Then the pandemic hit. And I was taken aback by how prescient the movie’s concept of a global crisis exacerbated by negligent, anti-science leadership that alters everyone’s daily existence and unjustly impacts the lives of society’s most vulnerable felt to me.”
She added, “Being the third Cronenberg to take on feature directing comes with a lot of pressure, especially about selecting the right projects. Humane has everything I’ve been looking for in a feature, including just the right amount of blood. My family likes blood.”
Who else is involved in Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature debut?
Written and produced by Michael Sparaga, the upcoming dystopian horror will star Jay Baruchel (Blackberry) as Jared, Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) as Rachel, Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie) as Charles, Enrico Colantoni (Station Eleven) as Bob, Sebastian Chacon (Emergency) as Noah, Alanna Bale (Cardinal) as Ashley, and Sirena Gulamgaus (Transplant) as Mia.
Executive producers are Todd Brown, Nick Spicer, Adrian Love, Laurie May, Scott Shooman, Emily Gotto, Martin Katz, and Karen Wookey.
