Early on in “The Shrouds,” Karsh, played by Vincent Cassel, asks his blind date, “How dark are you willing to go?” before describing his sudden impulse to climb into his late wife’s coffin while attending her funeral. Not too long after, he shows his date the grave of his wife, along with a new technology funded by him that allows the viewing of a loved one’s rotting corpse.
This sequence, which occurs within the first 15 minutes of the movie, perfectly summarizes what the viewer can expect from David Cronenberg’s latest film.
The film made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in the summer of 2024. After showing at a few more festivals and having a limited theatrical run, “The Shrouds” began streaming on The Criterion Channel in July.
Like many late-career Cronenberg films, “The Shrouds” is divisive, earning 5.8 out of 10 on IMDB and a three out of five on Letterboxd. Though I enjoyed the film, it is certainly not for everybody. The story unfolds in bizarre ways and could be considered unsatisfying. The humor incorporated could feel too out of place and detract from the film for audiences as well.
The film is one of Cronenberg’s most personal works. It follows Karsh, a wealthy entrepreneur still grieving from his wife’s death, investing in a new technology that allows him to peer into his wife’s grave. When the gravesite featuring the new technology is vandalized, he sets out to find the perpetrators.
The film is so personal because it mirrors Cronenberg’s loss of his own wife in 2017 and how he dealt with his own grief. Cassel’s character can be seen as a stand-in for Cronenberg himself, even looking eerily similar to the director at times.
Exploring grief in film has become oversaturated in recent years, especially within the horror genre. “Talk to Me” and “Bring Her Back,” the first two films from the new sibling director duo Michael and Danny Philippou, are prime examples of this oversaturation in horror.
Though “The Shrouds” isn’t necessarily a horror movie, Cronenberg is associated with the genre, and the movie features some unsettling imagery. Despite the oversaturation of grief, Cronenberg tackles the idea uniquely, making the film feel fresh and impressively distinct. An aspect of grief explored in the film is missing your loved one in relation to their body and the loss of intimacy due to their death.
The film incorporates technology in an interesting way as well. Many contemporary filmmakers are intimidated by the use of new technology like phones in their work. Take Robert Eggers, director of “Nosferatu” and “The Lighthouse,” who said in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes that “the idea of photographing a cell phone is just death.” Contrarily, Cronenberg includes numerous shots of screens, including takes of videos playing for several minutes in someone’s hand.
Guy Pearce, Diane Kruger and Sandrine Holt round out the cast, each exceptional in their respective roles. Diane Kruger is the standout, playing three different characters in the film: Becca, Karsh’s late wife, her sister, Terry and Karsh’s AI assistant, Hunny.
While not for everybody, David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds” is an absurd yet compelling look at grief.
