“THE SHROUDS” (2024, 120 min., directed by David Cronenberg)
It has been well publicized that David Cronenberg directed his latest film, “The Shrouds,” as a tribute to his late wife, Carolyn Zeifman, who passed away in 2017. The movie is shrouded in Cronenberg’s grief.
Vincent Cassel stars as Karsh, a Cronenberg-lookalike tech entrepreneur, who develops a technology company, GraveTech, which allows bereaved clients to monitor the status of their loved ones post-mortem. Karsh’s GraveTech tombstones permit mourners to view a video feed of the decomposing bodies at their convenience, whether on monitors at GraveTech’s resort-like cemetery or from the GraveTech app on their smartphones.
Karsh himself is a GraveTech client, addicted to surveilling the body of his wife, Becca, played by Diane Kruger. The film’s plot kicks into gear when the GraveTech graveyard is vandalized and Becca’s body is stolen.
The cast of characters in “The Shrouds” is rounded out by Guy Pearce as Maury, neurotic engineer, and Kruger as two other characters, including Becca’s sister, Terry, and Hunny, Karsh’s AI assistant. Sandrine Holt stars as Soo-Min, a blind woman with whom Karsh begins a relationship.
In many ways, “The Shrouds” is reminiscent of previous Cronenberg films. The movie features all the body horror and complicated sexual encounters emblematic of his work, as well as his preoccupation with twins and doubles, the slippery slope of technological advancement and a convoluted, twist-filled plot. However, Cronenberg has never delivered a movie quite as sad and surreal as “The Shrouds,” although I would be remiss not to mention that it has a bizarre sense of humor for viewers on the director’s deadpan wavelength.
The film is a visceral metaphor for the digitization of lost relationships. GraveTech’s body cam is like a literal version of staring at a passed partner’s social media page or sifting through an old photo album. As more time passes, the more the bodies cease to resemble the living person Karsh’s clients loved, just as memories of a relationship fade and social media platforms become quaintly outmoded. The premise is relatable for anyone grieving a lost relationship, mortal or otherwise, but particularly affecting considering the context around Cronenberg’s involvement.
An additional layer of commentary is added after the film’s central mystery begins to unfold. “The Shrouds” is filled with the rambling conjecture of conspiracy theorists, a few of whom play key components in cracking the case of Becca’s missing body. If you have ever suffered the loss of a loved one or endured an out-of-the-blue breakup, thin conclusions of conspiracy can be a buoy to cling to. Strands of evidence for why-someone-did-what become totemic pillars of hypotheses. That theorizing can be comforting, a feeling which “The Shrouds” takes to with an unnerving escalation and eroticism only Cronenberg could muster.
While one clever metaphor and trademark Cronenberg oddities may not be enough to sell every audience on “The Shrouds,” there’s something special here for those willing to peer into an especially cryptic crypt. Like most of Cronenberg’s work, I have no doubt “The Shrouds” will soon be shepherded into the golden halls of the Cult Movie Afterlife. It’s a masterful evocation of grief in a way I haven’t seen put to the screen before.
While Cassel does decent work as Karsh, the real standout is Kruger with her triptych performance. The actress not only brings the chilliest, scariest lines of the film to the fore, but does so as an AI koala, covered with prosthetic, gaping wounds or walking a dog, depending on which Kruger character is in play. She gives one of the best performances in any Cronenberg movie, full stop. Pearce, following up on his Oscar-nominated turn in “The Brutalist,” is not to be underestimated either.
“The Shrouds” is a weird, wonderful movie. It demands to be engaged with and thought about, but for those willing to get under the shroud with it, there’s a beautifully beating heart at its center. While I hope this isn’t Cronenberg’s last feature, it wouldn’t be a bad one to go out on.
Rating: 4/5
VIDEO: All 23 David Cronenberg movies ranked
Over the course of his decades-long career as a filmmaker, David Cronenberg has directed 23 feature films. 828newsNOW film critic Pruett Norris watched – and ranked – them all. Check out the video below for the full ranking.
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