Caitlin Cronenberg’s Feature Debut ‘Humane’ Sets Theatrical Release Through IFC Films and Shudder; Director Teases Her ‘Violent, Bloody Fantasy’ (EXCLUSIVE)

William Earl
·7 min read
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Artist and photographer Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature directorial debut “Humane” has found a home fitting its dark vision.

IFC Films and horror streamer Shudder have acquired the U.S. rights for the film, with a theatrical release set for April 26 and a debut on Shudder planned for later in the year. Elevation Pictures will handle Canadian distribution.

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Cronenberg, whose portfolio includes work as a still photographer on dozens of film and TV productions, shot the film in Hamilton, Ontario, with a cast including Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher. Victory Man Productions’ Michael Sparaga wrote and produced “Humane.”

The logline for “Humane” promises a “dystopian satire taking 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.”

“Caitlin has crafted a provocative directorial debut exuding a timeliness and evocative social critique that highlights one of the most assured and exciting new voices to contend with,” Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ Film Group, said in a statement. “We are honored to distribute Caitlin’s first full-length feature for its theatrical release and presence on our streaming platform, Shudder.”

“With ‘Humane,’ Caitlin has delivered a wickedly smart, humorous and socially relevant thriller with exceptional performances from its outstanding cast,” added Emily Gotto, Shudder’s VP of global acquisitions & co-productions. “We can’t wait to share this chilling, prescient satire with Shudder members.”

“It’s thrilling that my directorial debut is being released by IFC Films and Shudder, two of the most fearless and supportive distributors out there,” Cronenberg said of the acquisition. “Scott Shooman and his team have such a keen understanding of horror films, and are the perfect partners to bring this genre-bending film to audiences.”

“Humane” is produced by Sparaga’s Victory Man Productions and executive produced by Martin Katz and Karen Wookey of Prospero Pictures, Todd Brown and Nick Spicer of XYZ Films and Adrian Love and Laurie May of Elevation Pictures. Noah Segal is the production supervisor. The film received financing from Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and equity financiers Red Jar Capital, and was produced in association with Crave, a division of Bell Media.

Cronenberg spoke to Variety about tackling her first feature, how horror inspires her and talking shop with her filmmaking family.

What inspired you to make “Humane” your directorial feature debut?

I was reading scripts and didn’t know what the future would hold for me as a director. I had done music videos and commercials and smaller things that got me enjoying the process, and feeling like I wanted to continue doing it. Then my agents in L.A. were sending me lots of scripts to take my temperature on what kind of filmmaker I thought I wanted to be. And then Michael Sparaga, who wrote “Humane,” has been a friend of mine for many years — I did stills on some of his other projects — and he just sent it to me out of the blue and said, “Have you ever thought about being a director?” I read the script and it was very different than anything I had been reading: It was funny but dark, and serious and interesting. I liked the concept of it having to do with climate change and environmental difficulties, but not being political or preachy. It’s just the story of a family within this time, but not trying to teach a lesson because there’s enough of that in the world for us to pay attention to. I just wanted it to focus on the family living within this scenario rather than telling you to not use plastic straws, because we know that already.

How do the horror and thriller genres speak to you as an artist?

It’s an exciting genre to tell normal stories through. One of the things that excited me about this script is that I’ve been genre-labeling it as a “family thriller.” I don’t think it’s straightforward horror — it’s a violent drama. I like the idea that you put normal people into these unbelievable circumstances, and then you allow the freedom to take it one step further than it would be if it actually happened in real life. This family is descending into this madness of trying to kill each other. Ultimately, it’s unlikely that would happen, but you could put yourself in that position and say, “I’m almost there. I almost understand how this could happen.” You get to see the fantasy version of how you, as a normal person, might react in that situation — like a very violent, bloody fantasy.

You’ve worked with your dad and brother [the directors David and Brandon Cronenberg] before. Did either of them have any advice for your first movie that you took to heart?

Yes and no. I didn’t say, “Give me your best piece of advice!” That’s not how we roll in our family. Having been on both of their sets, both in an official working capacity and just as a doting family member, I can tell you that the vibe is something that every director should strive to replicate, and I certainly did. Everybody’s happy, everybody’s calm, everybody’s respecting each other. Having been on a lot of film sets and seeing a lot of different styles of directing, I feel that they showed me the way that your work can be pleasant and everybody can be happy and truly proud of what they’re making.

The family thing is great because they all have so much more experience than I do, especially my dad. My brother has three features under his belt and is constantly working and writing, so it’s really lovely to be able to bounce ideas off of one another and ask for advice when it comes up. It’s a very unique kind of gift to have that in the family. It comes with its pressures of course — I feel that a lot is expected of me right out of the gate. But that’s fine, as I’m very confident with what I’ve created and myself as an artist, who is unique and different from them. But we all just support each other and love each other, and it’s really cute — like, sickening. We have cute group chats where we just tell each other that we love each other’s growth.

After this, are you hoping to shift your career to direct more?

I had an amazing experience and I’m so excited to do it again. Whether it’s TV, my film project or whatever it may be, I have the itch. I’m ready to go tomorrow. My kids are a little bit older and it’s a bit easier to feel like I could commit myself to something long-term. The thing that strikes a nice balance for me with photography is that film takes so long to get off the ground, and so much of the work in the development stage is phone calls, meetings, Zooms, that kind of thing. Photo shoots are like two days, so I can keep myself busy and feel creatively motivated by shooting, which is my first love. I can still be developing film and television projects, and hopefully one of them will take off. It’s nice to have creative outlets in different places with different kinds of time commitments. I like to be busy all the time.

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