User Reviews

I watched Humane. I liked the idea. And the movie kept my interest. But I just couldn't really believe it.

If D. O. C. S. did all that, (by "all that," I mean details that would spoil the movie if I were to write them,) and any family knew about it, that information would spread like wildfire. It wouldn't have been a big surprise to the family.

The end was cheesy AF. Not believable at all.

I disliked the politics of the film also. It would have been way more believable to have the World Health Organization doing all of it, rather than a single political party.

There are numerous other things that just didn't add up in it also.

Buuuuut... it held my interest. And the CONCEPT of the film was very original and intriguing, which is way more than I can say for the other movies coming out nowadays. The movie was good, but it could have been great with just a bit more thought put into it.

The concept of this movie is pretty good, government needs to reduce population so pays people to be euthanised. Rich guy invites family round to tell them he's enlisted to do this. All kinda makes sense and can go along with the general idea.

The rest of the movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, the company that come and do it, the behaviour of the family, every action, further development of the original concept, decisions of everyone involved, nothing works. There is that single original concept, and thats it.

But actually that single thing was kinda enough to keep watching and see how it plays out, to its inevitable dissatisfying ending.

Nice idea. Ok to watch, could have been waaay better in every single way.

After stumbling upon many negative reviews around here, I felt compelled to share my thoughts with my first review. This film doesn't quite hit the lows that many claim, nor does it reach the heights promised by its premise.

The core issue is rather straightforward: the script (skillfully executed by Michael Sparaga) leans heavily into satire, however, it appears that not everyone involved in the production fully embraced this idea. The film oscillates between moments of absurdity, humor, thriller, and straight-up horror, leading to a somewhat disjointed direction. While there are occasional flashes of comedic bullseyes, the constant comparison to David Cronenberg's esteemed body horror of work is inevitable, despite the absence of substantial horror elements (barring a few graphic close-ups in the third act).

The movie would have greatly benefited from leaning further into its satirical elements rather than focusing primarily on horror and suspense. This failure to fully embrace its comedic side left me feeling somewhat confused. Is it a left-wing nightmare? A mockery of right-wing extremes? Probably neither. This imbalance, favoring horror over absurdist hilarity, likely contributed to the dissatisfaction of many viewers. When the socio-political message becomes too apparent in any form of art, there's a risk of either angering or boring the audience.

Still, if viewed as a satire, the movie with its one-location concept offers an entertaining experience. It serves as a commendable directorial debut and showcases a standout performance by Enrico Colantoni, who knows exactly what kind of movie he's in.

The idea here is necessity of death due to human failure and the focus is on the rich. Death to the rich. Fine, we're all thinking it, but a film about it would have to be nuanced and intelligent because no matter how damaged we are we all want to live. This film pits a few family related shallow characters against each other. No one has any real arguments for prospering. No one has any really good argument for human existence continuing. The film is a continuous stream of political cliches, memes, sentiments you could find on your favorite social platform. This is lazy filmmaking. This is not worthy of your time.

So I won't go into a movie summary since IMDb already does a pretty good job of doing that. It is watchable, but kind of slow to get started. The acting is very average for all involved except for the two main character husband and wife...they of course are quite seasoned. The soundtrack, yea that is really lacking. And actually takes away from many scenes while always playing softly in the background. But where this film is actually quite strong is the cinematography. Whoever the cinematographer was for the movie knew his business. Not a single shakey-cam anywhere. They set up the scenes and and shots it all really well. That is something so new. Typically it is annoying shakey-cam and high school level film class shots. So it's worth a watch.

I thought it was a new good idea until it got to the 2nd half of the film which seems to be the trend of movies now, they know how to hook you in but not know how to end it properly.

1) How is noah this stupid? He gets betrayed.. TWICE by this ashley chick and still decides family. I thought they were going for a whole different tone with the constant "We're like a family here" but nah.

2) They go on and on throughout the movie how DOCS is almost like another federal government agency like the CIA/FBI so killing one I couldn't see any celeb getting away with. Yet they kill supposedly 5 of them and they're all just fastforwarded into whatever future and everyone is ok?

I thought for sure they were going to go for another purge theme on how the system was actually twisted with the lying of % volunteers but nope its touched once and never again. Feels like this movie missed a severe opportunity.

How do you sully the Cronenberg name? Well, this is a start.

Maybe that's too harsh, as "Humane" is a passable movie going experience, but it does pale next to what poppa David and brother Brandon have unleashed lately.

After a career in photography Caitlin Cronenberg joins her family of filmmakers with this auspicious eco-thriller debut, and it does look great. It has that. It also has the spunky yet amateurish charm of the early Cronenberg films, where horror sprinkled with macabre comedic touches is the payoff of to quickly ignored and outlandish plotlines. The set up to "Humane", a voluntary 20% euthanasia program to combat climate change, is great. Even better, a well to do family gathers for a squabbling dinner only discover that one of them will be "volunteered" before the night is over. Greater! Jay Baruchel turns in another stellar performance, this time as the fast talking, back-tracking, squirming son who is squeamish about walking the walk he's talking. Greatest!

The rest of the movie is a sibling rivalry gone extreme exercise, as the kids are literally at each others' throats. Spoiler: things get bloody. Sounds, er reads good on paper, but the execution is just not up to the task. The plot holes are too egregious to ignore, and the action not engrossing enough to forgive the sketchy story line. A thriller without the thrill. Perhaps filming during the Pandemic hampered the production, who knows?

There's enough here to satiate those without expectation, and if including Trooper's "We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)" seems like a laugh riot knee-slapping inclusion, well, then you may dig this.

• hipCRANK.

Caitlin Cronenberg's Humane is a sluggish attempt at social commentary wrapped in a messy, one-note thriller. Set in a future plagued by food scarcity, the film squanders its intriguing premise by drowning in its own self-importance. Despite a talented cast, the characters remain thinly sketched caricatures, devoid of any real depth or nuance. The plot meanders aimlessly, weighed down by heavy-handed moralizing and clunky dialogue.

While the film occasionally flirts with unsettling imagery, it ultimately fails to deliver any genuine tension or suspense. The violence feels gratuitous and disconnected, lacking the impact needed to resonate with the audience. Even the central conflict, supposedly a life-or-death moral dilemma, falls flat due to poor execution and uninspired storytelling.

Humane desperately wants to be a thought-provoking exploration of ethical quandaries, but instead, it comes across as pretentious and contrived. With its muddled message and lackluster execution, this film is a forgettable misfire that squanders its potential at every turn. Save yourself the time and skip this one."

Humane builds on an interesting concept but doesn't quite stick the landing. The opening half hour does a good job setting up the plot and opens up different ideas to a really good premise.

Once Enrico Colantoni shows up he becomes the star of the show giving off Bobcat Goldthwait vibes without the voice. He is great in this part ranging from sympathetic to menacing in the blink of an eye.

For a debut feature, this is good work from Caitlin Cronenberg and shows the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's nice to know once David is done directing he has Brandon & Caitlin continuing to make thought-provoking work.

It's hard to hate a film like 'Humane'. It's a reasonably original concept and it doesn't want to do anything other than entertain you. Sure it's a little clunky, particularly at the start (it is a feature-length debut director after all), but it finds its rhythm along the way and becomes a pretty enjoyable film.

The dialogue in the film could certainly use a lot of polishing. It makes a lot of the characters come across stiffer and stranger than I think they were intended to be. The film is lucky that in the latter half it stops relying on dialogue as much and the action takes centre stage.

This is a film where I would suggest if you're not vibing with it at first, give it a bit longer. Give it a chance to find its way and you might just have a very good time in the second half. 8/10.

This one is definitely a success! Considering its cast, something was lurking under the water from the start, and little by little, it grew and became an original movie, with great moments and a lovely finish.

One of the best plot developments I've seen in recent times, wonderful actors, beautitul dialogue, quite an experience I tell you.

Definitely something to recommend, just give it a little time, let it work its magic and be amazed! Looks like a small production, if only not for the actors, but beside that, it had that indie feel to it. Something fresh and delicious, home made! I'm quite sure a lot of people will appreciate Humane.

Cheers!

In 2024's "Humane" we are introduced to a wealthy families dinner party that transforms into a night of horror and betrayal. Due to an environmental collapse, humanity is forced to shed 20% of its population and after the father of the York family dies, they are confronted with a situation that seems unsolvable at first. But without spoiling anything, the siblings certainly don't have much of a problem to betray each other and go for the easiest way out to save themselves.

The premise seemed interesting enough and with Caitlin Cronenberg as the director I was intrigued to say the least. However the movie ultimately falls pretty flat and becomes a rather underwhelming flick. It's well acted and overall the production looks pretty solid. The premise is slightly stupid but also interesting and unique in its own way. However the movie never manages to evolve into something memorable. It's able to pass the time but overall doesn't leave lasting impression and therefore ends up being pretty ordinary. [5,4/10]

Oh.....my......God... first I do not have the words to describe how I feel about this movie...but I'll try. The amount of cringy moments in this movie is off the charts. This is probably what would happen if one political party got control for too long. If you've been paying attention, a lot of people want to depopulate the planet and have openly said so. And, people are being euthanized today with the help of their government.

Also, If you are on the up and up with current movies and see the way they are trending, you can probably guess what happens in this movie before it even happens. You can also probably guess WHO survives. Yes, It's that predictable.

2/10 - A movie for a modern audience 🙄

Humane is just good enough to watch once if there's nothing else to do, nothing more, nothing less. It feels a bit low budget. The acting is so-so from certain members of the cast, the rest was okay. It's not really a horror story unless you're easily horrified. Nothing really scary about this movie, maybe a bit thrilling. As for the sci-fi aspect I guess the plot will not be sci-fi for much longer. I mean overpopulation, it's already starting and it's only a matter of time before we get stuff happening like in Humane. In short, the movie is watchable, just don't expect to be amazed because you won't be.

Oh wow, can you believe it? We've all experienced those fun family dinner moments, haven't we? But this one really tops them all. It kicked off with a lousy father figure, and things escalated quickly. In less than an hour, they went from grieving his death to trying to kill each other. And get this - there's a massive inheritance up for grabs. On top of that, the dad signed a contract stating that one of them had to die because his wife bailed on their suicide pact. Where did she disappear to? Who knows, who cares. The family drama is already intense without her. And let's not forget the adopted sibling who just wants peace and happiness among everyone. Yeah, that's definitely not happening. If you're a fan of horror comedies featuring wealthy, dysfunctional families battling it out to survive, this movie is perfect for you.

The movie never really delves into the reasons behind the disaster. It does mention the Amazon Rainforest burning down, which is a major issue for humanity, whether before or after the disaster.

But, according to the film's premise, Thanos was onto something.

In quirky, play-like, near-future dark sci-fi "Humane" earth's ongoing eco-disaster means the human race must downsize by 20%, leading the Canadian govt to pay volunteers to die via euphenasia teams like that of Enrico Colantoni. But when famous & wealthy Peter Gallagher & wife Uni Park announce their own plan for the situation, at dinner with his adult kids (Jay Baruchel, Alana Bale, Emily Hampshire & Sebastian Chacon), the evening doesn't run smoothly. Brandon Cronenberg is well set to follow in dad David's iconic directorial shoes, but his sister Caitlin, with this her debut (directing Michael Sparaga's flawed and rather silly script)... not so much. Disappointing.

Acclaimed Canadian photographer (and carrier of the infamous Cronenberg gene), Caitlin Cronenberg dipped her toes into (well longer than one minute) directing with the dystopian horror noir "Humane". The film is set in a world where overpopulation requires all governments to meet a culling target and the US opted for voluntary culling against payment. A dilemma develops when through a series of events four siblings are required to decide which one of them should be "culled". Events start to play out with some very cool gore and more than decent acting. The facial expressions captured in unobtrusive detail truly enhanced the "noir quality" of the film, but certain scenes were somewhat over-the-top resulting in almost slapstick comedy. All and all an enjoyable film. 6.5/10.

I'm being very generous with a 4 because it's Caitlin Cronenberg's first film. I think she shows promise, it's hard to see but it's there. Whereas her bother takes his concepts more seriously, Caitlin took a very silly, tongue in cheek approach to this movie which is more reminiscent of the greatness of their father.

In broad strokes: Humane quickly glosses over the improbable scenario of every country agreeing to eliminate 20% of it's population to stabilize planetary resource consumption before you have a chance to pick it apart too much. It goes on to present a family whose wealthy father invites his amoral and/or underachieving children to a dinner to announce that he and his wife (not their mother) have agreed to do their part for society and be euthanized, but...his wife got cold feet and ran off. The government euthanizers show up and the father goes through with it, but they were called for two bodies and won't leave without a second. So the question then becomes which sibling will step up and be the one who dies?

Enrico Colantoni's performance is what makes this film watchable, most of the other performance were very rough and that's my biggest criticism for Caitlin Cronenberg. Gallagher, Colantoni, Baruchel are all more or less pros who can hold their own, but she didn't get equal performances out of the other actors and there was a contrast. The film did look good though, and the pacing was pretty good too (maybe a couple of lulls).

Something to put on if you want to kill some times. It's about even with, maybe a little better than the recent Shyamalan movies.

Canadian black comedy at its finest. Silly acting, "humane" euthanasia, censorship, ridiculous security uniforms, addict advocacy, human trafficking, this movie has it all. It really embraces a lot of Canadian turmoil we've been dealing with as of late and whips them into a satirical story of the horrors of being stuck in a home with a toxic family.

While the family seems unnecessarily toxic, the premise of the movie.itself is equally wild. Once you're able to push those barriers aside you'll enjoy this movie to some extent. For those of you triggered easily, this is perhaps not the best movie for you.

Boring and nothing new here, is just another boring family fighting against each other, im watching this everyday in my family, my mother fighting over with my dad because of her thinking he cheat on her, my sister and the psychological problems and food problems, my brother and his depression and my grandma with her dementia, my family is a mess, but we are together, that's what family do, they stick together, this movie family is just weak and immaturity that's why in proud of my family

Sorry i needed to get this off my chest, im suffering right here, i seriously need help, any kind of help to be honest.

Left me w actual CHILLS! As an adoptee from foster care I felt that I could relate to Noah throughout the film, even right off the bat when I was introduced to his character as a fellow latino with a white name due to their adoption. This movie had me questioning my own family dynamic and who was the villain of the story (every single character in some way) go into it blind you'll hate it in the best way possible, because it's so REAL like that could be your own family in a similar crisis you just have no idea.

Cinematography was just so beautiful and raw. I loved the cuts and attention to little detail in the video work. The characters knew exactly what they were doing I was able to connect very well with them due to their amazing performances. Very subtle things like slight body placement and ESPECIALLY actors' eyes conveyed so much unspoken emotion that I was able to predict certain things I don't want to spoil, which I loved!

I'll be thinking about this movie for months to come; this is the typa movie that just STICKS with you; go watch!

This was a movie that I caught part of the trailer when I was seeing something at the Gateway Film Center. What captured my attention was seeing that this was directed by Caitlin Cronenberg. I'm a fan of her father, David, and her brother, Brandon, so I wanted to see what she could do. Featuring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher also worked in its favor.

Synopsis: in the wake of an environmental collapse that is forcing humanity to shed 20% of its population, a family dinner erupts into chaos when a father's plan goes awry.

Building from the synopsis, I thought this did well in setting up the world that we're in through a news report. Climate change was ignored and now due to overpopulation, resources need to be rationed. A new worldwide ordinance was put in. Countries have a quota to fill of euthanizing citizens to not consume the remaining resources. I also got the idea to start fixing issues with the environment as well.

We are following a specific, wealthy family. The patriarch is Charles York (Gallagher). He was a host of a mainstream news station, ala Walter Cronkite or Peter Jennings. He has two sons and two daughters. Jared (Baruchel) is an anthropologist working with the government. He makes harsh comments on the news that upsets his son and ex-wife. The next child is Rachel (Hampshire) who I get the idea that she works for a pharmaceutical company. Bad decisions and information were given which resulted in people getting hurt by one of their products. She also has a daughter, Mia (Sirena Gulamgaus).

The other two children aren't as successful. Ashley (Alanna Bale) is a struggling actor. Noah (Sebastian Chacon) was adopted and he is a recovering addict. He has a live-in girlfriend of Grace (Blessing Adeijo) who he met in a meeting. Noah was a prodigy with playing the piano before his addiction. He also was in a car accident while high that caused him to walk with a cane and has a scar on his face. There's one other member of the family, Dawn (Uni Park), who is the stepmother after Charles' first wife passed away. She is a famous restaurateur.

Now I'm going to avoid spoilers, but Charles calls his children to the house for a dinner party. Dawn owned a restaurant before it was burned down. There is hate toward Asians as they're blamed for the overpopulation of the world. Charles only wanted adults to attend, but Rachel brought Mia due to not having someone to watch her. What I'll say is that Charles has volunteered to be euthanized. He thinks that Dawn is on board with the decision. This blindsides his children and even more so when the unit shows up that night. Charles didn't read the fine print and what happens from here starts a nightmare. We truly see what happens when you're faced with your mortality and what you'll give up to survive.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I can see this movie turning people off due to the social commentary that is built into the fabric of the story. I don't think you can ignore it. Personally, it didn't feel to me to be in your face. I took this as you need to just know these elements of the world to understand what is happening. The biggest one though is if you don't believe in climate change, you might just be turned off to this movie. Just wanted that disclaimer here.

With that out of the way, I do like the approach to discussing global issues here. We also have commentary on the government, information and what we can trust. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I also don't blindly believe what the government tells us either. This sets up that the ozone layer has been damaged to where extra protection is needed from the sun. I like how this is subtly done with plastic over windows. We see people getting their water ration at the start. I loved this duality to the dinner that is being made by Dawn. Jared comments on it when he shows up as well. It is early that we also learn that each country is tasked with killing off 20% of their population. That is the 'quota'. Like the military back for the world wars and the cold war, volunteers are asked for first. If that doesn't work, a draft will be done.

Then to delve deeper into the specific group we're following, this family hates each other. It is interesting as they grew up rich and had every opportunity afforded them due to their status. I do like that commentary there about how they don't struggle the same way as 'normal' people. Jared and Rachel are highly successful, but they're horrible people. Noah is a good guy, but he also took the route of drugs. I get that happened due to the pressure of being a 'prodigy' with the piano. He couldn't handle it. Ashley is a struggling actor. Since she doesn't truly need to work, she is skating by. There is tension between Jared and his father. Charles was critical of the government where Jared seemed like a mouthpiece. Noah brings up a conspiracy about the lying surrounding the numbers who volunteered. Jared wants that person's name as they should be 'punished'. That's a fascist approach and trending on their right to free speech. We're seeing the United States here turning into a scary place that builds a good atmosphere. It isn't out of the realm of possibility which helps. I also saw parallel to the numbers of COVID deaths during the lock down.

There's another angle I want to explore and it comes with this group who euthanize people. They're led by Bob (Enrico Colantoni). He's friendly, but there's a scary side to him as things get said. His unit also comes armed. There's an interesting reveal here that the first people to 'volunteer' were prisoners. That meant that guards were let go. They seem to transition over to this unit here. What is terrifying is that it gets revealed that without prisons, these guys lost their income. There is a new way they can make money and won't be easily swayed. This adds tension and horror to me.

That should be enough for the story. The story we are following is simple to be honest. There is a lot going on under the surface, but what we're getting is a variation on home invasion. It is more about trapping our family inside with an impossible decision. I love seeing the true colors of these siblings come out. Baruchel and Hampshire are horrible characters, but their performances are great to bring them to life. I like Gallagher who seems so noble, but Charles is too concerned with how he will be remembered. I like Chacon was this adopted child who is trying to make up for things he did in the past. It isn't easy with how judgmental everyone else is. I also like Bale who doesn't have much to show for a career. Her greed drives her as well. Colantoni, Martin Roach and all his group were solid. They're this borderline military force that is keeping everyone trapped. I like Gulamgaus, Park and the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. First, I will say that I love this world it is set in. This feels like things that her brother and father do so well. It feels like our world is just slightly different. It is that bit that makes it work. The cinematography is good. I love how it captures this setting where our group is trapped. I'll credit there for sure. If I do have an issue it comes with how it ends. I feel like it slightly pulls its punch. I've been sitting on it and writing this the day after seeing it. What I've concluded is that it fits this family and their sensibilities. What does work though are the effects. This isn't body horror, but it shows attacks and wounds with brutal realism. I liked that. I also thought the sound design worked and the music fit what was needed.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie. The social commentary might turn people off, but I thought that it helped create the world this is set in. I also think it asks interesting questions. The performances here are good across the board. Baruchel, Hampshire, Gallagher, Chacon, Bale and Colantoni set up the story and bring their characters to life to make it work. The contained atmosphere helps build tension. I thought this was well made. The cinematography, framing and effects were good there. I just wanted a bit more with the ending, but it fit the narrative. I can see this being divisive due to the underlying messages and themes. If you can just enjoy what you're getting here, I recommend it.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.